- How many mishaps do we need before people stop throwing bizarre gender reveal parties?
Gender reveal parties have gotten a bad rap over the last few years. It’s not undeserved, considering multiple deaths and massive wildfires directly linked to the parties.
Fortunately, this latest incident didn’t result in massive property damage or loss of life. It certainly won’t do anything to improve gender reveal parties’ reputation.
Recently, Crystal White, an Arizona wildlife rehabilitator, received a call from a concerned citizen. The caller informed White that she’d spotted strange blue pigeons.
After catching the birds and doing some sleuthing, White discovered that they had originated from Sacred Dove Release, a local pigeon breeder. They had been dyed blue for use in a gender reveal party.
According to the breeder, the dye used on the birds is non-toxic and won’t harm the birds. White, however, believes it could have unexpected health effects and make the pigeons vulnerable to predators while they’re flying about.
As to the couple whose child’s gender the pigeons announced? They say they thought the pigeon reveal stunt was a common one and that they regret using the birds.
Pigeons in Blue
Crystal White runs Crystal’s Critter Haven, a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation center in Mesa, Arizona. As such, she’s used to getting reports of distressed animals that need help.
She didn’t expect the call she would get on June 11, though. Her phone rang, and on the line was a woman wanting to make a report about some pigeons she’d seen near Coon Bluff on the Salt River, northeast of Phoenix.
These weren’t your usual pigeons. According to the caller, they were bright blue.
White told 12 News that the caller had managed to catch a couple of the birds.
“I said, ‘Well, I can help you bring them in,’ and didn’t think much of it. And she goes, ‘Well, there were three more that I couldn’t catch,’” recalled White.
White received the pigeons, and they were indeed a baby blue color. To find the rest of the birds, she turned to social media and asked people to call her if they saw weird blue pigeons flapping about.
Meanwhile, White started looking into why the birds were blue.
Unharmed Birds?
White discovered that the pigeons originated from Sacred Dove Release, a company based in Queen Creek run by Monica Flores. Sacred Dove Release arranges dove releases (surprise, surprise) at funerals, birthday parties, and other events.
Flores said that this was the first time she had organized a bird release at a gender reveal party. She also added that it was the first time she’d dyed her birds.
“I thought it was a beautiful idea because of the celebration that she was trying to make happen,” said Flores, referring to the mother of the yet-to-be-born child.
She explained that the dyes she used on the birds were dangerous to them.
“I would never put my birds in harm. I used non-toxic food coloring, I have my own procedure on how I apply it to them,” Flores stated.
As to why the birds were roaming about, Flores said that pigeons often take their time to return home from a release. However, the birds are famous for finding their way, and they usually come back.
“Birds can travel up to 300 miles. Sometimes they take detours, but they always make it home,” Flores said.
Finally, she added that due to the negative publicity this incident had caused, Flores would not use dyes on her birds again.
Potential Danger
Despite Flores’ claims, White isn’t convinced that the dye substances are completely harmless to pigeons. A veterinarian White works with had inspected the birds and told her that the long-term health effects of any dyes are unknown when used on birds.
“They have very sensitive respiratory systems, and so them inhaling anything or ingesting anything could possibly cause harm,” she explained.
Additionally, even if the dye itself wasn’t harmful, it does make the birds stand out in nature. That increases their chances of getting spotted and eaten by predators before making it home.
White said she had dyed bathing the pigeons, but they were still a pale blue even after a wash. She stated that she’s in contact with Flores and intends to return her pigeons once she’s sure they’re completely healthy.
‘We’re Heartbroken’
But what about the couple who used the birds at their gender reveal party? They don’t want to be identified (for understandable reasons), but they stated that they regret having played a part in the blue pigeon incident.
“We were under the impression this has been done many times and is harmless to the birds using a temporary skin/food-safe dye that would be washed off immediately after our reveal,” the couple said in a prepared statement.
“We’re heartbroken to see the way things played out and wish we could change what happened,” they added.
And there you have it, folks. If you do throw a gender reveal party, just stick to balloons or a colored cake.
As I mentioned in the beginning, this is far from the first time gender reveal parties have had unexpected and tragic consequences. Read the stories about the 2021 airplane crash that killed two people and the 2020 California wildfire that started with a gender reveal party.