An original

Rocky, the rock pigeon is the fourth in my West Sound Wildlife Shelter’s Animal Ambassadors series. Like Scout, Echo, and Mariah*, Rocky inspires us to learn about our local wildlife and conservation.

What? A pigeon . . . inspiring?!

Now sure, we all know that rock pigeons are adaptive birds, and make their homes easily in our urban areas. They are (literally) everywhere. On the island, hardly a metropolis, we have plenty at the ferry terminal, our farms and woodlands too. Not endangered in the slightest. But would you be surprised to learn that between 1966 and 2015, our North American rock pigeon populations declined by 46%? That’s the word from the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

The thing about pigeons is, well, we tend to think we know them. They all look the same, move in groups and mess up our sidewalks. So many of us don’t give them a second glance.

But the kids do.

Thanks in no small part to Mo Willems’ Pigeon Series. Please, tell me you’ve read, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!. An absolute classic. And if you have the chance to listen to Mo Willems talk about The Joy of Creation … take it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sm_ruTMURY (A Kennedy Center Digital Stage Original).

Why I love art at all, why I love writing, why I love drawing, is not only do you get to show who you are authentically, you get to show something about the core of who you are — it’s that you get to discover it. (Mo’s words)

So, back to our pigeon then. Look at that face — what a personality! The West Sound Shelter describes him as, “a very active and vocal member of our team. Some of his favorite actives include shredding newspaper, “dancing,” and singing.” (https://westsoundwildlife.org).

I mean, who wouldn’t want to get to know a bird who sings and dances? An original.

Up Close:

The making of Rocky.

* And, in case you missed her on Instagram — here is Mariah, the red-tailed hawk.