I am Living A Hitchcock Movie

Across from my kitchen window is another building which houses a party supply store. The alley way between our buildings is fenced in on one end and a wall is on the other so it is cut off from the street. The windows in the building across the way are barred, and several pigeons have made nests on the windowsills.

Oddly enough, I like the pigeons. They aren't screechy, relatively clean, and they mate for life, so I have watched several generations of pigeons born and leave the nest. Actually, it's the baby pigeons that won me over, since like most baby animals, they are fluffy and cute.

My super doesn't feel so kindly disposed towards the pigeons. So one day a couple of months ago he decided to tie several soda cans together, and hang them from the bars of the windows. I suppose he thought the noise would scare them away, and it did - for about a half hour. Being city pigeons and all, they got used to it pretty quickly, and settled back in. He then took to going out at night and rattling the cans around. This little tactic didn't even get them to move, let alone leave permanently.

Little did my super know that this little plan would have an unexpected effect. Now, with their territory invaded, the pigeons have decided to wage a subtle war of dominance against our building. For instance: every once in a while you will see a pigeon perched on a soda can, staring defiantly at our building. The newest hatchling in particular, now in birdie adolescence, has taken to swooping down - barely missing my kitchen window -and proceeding to perch on the window ledge, and strutting back and forth while my cats go wild in frustration. Yesterday, the war escalated as no less than five pigeons swept down from the windowsills and roof and started marching back and forth in precise formation up and down the length of the alley. My cats don't know what to make of this new aggression. They have tried their usual tricks of sitting in the window and warbling their "don't mind me, I'm just a little bird" tunes, but the pigeons merely look at them, their beady eyes shining in mocking disdain.

I can't wait to see what is next. If my body is found, pecked to death and covered in feathers, you know what happened.