A family of pigeons hitched a ride on a postal van for weeks before anyone noticed.
Louise Thomas, a Royal Mail worker in Nailsea, north Somerset, said the birds went undetected for more than three weeks until Saturday, when the mother was spotted trying to climb underneath the van.
Local rescue team Curious Critters was called in and retrieved two babies, known as squabs, and an adult female. A spokesperson said all three birds were “in good health”.
“Given pigeons sit on their eggs for around 18 days, and the squabs are at least three weeks old, they have been under there a long time,” the spokesperson added.
The birds were taken to the charity’s rehabilitation aviary in Backwell, where they will be released together once ready.
Two Curious Critters volunteers, Sarah and Emma, said they had to lift the van with an A-frame to get underneath before finding the birds peering out from behind the machinery.
“The gap they had nestled into was extremely narrow and right at the back of the chassis,” they said.
The three birds were carefully removed and placed in a carrier before being taken to the aviary together, where the mother has continued feeding them.
“Surprisingly all three were clean and in excellent health,” Emma said, according to the BBC.
“The squabs’ crops [esophagus] were full so the parents have been feeding them well.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said the birds must have made the 5 kilometre postal van trip between the Nailsea delivery office and Flax Bourton every day.
“A colleague at our Nailsea delivery office spotted a bird trying to get underneath one of our vans and, after taking a closer look, realised a small nest had been tucked away there for a while,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s not something we see every day but we’re really glad it was spotted and that the birds could be safely rehomed.”
The rescue team described pigeons as “resourceful” and said they believed the nest had been built on the internal framework because it was “warm, dry and safe from predators”.
“We’ve heard of many animals nesting or getting trapped in or under vehicles but never for this amount of time and not only surviving but thriving,” a spokesperson said.
“Once the juveniles are fully independent and flying well they will all be released and will hopefully find a better place to nest in the future.”
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