November 18, 2025
by Elizabeth
Comments Off on VIPs: Very Important Partners!

VIPs: Very Important Partners!

Life-Saving Partnerships

“May I come to visit the birds?”

 

Thanks to three very special partners — Kibble’s ‘n Gifts in Half Moon Bay, Andy’s Pet Shop in San Jose and Ploughshares Nursery in Alameda CA — the answer is “Yes!”

Palomacy depends on so many volunteers, supporters, donors, and partners to help the birds who depend on us. We have no central shelter or sanctuary, so the vast majority of our 300 foster birds are cared for in the private homes and backyard aviaries of dedicated volunteers. Public-facing partnerships offer an expanded opportunity to dramatically increase community awareness and interest! The more people who see and learn about rescued pigeons and doves, the more these birds get rescued and adopted. Want to host foster birds on your site? Please email Cynthia@pigeonrescue.org.

Andy’s Pet Shop

Lissa Shoun, owner of Andy’s (rescue only) Pet Shop, has been helping Palomacy since 2008. Andy’s fostered pigeons and doves in their store (originally on Notre Dame Avenue and then on The Alameda) from 2008 through 2020, and now, starting in October 2025, they have once again welcomed foster doves into their big, comprehensively stocked and expertly staffed store at 429 S. Bascom Avenue in San Jose, CA. We have a small team of volunteers who take turns with aviary and bird care and we need more! Please read more about the role here and then fill out our online volunteer application.

Foster dove aviary at Andy’s

Our volunteers go all out to help set the birds up

Aviary Set Up team back row: Lissa, center Bahar & Elizabeth, bottom Ranjini, Faye & Bhaskar

Please come get your pet care supplies and visit the adoptable doves (and budgies too).

Kibbles ‘n Gifts

In 2020, Christa Livingstone and her family found and rescued Wally, a young King pigeon stranded in the fields of Half Moon Bay (likely the survivor of a very misguided DIY “dove release”). They adopted Delfina (who was rescued in Oakland) as a mate for him and began fostering Palomacy pigeons in their beautiful pet supply store Kibbles ‘n Gifts at 80 B Cabrillo Highway North, Half Moon Bay, CA. In 2021 they began taking care of a whole big flock of fostered pigeons in an 8′ x 16′ x 8′ aviary (built by Heather Hohlowski in honor of her friend Jim Stone).

    Lucas and Wally 9/8/20

 

Pigeons are great at winning hearts!

 

Kibbles ‘n Gifts is a warm and welcoming place to stock up on all your pets’ needs while you visit the pigeons!

 

8′ x 16′ foster “saviary” provides rescued pigeons with fresh air, sunshine, and room to spread their wings

Ploughshares Nursery

Ploughshares Nursery

The Ploughshares Nursery at 2701 Main Street, Alameda, CA, has hosted a big 8′ x 16′ x 8′ foster aviary of Palomacy pigeons since 2015! This nursery is a social enterprise for the Alameda Point Collaborative (APC), a supportive housing community in Alameda, and is locally famous for being well stocked with native, drought tolerant, ornamental, and edible garden plants. The community-minded heart of Ploughshares supports animal rescue as well, and for the past 10 years, a revolving cast of 25-30 foster pigeons have been safe and happy thanks to their generosity and the diligence of so many amazing volunteers (who each take a day of the week to provide aviary and bird care) We always need more help! Please fill out our online volunteer application today!

Palomacy is hands-on helping approximately 450 rescued birds every year and these public-facing partnerships dramatically extend our reach into the critical community spaces that we need to help these amazing birds make more friends, touch more hearts, and inspire more adopters. We thank you Andy’s, Kibbles ‘n Gifts, and Ploughshares Nursery for your literally life-saving generosity.

And we need more foster partners in the Greater Bay Area. Want to save some lives with us? Please email Cynthia@pigeonrescue.org.

