MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS Correspondent Irina Skalina/. Have you ever toured a steamboat or ship? I have been to historical ships, sailboats, and a nuclear icebreaker, but the biggest impression was from a tour around a small cargo ship, the Onega. That's because my guide was... a pigeon! To mark the International Bird Day (April 1), here is a story about an unusual pet.
The handsome from the Onega
I have always been indifferent to pigeons: just birds, often getting in the way, not really smart - that's what I used to think about them. Until my friend Yury invited me to join him to visit the Onega.
- Imagine, the Onega's captain has a pet pigeon, and he is very smart! He guards the ship and even talks. Well, he's almost talking.
Although skeptical, I agreed.
Evgeny Gorkovets, the steamer's owner, invited us to have tea. Big shepherd Lizka lay down at the feet, and here appeared a big blue pigeon - he fluttered onto the table, danced between cups and cookies, clearly admiring our attention.
- Oh, he's showing off, that's what he loves! So, meet Click Coo! The pigeon squinted at the owner still walking around the table. - In fact, he is not allowed on the table, he knows this perfectly well, and takes advantage of the owner's good mood.
Click checked very seriously what we had brought, pecked at a cookie, put his beak in a mug, jumped on my hand, then on Lizka under the table, and, completely satisfied, settled on the owner's shoulder. He scratched the bird, and the pigeon, almost like a cat, arched its neck, exposing other suitable places.
- I've got it when he was a baby bird. He had flown not to us, but to a friend's workshop - must have fallen out from somewhere. He was left overnight, and then the friend brought him to me. I understood he wanted to brag: he comes into the salon, and here is a pigeon sitting on his shoulder. And the pigeon immediately jumps from his shoulder onto mine, and then refused to go to anyone else. The friend reaches out for him, but he pecks. He sat on my shoulder and wouldn’t move anywhere, - Evgeny laughed.
Catching up with the steamer
This is how the pigeon settled on the Onega. At first, they called him Coo, but then they realized from the habits that he was really not a Coo, but a Click. He has been living there for three years, goes to sea and wouldn't doubt he's a crew member. He doesn't sit on the ship all the time, from time to time he flies away on his pigeon business. One day, he was late, and the ship departed on a voyage without him. Evgeny thought the bird was gone. When the Onega returned, the pigeon was patiently waiting on the dock.
- There he was, scolded us for having left without the crew member, - the captain nodded at the pigeon that was looking at him very attentively. - Here he flies: coo-coo-coo, what are you guys doing, how could you!
Another time, the pigeon caught up with the ship in the open sea already. The ship was being unloaded on the Megra River in the Mezen District. The process was long, and the pigeon periodically flew into the forest, where he messed with wild guys, and missed the moment that the Onega was departing. That time, he caught up with the ship not even on the river, but at the White Sea Throat - it is a strait, connecting the White Sea with the Barents Sea. The strait is known for unstable weather and stormy winds.
- Did he fly right above the sea? - I asked suspiciously.
- Yes, he caught up with us right in the Throat. Oh, he did swear…
From Igarka to Arkhangelsk
Evgeny has been sailing since childhood. He was born in Vorkuta, and with his father, a Navy, traveled the Far East: the Sakhalin, Kamchatka, then he joined the army from Norilsk, after that lived in Igarka, where he built a yacht, on which he sailed to the Black Sea. This yacht is still probably sailing there in the south. Its name was the Siren, but after being sold to the Odessa Film Studio the name was changed to the Holy Mary.
- Stylistically it was like a wooden schooner, though made of metal. Siren was the name she had picked, - Evgeny said. - She was made of steel, I made it to fit the style. I had running rigging inside the mast so that extra ropes wouldn't dangle. And that mast turned out to be a whistle! We brought her to the Igarka to launch there, and stayed at the port overnight, everything was fine. In the morning, the wind changed and began to blow through the holes. It wasn't just a whistle, it was a howl all the way through the head. Everyone jumped off the steamers to see who had turned on the siren. It took us a while to realize that the whistle was coming from us. That's how she became the "Siren".
Evgeny worked in the south for 14 years, bought the Onega steamer there. The ship did not have a name, just a code. The new owner decided to give her a northern name. He eyed many options to pick the Onega - he once had sailed along that river.
