The pigeon rule for fireworks night is simple: be home before dark
Pigeons navigate superbly by day and very poorly at night. A pigeon flushed off a perch or out of a loft by a sudden bang in darkness can fly blind into wires, walls and traffic, and a bird that lands somewhere unfamiliar after dark will sit tight and silent until morning, exposed to cold and predators. That single fact shapes everything: fireworks night for a pigeon keeper is won or lost in the hour before dusk, by getting every bird inside, counted and latched in, rather than by anything done once the noise begins.
Loft birds: closing down early and calmly
Call or feed loft birds in earlier than usual, using the routine they already know, so returning home is their idea rather than a chase. Once they are in, shut the trap and any pop-holes, close or cover vents that face likely displays to cut the strobe of flashes, and leave a low, steady light on in the loft if your birds are used to one. A dim constant light is safer than darkness for this species too, because a startled pigeon that can see its perch mates and the loft layout flutters and resettles instead of launching.
Fasten doors with the latches you would trust against a determined intruder, since a rattling door in wind plus fireworks can work a weak catch loose.
Indoor and single pet pigeons
A house pigeon should spend the evening in its normal cage or pen in a quiet internal room, curtains drawn, with soft background sound playing. Pigeons are flock animals at heart, so a single bird benefits from your quiet presence in the room far more than from being picked up and held through each bang, which restrains the wings it would use to balance and can turn fear into panic. Offer the usual seed before dark and let the bird settle on its preferred flat perch or shelf; pigeons rest more comfortably on a broad surface than gripping a round dowel, and a settled bird with feet flat weathers the night better.
Keep cats and dogs out of the room and make sure windows are shut, because a pigeon that does flutter free indoors will head for the brightest rectangle it can see.
During the night: resist the check that opens doors
Once birds are shut in, leave them shut in. Opening the loft at midnight to reassure yourself risks exactly the flush into darkness the whole plan exists to prevent, and torchlight sweeping the perches startles birds that had settled. Listen from outside if you are worried; a loft that has gone quiet again between volleys is coping. The same discipline applies indoors, where a quick visual check from the doorway replaces any urge to lift the bird out.
Dawn: the count that matters
Go out at first light and count properly, perch by perch, rather than assuming. A pigeon missing after fireworks has most likely spent the night somewhere close, sitting still, and may come in hungrily once it can see; leave the trap arrangement as you normally would for a returning bird, with feed and water visible, and watch through the morning before concluding it is truly lost. Check the birds that are home for the usual night-fright evidence: scalped skin on the head from a collision, a drooped wing, or a bird that will not feed with the flock. Injuries and a bird that stays fluffed and apart deserve an avian vet's advice the same day.
If a bird is still missing once the morning has passed, widening the watch quickly is what brings pigeons home, and KinsLe's Circle of Love links your free account into a local network of pet lovers who can keep an eye on rooftops, gardens and streets for your pigeon.