they had become beacons of light unto eachother
herding pigeons is an action that disrupts the normal flow of things, paths and flows become blocked; the chaos of the flock is emancipated from its nest. the force of the flock also becomes disrupted, children and dogs being the main offenders: those who embrace their joyous desires to dissolve the herd - unaware that their actions attempt to uphold the current dominant flows of society.
our pigeons, the feral ones, descended from columba livia, columba livia domestica, columba livia forma urbana, have returned to the wild. society's need for them having run its course, they are now only seen in the same way we see an alley smelling of piss and full of glass - a way in which we don't see at all. because of this columba livia forma urbana are an invisible ocean. for someone walking through the centre of their feeding grounds they part, radiating a quietude, letting the person's feet follow their path of desire, without the need to give any consideration for our friendly band of downtrodden tramps.
this understanding isn't present only in the individuals, but in legislation. in the uk, pigeons are covered under the "general licences" and can be humanely culled by the land owner or their agent for a variety of reasons including spread of human disease.
there is a sense of this across the world; feral pigeons are considered a pest by who.[1] their treatment by humans seems to be of little concern, with the focus instead on how pigeons could pass disease and infection onto humans. epidemiologists recommend the following approaches: this common perception of pigeons as outcasts of society, once the symbol of the raf's tactical communication wing, now a lowly pest, is something many humans on the underbelly of society, those who are seeking something beyond from beneath, connect to: the sacred dove that found land for noah's ark, the lowly pigeon, of the same species.

perhaps herding pigeons is an action embodying this connection, a co-operation and play, differentiating itself from humanity's usually oppressive interaction with our feral wanderers: culling, sterilisation, domestication for: meat, homing, racing, sports, exhibition, pigeon fancying, or experimentation in laboratories.

us from below - we seek to understand our friends. we seek to become them.
[1]
[2]
[3]