Suzanne's Mom's Blog

Photo: Holden Blanco/HKB Photo.
At the end of each urban-pigeon tour, the leaders discuss passenger pigeons, which went extinct due to overhunting. “It’s up to each of us to decide what kind of relationship we’re going to have with the creatures that live all around us.”

Today I’m wondering if my friend Hannah in Philadelphia has ever taken the pigeon-appreciation tour that is getting attention there. Would you?

Kyle Melnick writes at the Washington Post, “Hannah Michelle Brower left her Philadelphia home one evening expecting to return with a bag of groceries. On her walk to the store, however, she came across a pigeon on her neighbor’s stoop that looked like it needed help.

“Brower, a birdwatcher, said her neighbor somehow convinced her to take the pigeon — which couldn’t fly and seemed malnourished — home in a cardboard box. …

“At home, the bird lounged on Brower’s shoulder and lap while Brower fed her seeds and searched online for wildlife rehabilitators.

“ ‘She took my heart right away,’ Brower said about the pigeon she named Primrose.

“She sent Primrose to a rehabilitator, where the bird recovered and ate formula through a syringe for about a month. The rehabilitator told Brower that Primrose might not survive in the wild because she was dependent on humans, so Brower took her in as a pet in October 2022.

“Brower and her partner, Aspen Simone, dug into books about pigeon behavior and their history with humans. The couple talked about how pigeons were unfairly maligned, going back to when a New York City official first called them ‘rats with wings’ in the 1960s. …

“They decided to showcase the glory of Philadelphia’s many pigeon flocks by leading a one-time summer tour.

“They hung up about a dozen posters advertising the tour, and 25 people attended in June 2025. They walked around an outdoor food market, observing pigeons weaving between traffic, nesting, roosting, sleeping on ledges, and eating and drinking. Some tourgoers requested to return, Simone said.

“ ‘We were like, “I guess we should run another one of these,” ‘ Simone said.

“They did, and it was so well received over the following months that the couple started a tour company. In October, the Philadelphia Inquirer called the tours ‘South Philly’s hottest new excursion.’

“Along the way, they were open with tourgoers about the learning curve involved with figuring out how to live with a pigeon. First there was the matter of pigeon droppings. Brower and Simone covered the floor around their refrigerator — where Primrose likes to perch and poop — with birdcage liner. They learned that when Primrose flew to the sink every few days, she wanted a bath. During virtual meetings, Brower and Simone, who are in their mid-30s, appeared on screen while Primrose lounged on their shoulders or heads.

“ ‘We like to say in our household, “A pigeon on the head is a delight to all,” ‘ Brower said as Primrose, 4, perched on her head on a recent afternoon.

“Brower and Simone learned that pigeons were a common source of food for people thousands of years ago and used the sun, and probably the earth’s magnetic field, for navigation. Commonly used to carry messages, pigeons became less useful to people after World War II. … Officials in U.S. cities also blamed the birds for spreading diseases.

‘People started to revile them, thinking that they were dirty birds,’ said Lorrie Monteiro, curator of the American Pigeon Museum and Library in Oklahoma City.

“Brower and Simone have been trying to change that narrative on the tours by sharing the history of humans and pigeons and explaining their behavior, like why they stand on ledges (because they serve as substitutes for the rocky cliffs where their ancestors nested) and how they coo, walk in circles, bow and fan their tail feathers as a mating dance. …

“Simone and Brower now lead between one and three tours each week. … Typically, between 10 and 20 people come on each 90-minute tour, which costs $30 for adults.

“The groups have watched pigeon flocks flee from hawks and have seen pigeons feeding crop milk — a substance adult pigeons produce near their throat — to their babies. Against the sounds of traffic, the groups hear pigeon mating sounds and babies squeaking for food. They listen as the birds clap their wings and take off after spotting a predator. A few times, pigeons have dropped their guano onto tourgoers. …

“Lindsey Benitz said her husband, Danny, and 9-year-old daughter, Mieke, thought it was funny when they were hit by pigeon poop during their tour on Aug. 15. Benitz said that, in the past, she mostly noticed pigeons for the mess they made (she had parked her bike below pigeon flocks and paid the price), but now she has more empathy for them.

“ ‘It’s hard to know what to expect from a pigeon tour,’ said Benitz, 45. ‘But I would say it exceeded my expectations.’ ”

More at the Post, here.