November 14, 2025
by Heather Hohlowski
Comments Off on Featured Foster: Flapjack

Featured Foster: Flapjack

Guest Post by Heather Hohlowski

Flapjack takes a soak at the Pigeon Swimming Hole


We started fostering Palomacy pigeons in the fall of 2019. My stepdaughter Kyla had lobbied for months for two pigeons. Her dad, Kevin, said OK, but also said, “Two is the limit.” So our friend Jamie built us a beautiful aviary in our backyard (that, to me, seemed like it could hold more than two pigeons, but more on that later). Our first two foster pigeons were Cantaloupe and Paige – and we quickly ended up adopting them.

But, like I said, the aviary seemed big enough for more than two pigeons, so it made sense to me and Kyla that we should foster at least two more birds. So Kevin agreed to an additional two, and again said that four was definitely the absolute limit. But the aviary still seemed underutilized, and the new limit eventually became six, and honestly, I believed it would stick. And I swear that Kyla and I faithfully checked for eggs every day for the past six years, replacing them with feggs.

So you can imagine my surprise (and Kevin’s) when I went to clean the nest box belonging to two of our fosters, Pidgy and Beanie, and, while reaching under Beanie to check for an egg found instead a tiny bundle of yellow fuzz whom we named Flapjack. In our defense, feggs and eggs look VERY similar. I mean, they fool pigeons, so it makes sense that they could fool us too. I still don’t know how we missed the egg – my guess is it was hidden under pine needles (Pidgy and Beanie build really nice nests). I felt really guilty for this “oops baby” – I had sworn it would never happen on my watch. But it did. And so, meet Flapjack.

Can you believe this is just one month of growth?!

Flapjack is a very curious little guy (I think he’s male based on his behavior – he successfully stands up to a much larger, muscular, former Racer pigeon). He checks out anything new in the aviary – when I install a new platform or basket, he is the first to fly to it. He often stands on my shoulders while I clean the aviary. He doesn’t step up onto my hand, but I am fairly certain he would learn this in a heartbeat as an indoor bird with more one-on-one socialization. He’s also quite handsome. His father is a Racer and his mother is a Roller, and Flapjack is on the smaller side, like his mom.

L: Pidgy and 28-day old Flapjack; R: Family photo!

Pidgy was rescued after he was found on a busy road – he’d likely been struck by a hawk, and his leg was badly injured. Despite surgery, he never regained the use of that leg. But it certainly didn’t interfere with his dad skills. He would use his right wing as a counterbalance while resting on his bad leg so he could keep steady while feeding baby Flapjack.

If you’re looking for a single pigeon as a companion, or as a friend for a current companion, consider Flapjack – and fill out our online application today!

Oh, and as for our aviary capacity, Kevin says that seven is the absolute limit…

Palomacy Pro-Tip: Pigeons can’t be neutered nor can they be allowed to breed (too many!) so every real fertilized egg they lay must be removed and replaced with a fake for hatch prevention. You may receive some wing slaps for checking, but it’s something we should all do daily.

November 3, 2025
by Cynthia Bardouka-Large
Comments Off on The Winter Pigeon Aviary

The Winter Pigeon Aviary

As the days get colder and shorter, we are often asked about how to keep pigeons warm. The short answer is that in most climates no special care is needed. They keep themselves warm very successfully with just their fluffed feathers and body heat! In fact, using supplemental heat creates far more risk than benefit. Since we do have readers from truly cold places, however, here are some guidelines for the winter pigeon aviary, courtesy of long-time Palomacy volunteer Rose Lalla Jensen.

(Please note that these recommendations apply to healthy, acclimated, sturdy pigeons. Frail or ill pigeons, and doves such as ringnecks, should not be kept outdoors in any weather colder than 60°F.)

 

Footprints in the snow, in Carol Davie’s aviary

Good morning from frigid Minnesota! We’re currently at a balmy feels-like -24°F. This is typical for January, and we often get even colder. We have a small pigeon aviary, housing four couples and two bachelors. They are going about their regular day, having had breakfast, and waiting for clean bath water.

Carol Davie’s pigeons line up for bath-time in Canada

Healthy pigeons in good feather condition absolutely can thrive in cold climates! A few things are important though.

