Photo by Sneha Cecil on Unsplash   

Two days ago, I heard a lot of cooing (the sound made by a pigeon) on my balcony. It’s common to see pigeons in downtown Toronto, so I ignored it, but yesterday I got a shock when I realized that a pigeon couple had made their nest in an empty flower pot under a small table on the balcony. 

Of course, I wanted to get rid of them because I don’t want pigeon poop on my balcony, but I saw that they had already laid an egg! Many countries have laws against moving or destroying bird nests that contain eggs or chicks (baby birds), so I checked the government website and discovered that I could not remove the nest without a permit (a form which gives permission)! 

So, I placed some cardboard around the pot to protect my balcony from poop, and I’ve decided to let them stay until the egg hatches and the baby flies away. Aside from it being illegal to move the nest, I would feel bad if I destroyed their family! It could take about a month for the egg to hatch and another month for the chick to grow up and fly away. In the meantime, I’m just hoping that they aren’t too noisy! 

What would you do in my situation? Does your country have any laws that protect birds and bird nests? What do people think about pigeons?