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====== Corvid Isle Residents ======

===== Pigeon Bianca =====

{{ :pigeon_bianca_02.jpeg?200|}}Bianca is a white pigeon, most likely one of the many released at weddings or funerals. She is very likely one of those dove-like selectively bred white homing pigeons. Customers are usually reassured that reputable companies train white homing pigeons to fly immediately home after being released and that they ensure the birds’ safety throughout the event and beyond. What is advertised and sold as being a homage to a person passed, or as a magical moment and talking point during a wedding, is just another example of animal abuse and the cruelty caused by human self-centredness and ignorance. Bianca is one of the many released birds who did not find their way back to their loft.

===== A Second Chance =====

Bianca came to us in January 2014. She is one of the few lucky white pigeons, who got rescued after getting lost. Many of the released birds get disorientated, starve to death, get run over by cars or get killed by predators. The simple reason is that these birds are nothing else than pets. They do not know how to survive in the wild. Her white colouration makes them prime targets for predators, even if they manage to join a local feral pigeon flock, when looking for safety in numbers.

Bianca has been found unconscious on the ground by a caring person, when she lay in front of a large building. She obviously collided with an obstacle, most likely a window, whilst trying to escape a bird of prey attack. Not long after she arrived at our sanctuary, Bianca regained consciousness. However, her situation remained critical. Unsurprisingly, she was in shock and our admission assessment revealed a severe concussion with traumatic injuries to both eyes and multiple deep piercing injuries consistent with a bird of prey attack.

===== The Long Way of Recovery =====

We managed to stabilise Bianca and treated successfully her wounds. The most difficult task was to give her the reassurance and safety she desperately sought. Bianca was obviously not able to use her eyes, and was essentially blind. We found out quite quickly that the only way to keep her calm was for her to be as close as possible to us. Physical contact, gentle touch and calm voices were the key. And so she stayed with us day and night for several weeks. We managed to safe one of her eyes. The other eye remained unfortunately permanently damaged.

After Bianca made a good recovery, she bonded with another lost soul, a rescued crested archangel pigeon we named Merlot. Both birds lived happily together until July 2018, when Merlot passed away peacefully in his sleep, next to Bianca. Both birds were incredibly caring foster parents. Despite her loss, we decided to introduce Bianca to our small feral pigeon flock. She accepted the challenge and adapted very well to the new environment. After a few months of grieving she bonded with Marcus, a disabled feral pigeon. Bianca is fully independent, despite her visual impairment. It fills us with much joy, when we see her being happy and content again enjoying the life with Marcus, and when she comes to us for the occasional cuddle.