Catch up with Piotr, the rescue pigeon (Summer 2025)

 

Piotr has some good things going for him, for not being too scared of me. He takes food out of a container, as well as water, for example. 

Piotr is the latest addition to the iPigeon.institute family. I rescued him, last night, when I spotted him pecking around at some food and looking listless. He gave off some hints that he wasn’t following flock behavioral signals, so I took it as a sign that he wasn’t adapting well to outdoor life, and that he could be putting himself at risk, for leaving himself vulnerable. Despite this, he also immediately gave off signs of being tame. He took food out of my hand, when I offered it to him, for example. He also let me pick him up, without any trouble. I figured that it would be better that I took him home than someone else, particularly because of his friendly traits, but also because I have a lot of spare time to give him attention. 

I took him home and sat him down on my bed, and I went out to do some remote work at the library, which is where I was initially headed when I initially happened upon Piotr. When I came home, he was in the same spot, and I went to bed. I woke up a few times, during the night, and I checked on him, and this morning, I offered him some food and water, and he took both, which is a reassuring sign that he’s generally healthy and in good spirits. I think he’ll make a great pet! He’s a black-feathered pigeon, with some slight luminescence to his neck feathers.

Update: I noticed that Piotr was limping, so I took a look at him, and apparently, he’s got a wounded leg, of some sort. I guess I’ll be taking care of him for a little while, at least, while his leg repairs itself.

Piotr walks with a limp, I noticed - after I brought him home. He’ll be staying with me for a while during his recovery. He’s been eating heartily and he likes mineral water.

Update: I was considering veterinary care for Piotr, but I felt that it could be much more costly than trying to splint his leg myself. Since he’s pretty calm, I feel like I can do it on my own, so I ordered a pigeon leg splint from Foy’s Pigeon Supplies.

A pigeon leg splint, from Foy’s, a renowned pigeon and pet supply store.

Piotr awaits his recovery, and he passes the days mostly by sitting on my bed, or a pillow. He goes “home” to a cozy little nook, located behind my pillow.

Piotr, in his nook. I clean his spot once or twice a day, that’s all it takes!

Update: Sunday, May 11th

Piotr’s leg splint came in, yesterday, from Foy’s Pet Supplies, so I spent some time splinting his leg. The instructions said to wrap the wounded leg with cotton wool, then clamp the splint around the leg (it has plastic fasteners on it). Piotr was fairly calm through the stressful process, and I got his leg splinted successfully. Hopefully he heals up soon!

I was able to successfully splint Piotr’s broken leg (or foot).

Update: 05/19/2025

Piotr the pigeon is starting to show some affections for me, as well as pigeon intelligence. He flew down from his roost, last night, when it started getting dark, and he landed himself on my pillow, where he settled down, for the night, next to my head. I mostly left him alone, since he’s probably feeling things out, with me, as far as his personal security, as well as his place in life, with me. 

Piotr’s lofty roost, up at the top of the photo, where he likes to situate himself when he wants time to himself, or when he wants to get away. He’s found that this spot is mostly secure for him, as far as being left alone. 

Piotr has been eating well, despite having his leg splinted. He’s definitely adapting well, and he doesn’t hold the splinting against me, in terms of friendliness. He’s demonstrated that he knows when it’s meal time (when I’m having meal time), and he also takes well to demonstrating that he wants to eat, at times, by pecking around, or by showing up at his food and water dishes. 

Piotr is having a drink of water, here. He’s a picky eater, and he only likes some of the seeds in the seed mixes I give him. Here, he tossed aside his seed bowl, entirely, after having some shrimp with me. He’s got a bit of an attitude!

This morning is when Piotr started dining interactively with me, after we spent the night as pillow buddies. I sat down for breakfast, and he noticed that there were eggs in my meal, which he likes. He headed on over to my plate and helped himself to some eggs. Piotr really has some personality to him. 

Piotr, having some scrambled eggs, along with me, as I begin my breakfast, this morning. 

I think it’s fascinating to observe how Piotr defines his boundaries and affections, upon adapting, over time, to domesticated life. I’ve still yet to discern whether or not I’ll keep him, but I really do like having him as a companion. It’s an adventure unlike other bird experiences I’ve had, since he has free rein over the room we stay in, perhaps. 

Update: 05/21/2025

Some video content demonstrating Piotr having his customary lunch (seeds), then having a drink of water, and then, he returns to his roost.