In addition to being healthy and in good feather condition, it is important that they have time to acclimate to the cold. Our rule of thumb: they need at least four or five days of overnight temps above 40°F. Here that generally means anyone who will be wintering in the aviary needs to be out by mid to end of September.

Winter in upstate New York is just fine for Gemm’s birds

All aviaries need a portion that is sheltered from the wind and wet. Here, we also need the roof in the shelter to be sturdy enough to support a snow load, and the enclosure needs to be able to be closed off when it gets extreme. 

Ours is built with 2×4 walls, roof, and door, all insulated, and a triple glazed window like you would use in a home. We also have polycarbonate panels that can be added to the sides to add further protection from the wind. Some people use greenhouse panels, or even heavy duty clear poly mesh tarp, to block the wind but still let in light. 

Keria Rossin uses mesh poly tarp to keep her flock warm in the Michigan winter. www.tarpsplus.com

Their nest boxes are lined with Reflectix (think bubble wrap between layers of emergency blanket material) which reflects their body heat back to them. We also provide lots and lots of pine needles for cozy nests.

The door to the condo is made with a little “pigeon portal” so they can still come and go during the day, but be kept inside on nights too cold for us to feel comfortable. We have one couple who prefers to sleep in the flight regardless of the temp!

We have water de-icers for the bath and drinking water, which do just that — prevent water from freezing. All electric cords are rated for heavy-duty outdoor use, all plug connections are GFCI for safety and are in sealed cases designed to keep water and dust out.

We do feed a mix a little higher in protein and fat from October to April so they have the extra energy needed. Split peas and lentils boost their protein, and safflower, sunflower hearts and chopped peanuts, which we usually only recommend for treats, give them the added fat to help them stay warm.

We do NOT provide heat, nor do we recommend it. There are just too many issues. The three top are fire, burns, and power failure. While some heaters are safer than others, there truly are no coop-safe heaters. Any heat source is a fire risk, and many are burn risks. And remember the part about acclimating birds for at least four to five days while lows are above 40°F? It is the sudden temp drops that are dangerous. So if you just heat the aviary, even just to 32°F, and your heater fails during the night, your birds are in trouble.

Christina’s flock thrives in Chicagoland

Remember, pigeons live and thrive in virtually every climate and every place (except Antarctica). Their feathers are excellent insulators and they have mastered the art of cuddling. Of course, you must always be vigilant for a bird who is not feeling well, or whose feather conditions are poor. When a pigeon is ill, their ability to thermoregulate is one of the first things they lose, so those birds need to stay indoors. There are also some breeds of fancy pigeon whose natural powers of insulation have been stolen from them by inbreeding (such as frillbacks). And a pigeon who has not had the chance to gradually acclimate to the cold should be kept indoors until the spring. Finally, doves such as ringnecks should never be kept outdoors when the temperature drops below 60°F.

In most cases, however, as long as the birds have access to a place that is dry and protected from the wind, and a belly full of good food, healthy pigeons will do just fine and may in fact show a total disregard for the cold. 

Snow? What snow?

October 15, 2025
by Heather Hohlowski
Comments Off on The Myth of Ethical Breeding

The Myth of Ethical Breeding

Guest Post by Sammy Mikus

You may have heard pigeon owners discuss ethical breeders. These are pigeon breeders who supposedly have healthy, friendly birds who they care about and only sell to people who will take good care of them. While this sounds good on the surface, the truth is that the majority of pigeon breeders aren’t ethical, and anyone can claim to be an “ethical” breeder without actually being one.

In this post, I’ll go over the need for rescue, whether or not ethical breeders are necessary, the problems with breeding (especially on this scale), and how the majority of pigeon breeders are not “ethical”, even by their own standards and the standards of their customers.

Is Ethical Breeding Necessary?

Pigeons are not wild birds; they’ve been domesticated for an extremely long time. There are plenty of them already in captivity. So is there a need for ethical breeding at all?

Many people argue that ethical breeders provide healthy, tame pigeons in specific breeds that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to get from a rescuer. Let’s go over each of these points.

