Arne: So what do you think Georgia?
Georgia: On our pigeon children? I think they were very brave today except one. But yes i'm very proud of them. They never flew before. I think they helped each other. How about you?
Arne: Yes, proud and a little worried I guess. But I'm already getting over that, I think. There's always this moment when young birds leave the nest and they seem vulnerable and disoriented. But you just have to trust they'll be allright.
Georgia: But still, they weren't scared.
Arne: How can you tell?
Georgia: Well instead of flying right back in they kept going around and even went to the highest point on the roof. They're more curious than scared.
Arne: Well actually they all tried to fly back immediately but didn't quite manage. They still have to learn everything. In any case I think it's easier for you to let go than for me. I was afraid they'd fly into the water, and than I was afraid a dog might chase them, and then the cars and bicycles and all that.
Georgia: Yes I think I was less anxious.
Arne: But I'm getting there. Jos Vervoort (the pigeon fancier whose pigeons we adopted) sent me a message saying that as long as we give them food and water they should be fine. But what really helped was when he said that there's nothing we can do about it anyway. it is now up to them to embrace life and all its opportunities and challenges.
Georgia: We still don't have names for them...
Arne: That's proving harder than I thought. I guess I was waiting for a clue to know how to name them. Two of them have spent the last two hours on the barn roof and another on the fence near the train track. The fourth is still inside, after a very short fly about.
Georgia: Roof tile in Italian is Coppo, so let's call one of the ones on the roof Coppo.
Arne: Okay. And since the tower they live in is called Chim, let's call the one that doesn't want to leave Chim.
Georgia: Yes I like Chim, Chim Junior. What should we call the one that likes to sit next to the track?
Arne: Trein? It means train in Dutch but Trijn is also a name.
Georgia: That works.
Arne: You should name the last one.
Georgia: Gia.
Arne: Nice. Another thing, how can we leave?
Georgia: We just have to leave them. It's not going to rain or anything, and it is quite warm tomorrow.
Arne: I wasn't even thinking about tomorrow. I'll pass by and hope everything goes well. I wonder if we'll sleep tonight or spend all our time checking the pigeon cam.
Georgia: I'll sleep. I believe they'll connect to their inner bird instinct. Do they see well in the dark?
Arne: Well they don't fly in the dark.
Georgia: Oh it says here(checking internet) that they are not nocturnal at all, but at least it is the longest day of the year. Quite nice that we let them go on the summer solstice.
Arne: They seem very much at ease up there on the roof. I think they'll be okay.
Three days later Trein seems to have taken up a space underneath a nearby bridge. We hope she'll return to the tower one of these days.Coppo and Gia spend most of their time on the roof and their flying skills have improved tremendously. They are in fact very accomplished flyers and fly together in large circles. On the other hand, Chim jr. has yet to leave the tower. We're thinking how to stimulate her but also don't want to be too pushy.