Birds in St. Mark's Square

In 2008, Venice banned the feeding of pigeons in St. Mark's square. This was done for the health of everyone as well as cleanliness factors. There are still quite a few birds hanging out hoping some of the tourists didn't get the message.

 We were sitting on a curb eating lunch and when they finished the kids wanted to go chase the birds. Clearly, they had energy so we let them. In this photo you can see the pigeon at the top flying away from the two year olds chasing it.

The kids found groups of pigeons and for some reason these pigeons decided to run away rather than fly. That just made the game more fun!

 

O.k. pigeons, new game plan - run in different directions. Hmmm, these children just won't give up!

I've never seen a look of clear panic on a bird before. However, deciding which way to go can be challenging. Two year olds on one side, a building on the second side, a large dog on the third side, and a group of people eating lunch on the fourth side. The bird whipped it's head around a couple of times and flew straight up.