Breeders often cram pigeons together into wire cages when they want to sell/advertise them.


MYTH: There are no tame pigeons in rescue.
FACT: It’s a huge task for rescuers to find homes for imprinted ferals who were rescued after being released by their previous owners, or were raised by the rescuers themselves. Rescuers also end up with many domestic pigeons of various breeds who are tame when rescued or surrendered. (I’ll talk about friendliness and how it relates to breed in a bit.)

MYTH: Most rescuers only adopt out pigeons once they’re healthy.
FACT: If any of their pigeons have a chronic condition or disability, rescuers are usually upfront about it. Plus, many rescuers will continue to lend you support and advice if something happens down the line that compromises your pigeon’s health. While it is true that rescuers often take in pigeons who are sick or injured, they provide medical care and work hard to get these birds back to full health. Meanwhile, a pigeon from a breeder has often never been to a vet, and could have issues that the breeder isn’t aware of. Unfortunately, a lot of people have bought from breeders and ended up with a sick, or even dying, pigeon. I’ll talk about that more a bit later.

Many times, people will buy a young pigeon from a breeder because they want a cuddly bird. However, getting a young pigeon from a breeder is absolutely no guarantee of temperament. Most pigeons have a major behavior change once they hit puberty, and I’ve seen countless stories of people buying birds that their breeders claimed would have a specific personality, just for the pigeon to end up being feistier or more aloof than the new owner was prepared for. (Not that there’s anything wrong with feisty and aloof pigeons — it’s just wrong to claim that breed guarantees a specific temperament.)

Rescuers, unlike most breeders, will generally take back your pigeon if the adoption doesn’t work out for any reason. Plus, many rescuers will be open to a foster arrangement to make sure a pigeon is the right fit for you.

MYTH: I want a specific breed, so I need to go to a breeder.
FACT: The truth is, many, many “fancy” breeds end up escaped, lost, dumped, and surrendered. They wait for homes for months, or even years, at rescues, wildlife rehabs, and animal shelters. Like tame pigeons, there is no shortage of “fancy” breeds in rescue. If you are looking to adopt a specific breed for their looks and can’t find one in need of rescue, please keep an open mind. Breeding for looks almost always results in detrimental traits that the pigeon is left to live with. Inbreeding (used to get a specific look) results in birds with poor health and compromised immune systems. The very traits that make these breeds distinctive are the direct cause of their health issues.

Scandaroons being sold on Craigslist.

What’s the Problem With Breeding?

Most pigeon breeds, especially “fancy”/show breeds, have exaggerated traits that are often appealing to people. However, these traits come with a wide range of issues for the birds, which can vary from inconvenient to harmful.

Left: The German Owl pigeon’s tiny beak makes eating difficult – and as parents, they often struggle to feed their young. Right: The American Fantail at a show. This breed struggles a lot with mobility due to the extreme stance they’re bred to have.

For instance, short beaks (found in Oriental Frills, Old German Owls, Portuguese Tumblers, etc.) make administering oral medication and dewormer difficult, and make preening really tough (which can result in droppings getting stuck near their butt feathers). The short beak also causes them to struggle to pick up large seeds, and increases the chance of small seeds getting stuck in their nostrils due to how close their nostrils are to the tip of their beak. (You may have seen the chart with “ethical” and “non-ethical” pigeon beak lengths. The truth is, this chart is inaccurate — and an example of breeds claimed by breeders to be “ethical” that aren’t. The beaks listed as “medium” are short, and the Lucerne breed is listed as having a “normal” beak despite also being short-beaked.)

Normal length feral pigeon beak (left) vs. short Lucerne breed beak. Short beaks cause a variety of problems for many pigeon breeds.

Large breeds (Modenas, Giant Runts, etc.) are much more likely to get arthritis and often struggle with heart issues due to their size. These breeds often have lessened mobility as well.

