01/06/2026

Today I am grieving a pigeon. My pigeon, to be exact. His name was Rodrick. I saw him on the side walk yesterday at around 2 PM as I was driving to Spar to grab a drink. I didn't know if he was okay or not as he was just sitting there. His leg looked injured, but I didn't have the tools to help him at the time. I drove to Spar, grabbed a 2 litre Fanta fruit twist and some ice cream, then went home. I don't think I saw him on the way back down the street. I did see a few leaflet poster people walk around, maybe they were looking at the bird? But when I parked up, went to my door, I stood there and looked down the street. I saw him sitting there. I knew at that moment I couldn't just leave him. I went inside quickly, grabbed a cardboard box that held a toaster, grabbed garden gloves and rushed to my car. I drove down, parked up, and picked him up, held him against my chest and put him in the box, took him home.

I sat there, calling my mom to see what to do. I rang the vets, but there were no vets near me that were open since it was a Sunday. So my best bet was to hope he survives until the morning when I can take him to a vet. I put him in a bigger box, put some towels in the box so he was comfortable, put a small water bowl in there too. I put him in my garage and closed the lid so he could be in darkness. I also poked some holes in the box just in case for ventilation. He was stumbling a lot, and he was trying to bury his head in the corner of the box. I would check on him every few hours or so, and each time his head would be buried in the corner. I would reposition him so he was sitting up.

He was never violent or anything, just clearly in pain. I tried my best. I noticed he was shivering when I checked on him around 7 PM, even though it was still 16 degrees out. So, I brought him into my kitchen and turned the heating on. I remember hearing some stumbling around 11:30 PM, but he was doing that occasionally anyway so I thought nothing of it. Then, just before bed, I checked him at 12 AM. He was lying down. I thought he was sleeping, so I left him, closed the box again.

In the morning, I woke up, checked on Rodrick, but my heart sank. He had not moved since I last checked on him, not an inch. He had passed away. I know it's just a pigeon and that there are loads more, but that doesn't matter to me. This is a pigeon I wanted to save, but I didn't manage to save him. The only thing I can give him is his memory. I made a song for Rodrick in memory, and I will be burying him in my garden.

I'm just glad that he had a quiet place to rest before passing. That's the part that matters to me. It wasn't in the wet, loud street, it wasn't by being killed by some cat. I'd like to believe he died in peace, in a quiet place, not scared. I do also believe he was dead when I checked on him at 12 AM, or at least fading away. I hope you are well up there Rodrick.