Update on Piotr: 05/28/2025:

Mysteries abound in my head about this, even though my physical illness that beset me since the beginning of this past weekend took the foray, for the most of the day. After I had returned from getting breakfast, I seemed to offhandedly suppose that Piotr was not in any of his several spots in my room, where he likes to hang out. I had, at first, been concerned that he had been one trapped against the wall space, with my furniture’s placement, but I checked the possible spots where he “may” have been, and, being that I couldn’t find him there, I eventually checked his lofty high roost, where he may have been, in a second stacked box, but that wasn’t until much later in the day, due to going to the store having been so grueling for me, due to my body aches and feverish chills. Aside from that I rested, but when I checked the high up box, he wasn’t there, either. So I gave the room another full once over, and I cleaned up some mess that he’d been accumulating on the floor. In any case, I’ve affirmed that he’e possibly been removed from the room, during the times in which I’d gone out, possibly by management or my caseworkers, since I also noted that my moon lamp had been turned off, possibly as a suggestion, since I was sick for so long. The tales that were weaved in my head were pretty lighthearted and reaffirming, so that was nice, that that was the case. I think that my nurse possibly got concerned about me contracting bird flu, from exposure, and since I had gotten so sick; I felt that it would last throughout the rest of the weekend, and in a bad way, throughout, if I didn’t continue taking proactive measures for healing myself (medications). My nurse offered to buy me NyQuil and DayQuil, which had been a relatively quick and notable relief, from the pain. 

My bedside moon lamp, in addition to the pigeon being gone, was turned off.

I suppose that his transition in to living somewhere else came at a reasonable time, since he was starting to land on me, a lot, and I was getting slightly worsening bedsores from accommodating his perching on me, not to mention that it had become difficult to keep up with the poop and spilled bird seeds on the floor. His time with the splint is generally done, now, although I hadn’t confirmed it, myself, although 3 weeks was the proscribed time period for a pigeon to wear a splint. Good luck, Piotr, and maybe I’ll see you out there, again, some day. 

Update: Catching up with Piotr, out on the streets.

I was surprised, a few days after Piotr had unexpectedly disappeared from my room, to find him out on the streets. He did not have his splint on, anymore, and he’s currently limping around, but his leg looks like it set at a good angle for healing, and over some time, he’s gaining use of his leg back. Here’s some footage of him, out on Skid Row, now, where he linked up with the flock I’ve typically been feeding, on a daily basis, which is convenient. He gets along with the others, and it’s a no drama flock - he doesn’t get picked on, for being different, in other words. 

Here’s to Piotr, for his resilience and ingenuity! I’m happy that he got in with the local flock of pigeons.

Product Review: Nike Wildhorse 10 Trail Running Shoes.

 

Nike Wildhorse 10 shoes.

Out in downtown LA, going out and feeding pigeons, and all, I encounter all sorts of challenging terrain. This being the case, I like to have good, supportive footwear to help me power through my outings. It was time for a new pair of shoes for me, recently, so I went online to check out the Nike website and see what was new. I found several different shoes that piqued my interest, and I checked my bank account, and I found out that I had more money in my bank than I’d expected. I thought, “oh, goody! I can splurge,” and I ventured on, within the catalog of shoes online, and I let my imagination roam a bit more freely. 

I’d previously tried out high end casual / running shoes like the Vapormax flyknit shoe, which features shoes on top of bubbles of air, as the soles, and, while nice, I wanted to try something new. I didn’t feel like spending $220 (they are currently $187.97, on the store’s website) for shoes, and I’d already tried them out. I had been wearing the Joyride sneakers, which feature foam balls in the soles, for cushioning, and they’re also casual running shoes, but here, I had an opportunity to branch out in to fancier shoes with more features. 

The main attraction to the Wildhorse 10 shoe ($165), in Nike’s trail running series, is that it has a springy ReactX foam midsole that is purported to return energy to the wearer, along with a grippy outsole design that provides for sure footing in all types of trail terrain, whether it be uphill, wet, or over various types of ground. 

My Wildhorse 10 shoe outsoles. Clearly, this is a shoe for serious trail runners.

Upon first trying out the shoes, after receiving them on Monday, after I ordered them on a Sunday (impressive - Nike used a custom courier to deliver the shoes within 1 day), I could definitely feel a spring in my heels, upon trying to bounce and walk around a little bit. It’s unlike other shoe experiences I recall, since it’s foam, instead of air, that’s being used as the cushion. I felt that there was a lot of design input that went in to making the shoe, and it’s got a legacy of design behind it (Nike skipped #9 in the Wildhorse series, and went to version 10, from 8, but there are internet articles that talk about previous iterations of the Wildhorse series). The ReactX foam is truly “responsive,” as it’s termed, and I could definitely see how this model of shoe would assist me and keep me comfortable on future daily hikes out to feed the pigeons around town.

