A pigeon perched on a water fountain near a New York City ferry was patiently waiting for someone like Steven Pesantez for help.
Thursday, Pesantez and Mariel Mitkowski noticed the bird at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal in Manhattan. It looked thirsty.
So, they thought it would be funny to offer the bird a drink. Pesantez walked over to the fountain. Mitkowski started recording.
Pesantez pushed the button for water. Surprisingly, the bird wasn’t scared away. Ecstatic about the fountain of water, it started drinking.
After about 20 seconds of bobbing in the fountain, the pigeon took flight.
“It was an awesome moment helping the little guy get some water,” Pesantez told USA TODAY.
This isn’t the only time a pigeon has been recorded looking for a drink at the terminal’s water fountains. In 2017, a video posted to Instagram showed two pigeons sitting in a fountain trying to get water.
New York’s Wild Bird Fund took to Twitter (naturally) to say it’s heard “credible reports that this is a regular phenomenon at the Staten Island ferry terminal fountains, not a one-time occurrence.”
While some commenters thought the act of kindness by Pesantez, AKA “pigeon boye”on Instagram, was “cute,” “incredible” and funny, others also were a little alarmed about the sanitation of the fountain.
If you get a little grit in your water, don’t be too alarmed. The New York City Health Department says pigeon droppings pose only “modest health risks.”
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Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
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