Feathered feet (Indian Fantails, West of England Tumblers, etc.) decrease mobility and greatly increase the risk of broken blood feathers on the feet and legs. The long feathered feet seen in many breeds are actually wing feathers, so can be uncomfortable, and even painful, especially when they’re growing in after a molt.

Large eyes (Budapest Tumblers, Vienna Tumblers, etc.) are at an increased risk of eye ulcers and irritation.

Pouter and Cropper breeds are prone to crop issues (such as sour crop and impacted crop) — their crops can get stuck in the inflated position and they may even need crop reduction surgery to have a good quality of life.

Left: Pouters and croppers frequently experience crop problems.[1] Right: An example of a crude DIY treatment for an impacted crop – fanciers often treat health problems themselves rather than simply avoiding buying and breeding birds that have such harmful traits.[2]

Rollers/Tumblers are bred to do somersaults in the air. Breeding them to have this trait makes them extremely vulnerable to predators and accidents such as “roll-downs”, where they keep flipping until they hit the ground. While the risks of rolling are much lower in closed aviaries, most of the people who breed these birds free fly them outdoors so they can watch their “performance”, putting them at great risk of death and injury.

Left: Parlor Rollers described as a “prisoner” breed due to being unable to fly.[3] Right: This breed is even used in competitions where people see how far they can “roll” them, like a bowling ball (screenshot from Instagram account showing a Parlor Roller at an event).

All these breeds and traits (plus the many more I didn’t list) are unethical to breed, and yet even “ethical” breeders breed and sell them anyway.

The stress of overcrowding increases aggression, causing adults to get bullied and young pigeons to get injured and killed. Overcrowding also results in a lowered immune system, putting pigeons at greater risk of disease.

Unfortunately, even ethical breeders have been found to have overcrowded, dirty, and/or non-predator-proof lofts. While this certainly isn’t true of all breeders, the majority of those who let their pigeons breed in an aviary/loft environment face issues with overcrowding and the unhygienic and stressful conditions that follow. This can lead to an increase in disease and bullying. Overcrowding also results in greatly increased squab mortality; baby pigeons and developed eggs are killed in the nest by competitors and bullied after they leave the nest, which often ends fatally for young birds who are still getting the hang of flying.

Filthy living conditions are not uncommon in breeding lofts.[4]

(Overcrowding is certainly something rescuers can struggle with, too; however, breeders have more direct control over their loft’s population, and tend to have a higher mortality if they get to that point due to young pigeons being killed.)

Also, to make specific pairings in a multi-breed loft, already existing mated pairs are broken up and the new pairs are kept in smaller, often wire cages to produce the desired mating.

What If I Want to Buy a Bird From a Breeder to Give Them a Better Life?

Buying a bird from a breeder would be supporting and enabling them — both in loft space and funding — to breed more birds. Also, adopting a rescue pigeon not only provides them with a good home, it also helps a rescuer, supporting their effort to save the lives of birds who are in danger. (Note: Breeders may advertise their excess birds as “culls”, but this doesn’t necessarily mean the pigeons will be killed if not rescued.)

There is a great need for pigeon rescue. There is no need for more breeders. Breeders are losing and discarding pigeons faster than rescuers can find adopters. People who can’t keep their breeder-bought pigeons end up turning to overfull rescuers for help. Lost domestic pigeons are being euthanized in shelters and left outside when their finders have nowhere to take them. (And that’s not to mention all the disabled ferals who are left in the wild with nowhere to go, and all the disabled and imprinted ferals who are euthanized in wildlife rehabs due to being unreleasable.)

In conclusion, please consider adopting a pigeon in need rather than buying from a breeder. If you don’t know where to find a rescue, the Palomacy Facebook Help Group can probably help if you share your location and the setup you have for your future pet!

Please don’t breed your pigeons. If you want more there are plenty in need of homes! Pigeons don’t need to breed to be happy.

Sources

1,2: “Crop Problems at Our Pigeons”. Aviculture Europe, 2007. Accessed 10/04/25.
3. Pigeons.Biz User post, 07/22/09. Accessed 10/05/25.
4. Pictures from Craigslist ads selling pigeons.