The shoe comes in a good variety of many different color options to choose from, and there’s men’s and women’s versions of the shoe, as well. I chose the funky pink neon, white, black, and light blue version, because I like bright colors. I could foresee keeping the shoes clean as being a chore, as I’d have to watch how I move and handle the shoes, when wearing them, so that they don’t get scuffs or stains on them. Even so, I unfortunately spilled some soy sauce on one of the shoes, on my first day wearing them out, and I nearly freaked out, but I had some water with me, and I gave it a quick rinse, and once I got to a water fountain, I was able to rub out the stain completely, with a little bit of soap, so the fabric is a little bit forgiving. 

All in all, I feel like like the trail running series fits my lifestyle and fashion choices, and I got a compliment on the shoes, on the first day I wore them, which was nice. I ordered a complementary set of shorts and a tank top that matches the color of the shoes. I’d highly recommend the shoes, as a luxury novelty, for the bouncy soles, as well as for active lifestyle trail running (walking, in my case) types, when the shoes can be afforded, financially. 

First long distance outing thoughts and reflections:

Now, I’m sure that many of you who came across this page and article could debate the point, as to whether or not 18+ miles is considered “long” distance, but I’m just saying… for convenience’s sake. My standard daily goal is 10,000 steps, which comes out to about 5 miles, or so, and here, I put in some dedicated hours at the track, to see if I would suddenly become more skilled and adept at running, given my new, specially designed for trail running: Wildhorse 10 Nike shoes. 

When I showed up to Los Angeles State Historic Park, neighboring Chinatown, DTLA - my nearest metropolitan-scale nature and dirt trail park, there was a huge soundstage and concert installation for what ended up being a college students’ progressive trance music show, with anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 young people attending. I was dismayed that I wouldn’t be able to run the track, because of the concert, but there was a small straightaway of dirt and rocky track stretching from the entrance of the park to the concert gates, maybe 1,000 feet or so. I eventually shook off the anxiety about pacing the track, back and forth, for hours on end, and I “just did it,” in my Nikes. Everyone was paying attention to their own stuff, and the anxiety was all in my head, I reasoned. I mean, I looked different - in jogging clothes, whereas most people who showed up were young adults, dressed in black, grouped up in small to mid-size groups, mostly Asian people, and the restrooms straddled the side of the track / road, and most people’s attention was on using the restroom and gathering with friends before entering the show. There was a 2-3 hours’ long procession of a non-stop flow of pedestrian foot traffic entering the show and park grounds. All extraneous information, here, perhaps, although I did stay for much of the show, to listen to the music, since I was at the concert, anyways, practically.

As I mentioned earlier, 18 miles is probably a cut and dry, simple prospect, but I smoke cigarettes, and I don’t commonly run, although perhaps, with these shoes, I’ll turn showing up to the park a habit. Now, for me, the day’s 18 miles ended up being pretty easy, on my end, for that matter. Granted, I only walked the track, but it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t want to be running back and forth on such a short track, when there were countless young concertgoers just several feet away from me. I already did my standard 10,000 steps, or so, earlier in the day, and I felt that I could get several hours in, of walking, and I thought that maybe I would work myself up to running, a bit, but that never materialized, on this day. 

I tracked my steps, today, using the “Jring,” a bargain-priced Amazon and Alibaba importer and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) generic smart ring product, that ostensibly is taken on, by various companies, in branding or reselling the ring. It’s a good ring, but higher-priced smart rings purportedly hold a charge for longer. I got the ring through my Amazon Vine product reviews job.

To my credit, this day’s 18 miles ended up being easy-peasy for me, as well, especially since it was just walking. I’d been known to do 12-20 mile walking days in former years, on a consistent, daily basis, since I had a dog that I walked around, everywhere, with me. That was the notable characterization of the extended walking exercise slot of time that I pulled off, later on in the day and evening - that it was simple, and I would credit the shoes, with their bounciness (responsiveness) and cushiony ReactX foam midsoles, as that I was aided by the shoes’ technological upgrades, by Nike. It felt like the shoes really made things easier on me, in going a longer distance, once again, after having a long stretch of time in which I was only doing 10,000 steps a day, now, customarily. I feel that I can show up at the park and get in to the trail running lifestyle, become an avid regular runner, and improve my health, while I’m at it; ostensibly, I would favor purchasing new and fancy shoes on a regular basis, and I’d set aside funds to meet those ends every couple or few months, or so, rather than letting the shoes age and wear out, completely. I could pass down the shoes to the less fortunate folks, surrounding where I live, and brighten someone’s day, as well, in doing so. It was a nice feeling, and a good day, with a concert to accompany my afternoon-through-night time walk in the park. 

Nike Wildhorse 10 fan art.