- They often call me after her - Onegin! - He laughed. - I couldn't resist returning to the North.
So, Evgeny headed for the North, planned to reach the Igarka, but had to spend the winter in Arkhangelsk. He stayed there to remain for good. He insulated the Onega and started carrying cargo in the Arctic this time: all over the White Sea, along the Barents Sea coast, and he has sailed with expeditions even to Novaya Zemlya. He says that in the North he especially likes contrasts. You can leave Arkhangelsk in May, where the leaves are green and the flowers, towards, say, Nizhnyaya Pesha or Oma in the Nenets Autonomous Region, covered with snow, to return ten days later to the flowers, or, possibly, to a snowfall - anything is possible.
The pigeon is also exploring the Arctic. Perhaps soon he will sail on a passenger ship. The demand for cargo shipments along the Arctic coast has been shrinking - people have been fleeing the villages.
- While in the past, to, say, Pertominsk, which you can see from our roof, we were fully loaded, nowadays there's no full loading, are there are few people there, they come mostly for the summer. Previously, it all was organized, warehouses were stuck with onions and potatoes for the coming winter. We used to make several voyages during a navigation to bring goods to the warehouses. Nowadays, everything is different, and the cargo transportation, let's say, is lame," he explained.
However, now there are tourists who are curious to see the White Sea islands or some coasts in the north, to see places where almost no human had set foot.
- The North has become an attraction, though the locals are not numerous, and visitors mostly come from Moscow, St. Petersburg, from the central part - to them everything is unusual here.
The bird got bored with long talks and turned attention to himself. He flew up onto my shoulder, then flew to the refrigerator, waited for me to come up and jumped onto a small ladder leading to the bridge. Clearly, he was inviting me to see around the ship. Jumping up the steps, he looked back to see if I was following. The pigeon strutted around the cage, moved to the starboard side, walked on, jumped on the steering wheel, and was swinging on it. After a quick snack, waved his wing, the guide invited me back. When we returned to the mess hall, he demonstrated to me he was leaving the ship and flying back through the porthole.
Home porthole
In winter, when the Onega is moored, Click lives at Evgeny's house. Being comfortable at home, he is not particularly eager to go outside, although a few times he has flown out to chat with other guys. Evgeny even had to look for him. As a flock was passing by, he flew out the window and disappeared. The owner said: the wife and I waited at first, and then went to look for the bird. We've checked that flock - he wasn't there.
- He's different, one finger phalanx is missing - cut off by the door. Plus, the paws' color is, so to say, domestic - always so clean.
We decided to check the steamer, he continued. We were right - the pigeon ended up there, and apparently had been looking for an open porthole and, failing to find one, fell into a narrow gap near a barrel of water.
- The wings wouldn't open, nor could he jump up, - Evgeny recalled. - Luckily, I peep into there and see - there he is looking at me with such eyes.…
Then, the family realized the pigeon could not identify the home window in the high-rise building, but could remember through which entrance it was brought inside. After another leisure adventure, he waited for the owners at the entrance. They had been again looking for him, even at the steamer, failed to find the bird, got upset, were returning home, and suddenly out of nowhere he dived right onto the back of dog Lizka and continued riding home. Since then, this is how he returns to the entrance, though in fact he is not that much a fan of adventures. As for other birds, he rarely communicates with them and tries to keep them off his own Onega.
One day, together with the owner, they went shopping, leaving everything on the ship open. When they came back, the steamer was full of pigeons that were finishing Click's feed. Evgeny said he was at a loss not sure what to do.
- Here, Click flies in after me, and he looks at me, saying: come on, Grandpa, step aside, I'll deal with them. How he was chasing them! I was just sitting, and he kicked everyone out.
He even has fought an attacking cat. The predator attacked Click inside the cabin. The bird would not escape, but pecked the offender right in the eye.
- He enjoys fighting! Now that he has become older, calmer, he wouldn't peck all strangers right away, like he did earlier. I could never imagine my pet would be a pigeon. I mean it! I've got so used to him. At first, I thought maybe I should give it to someone or to a zoo. But now, no, even if they try to persuade me, I will not part with him. That's it, we've become friends.