October 14, 2025
by Heather Hohlowski
Comments Off on Saving Coral

Saving Coral

Guest Post by Jill Shepard and Heather Hohlowski

I sat down with Co-Director Jill Shepard to talk to her about a recently rescued pigeon, brought to Palomacy with a unique beak injury.

We first heard about Coral on August 1

Heather: How did Coral make his way to Palomacy?
Jill: Coral was brought to Ohlone Wildlife by someone who feeds a feral cat colony nearby. He (I think Coral is male) was found close to where she feeds them. He was very thin and had an obvious beak injury.

How did he get this beak injury? And have you seen an injury like this before?
Palomacy has seen some pretty traumatic beak issues. Some are possibly congenital, like scissor beak. This one clearly was caused by impact. His bottom jaw was split in two and very unstable.

Dr. Galusha examines Coral


What has the treatment been and how has he progressed?
We have been working closely with Dr. Holly Galusha. Coral’s progress has involved lots of time, medications for pain management, antibiotics, support through gavage feeding, and debriding. I think he has PTSD from the pain. Beaks are very vascular and have a lot of nerve endings. He must have suffered a great deal while he waited for someone to find him.

Did he have a band? Any idea how old he is?
No band. He’s an adult for sure, and I don’t think he’s very old, but that’s just a guess.

Coral’s progress!

Is he eating on his own?
He’s not self feeding yet! We have a system where I pinch a seed between my finger and thumb and he grabs it. He also can pick up individual seeds out of my palm. We are still working toward self-feeding and I think one day he will be.

What’s his personality like?
He is persistent. He doesn’t give up. He’s a confident bird.

Will he be available for adoption and will he need special accommodations as a companion pigeon?
Yes, he will be able to be adopted. But he will definitely need lots and lots of time spent with him. He’s very social – as all pigeons are. He’s such a wonderful inspiration.

How does he get along with other pigeons?
Good! He lives in the aviary and defends his shelf and flirts with the other birds. I go out there at least twice daily, and sit in a chair and feed him. It’s my favorite time of day. And he’s even doing outreach events with me now! He is a wonderful ambassador of what Palomacy is all about!

Coral rockin’ some pigeon pants at an outreach event in October!

October 14, 2025
by Heather Hohlowski
Comments Off on Your Donations Are Saving Lives!

Your Donations Are Saving Lives!

Guest Post by Cynthia Bardouka-Large

We are so lucky here in the Bay Area to have talented, compassionate, pigeon-and-dove informed veterinarians. But specialty care takes training and experience, and it doesn’t come cheap. It’s only the 13th and we’ve already passed our monthly average for medical costs. We can only say “yes” to birds with your help!

L: Lionel and Braveheart together at last; R: Gogi and Spruce finally sharing the same enclosure.

We recently took in two gentleman doves, Lionel and Braveheart, who had been kept apart, in too-small cages, with minimal care and no enrichment, for 20 years. The next day we got a nearly identical surrender –  Gogi and Spruce, two elder birds who had been kept apart and isolated in small cages for 15 to 20 years. Their person died and they had nowhere to go.

L: Rummy with Dr. Baden; R: Rummy recovering

Senior birds often come in with health issues even in the best circumstances. We also took in senior citizen roller pigeon Rummy, with suspected head trauma, not eating nor digesting food. It’s been a long involved process trying to help Rummy find his way back.

Coral’s healing journey

Poor Coral came to us with massive beak trauma, requiring debridement and wound care, pain relief, and lots of hands-on healing and care. To read more about Coral’s recovery, check out our blog post Saving Coral.

Lady Godiva


Lady Godiva had an astonishing number of holes torn in her by a peregrine falcon.

Florence

Beautiful fancy Florence came in with a torn neck.

L: Francis; R: Cornell

Emaciated little Francis had a rare blood parasite, preventing her from gaining weight. These are just a few of our recent intakes – we also have vet bills for long time fosters like Cornell, who is tolerating chemo really well and showing a love of life that keeps us fighting for him.

Will you help us help these birds with a donation? With your help we can keep saying yes.

September 17, 2025
by Heather Hohlowski
Comments Off on A Letter from Cynthia, Palomacy’s New Co-Director

A Letter from Cynthia, Palomacy’s New Co-Director

To the Palomacy Community,

In early 2017, my child turned her laser focus to birds. We spent long hours at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, drawing and playing with the ravens. One day I said to her, “Ravens are smart and ravens are funny, but ravens are wild and will always be wild. If you want to make friends with a bird, you should hang out with pigeons!” As a former New Yorker, I knew this to be so.

The child turned out to have a knack for earning the trust of feral pigeons; she was adept at catching them and would check them for stringfoot or other injuries. She continuously sought connection with these bright, friendly birds. I found the Palomacy Facebook group, and we would scroll through the pictures of adoptable pigeons, saying “maybe” and “one day” and “if you keep your room clean”.

Perhaps I underestimated the power of her longing, because just before her ninth birthday, a white pigeon crashed down in our yard, with the names of a bride and groom written on her wings with Sharpie, and a heart drawn on her breast. I wrote to the group “is this a wild pigeon?” And Elizabeth Young answered “That is a King pigeon someone has drawn on.” I asked if Palomacy would take her off our hands, but Elizabeth wisely held the line. Pearl was young, hungry, and scared, and Pearl changed our lives.

Me with my daughter and Pearl

Elizabeth drove out to our home and gave us a crash course on how to welcome a pigeon into our lives. She shared her own origin story, of working in the shelter and seeing big, gentle King pigeons languishing because they had no one to advocate for them. So she stepped up, and has worked tirelessly ever since. Our home visit was a tiny snippet of her generosity and devotion to the birds and to the people who take them in.

I have grown to care deeply for these birds, and Palomacy people have become my people. I have seen the cooperation and shared heavy lifting of this extraordinary community of volunteers and supporters, moving financial and logistical mountains to save a discarded, hawk-struck pigeon, sweating in the sun to assemble an aviary, helping each bird on the journey from rescue to forever home, and showing up at outreach events with smiles to help shift the public’s indifference to these sweet, brave birds.

L-R: Cynthia, Elizabeth, and Jill at the recent Solano Stroll in Berkeley

The need is never ending, and I’ve watched in wonder and learned so much from Elizabeth and Jill as they lead and serve this community, connecting people, triaging intakes, coordinating rescues, coaching new foster homes, finding sources of funding, getting all sorts of different people to “yes”.

When Elizabeth called me to tell me she was retiring, and asked if I would step in as co-director of the organization, “yes” was the only possible answer. I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve the community I love, and, with your continuing help, to grow this extraordinary force for good.

Thank you, Palomacy!

In gratitude,
Cynthia

Me and Pearl

September 17, 2025
by Elizabeth
Comments Off on The Next Chapter

The Next Chapter

Gurumina, rescued 9/7/07

For 18 years, I’ve had the privilege of serving as the founder and executive director of Palomacy. This is a hard post for me to write: I am retiring at the end of this month. I am happy and sad both.

Long-time, high-impact volunteer Cynthia Bardouka-Large is joining our amazing and heroic Jill Shepard as Co-Director. They are a dream team, and I know that Palomacy will soar on beautifully. I am excited for the new energy and ideas that will carry this movement forward. (I call it Palomacy 2.0) I am so grateful and proud to have such an incredible flock of dedicated volunteers helping, rescuing, transporting, fostering, outreaching and educating, doing the behind the scenes admin and development, grant writing, fundraising, acting as our Board, assisting with coaching and retention, serving the phone line and our giant online Help Group -every day on the front lines as first responders- all to assist the nonstop river of lost, hurt and found birds. 

I am amazed by the incredible, life-saving, world-changing work of our big and ever-growing community. We are helping so many pigeons, doves and people.

And these little birds who are so dear and humble and proud and brave. They love life and they love being helped. The relief felt by a rescued pigeon is unmistakeable. They know they are being helped. Together we are generating vital compassion that makes everything better for everyone. Learning about pigeons leads to loving pigeons which unlocks kindness we didn’t even realize was missing.

None of this would have been possible without you. THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME PALOMACY! Please continue your very generous support of this much needed work. 

The challenges are daunting. The number of birds needing rescue still far exceeds the resources available. We rescuers are brutally outnumbered by the people who breed, use and lose these domestic birds for their sports, businesses and hobbies- as if they were disposable. That imbalance is shifting though, as cruel traditions die out while pigeon rescuing and rehoming surges. We are making progress! The growth in people rescuing, rehabbing, rehoming and adopting pigeons has been phenomenal. And, with your strong support all these years, Palomacy has been a leader helping to drive this advance.

With all my heart, thank you for doing this with me, for helping so many birds, and for leading with compassion.

I’ll be around. I’m not going anywhere. I’m leaving the job as of 9/30 but not the work. I hope my next chapter will be as meaningful as this one.

With love and gratitude,

AdoptKings@gmail.com, 415 420-7204

How It Started: Remembering Gurumina
What Is Palomacy?

September 17, 2025
by Heather Hohlowski
Comments Off on 2026 Wall Calendar Winners

2026 Wall Calendar Winners

We received so many amazing entries for this year’s calendar fundraiser – 127 to be exact. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped us raise close to $8,000. Please check out our Top 10 vote-getting entries, which combined to raise nearly $4,500. And treat yourself to seeing everybirdy here. 2026 Palomacy Wall Calendars can be pre-ordered here and will begin shipping 12/1/25.

Here are the winning entries that will grace the pages of our 2026 Wall Calendar (click their photos to read the birds’ stories). We have not yet assigned each photo to a particular month – please stay tuned!

Anaktoria by Lake F., Los Angeles, CA

Chewy & Leia by Sylvie

Gorgeous George by Cynthia BL, San Francisco, CA

Helly by Katie F., Quincy, MA

Molokai by Luca G, Batavia, IL

Moshi by Mayra M., Jackson Heights, NY
<

Nessie by Jill S., Martinez, CA

Noir & Easton by Katie K., Staunton, VA

Pepernoot by Marsha L., El Sobrante, CA

Raven & Norah by Jenny S., Folsom, CA

Tulip by ArtsyBirdSquad

Tuna by Jill S., Martinez, CA

Virginia Sue Bananapants by Nicole B., Morgantown, WV

Thank you to each and every one of you – rescuers, adopters, fosters, volunteers, photographers, artists, voters, donors and advocates! Together we are changing the course of the future for these amazing birds, from abuse to appreciation, from exploitation to adoption.

September 17, 2025
by Heather Hohlowski
Comments Off on How Pigeons Changed Our Lives

How Pigeons Changed Our Lives

Anonymous Guest Post

Our older two kiddos are AuDHD and struggle with anxiety. While it looks different for both of them, pigeons have been an incredible support to our family. For our oldest, who “got us into” pigeons, it was initially a special interest, which broadened to birds generally, vegetarianism, food systems, and education/advocacy as he’s grown, giving him a purpose and a focus.

Roosevelt, Clover’s husbird who recently passed away, was responsible for helping him learn to read — he struggled to engage and be still enough to work on reading skills, unless he had a lap pigeon. As a teenager he now works as a counselor at a local naturalist club as well as a preschool, and has learned so much about teaching and advocacy through pigeons, and has introduced now hundreds of preschoolers and elementary kids to pigeons. The pigeons have been a way to interact and connect with other people for a kiddo that has struggled, a calming presence. This has been huge as we spent over a year navigating mental health supports — the pigeons really got him through that time.

Our middle struggles with emotional regulation, and when his feelings are especially intense he can struggle with hand banging and generally being overwhelmed. We have tried for years with various supports and interventions, and the one thing that helps him the most right now is having a pigeon with him when he is doing challenging or frustrating work, or even when he starts to get overwhelmed. We share our home with many other animals, but pigeons are the specific presence that is the most calming and supportive for my oldest kids.