7 Jun 2007 - Marauding Wood Pigeons

Since we have had so much evidence of wood pigeon activity on the site, I decided to see if I could find out a bit more about the largest member of the pigeon family.

 

Wood pigeons are large, heavy looking birds. They are mostly grey with a pinkish breast and a green, white and purple patch on the neck. They have a white band across the wings which can clearly be seen when the bird is in flight, and a dark band on the tail. Their eyes are bright yellow and legs and beak are pink.

 

 

As they walk wood pigeons have a pronounced waddle rather like that of a penguin. When the bird takes to the air it makes a loud clattering noise and during flight the wings make a sound like the crack of a whip.

 

Young wood pigeons, (known as squabs), are browner, generally duller looking birds. They do not have the white patches on their neck which they begin to acquire at about 6 months old.

The call of the wood pigeon is a rather sleepy, husky sounding – coo-coo-coo, coo-coo.

Wood pigeons live in various habitats including woodland, parks, gardens and farmland.

Wood pigeons will eat almost anything placed on a bird table especially large seeds and grains. Its feeding preferences however, often bring in into conflict with vegetable gardeners and farmers. It will voraciously eat any young leaf growth in particular young brassica plants. It also eats peas, grain, buds nuts, acorns and berries. Although it is mostly vegetarian it will occasionally take caterpillars or other invertebrates.

 

Wood pigeons do not get much moisture from their food and, therefore, do drink quite a lot. If you watch most birds drinking, they will scoop water up into their mouths and then throw back their heads so that the water runs down their throats. Wood pigeon however, use their beak to suck up water rather like using a straw.

 

Wood pigeons build very simple nests in bushes or trees. These often only amount to a basic platform on which to lay their two white eggs. The eggs are very conspicuous, however, both male and female bird take turns at incubating the eggs and so they are rarely left uncovered and susceptible to nest robbers such as magpies. The young are fed on crop milk that is produced by both male and female parents. Although the birds only produce small clutches of eggs, they often have two or three broods in a year.

 

Apparently since the 1970’s there has been a 666% increase in the number of wood pigeons in the UK. In the Big Garden Birdwatch run by the RSPB this January, the wood pigeon was 7^th overall and 11^th in our area on the list of most frequently seen birds in the gardens of people participating in the count over “garden birdwatch” weekend.   In our garden, we regularly see a pair of wood pigeons where they take seed from our bird table. They swallow handfuls of whole peanuts but as yet have caused no problem in the garden. They are fairly cautious and timid as they approach the bird table and take off noisily at the first sign of any movement or sudden sound. On the allotment site, however, it is a completely different story. Large groups of at least ten individuals have been counted browsing brassica patches. A local nursery also told me that the wood pigeons were devastating his lettuces. It is by no means a local problem as during a recent visit to Tatton Park in Cheshire, we saw evidence of wood pigeon damage in the walled kitchen garden.  

 

One web site claims that wood pigeons can be deterred by hanging up red cloths. We have resorted to covering crops using netting or enviromesh. I have also noticed fellow plotters using CDs on strings over crops. Has anyone tried the red cloth method or any other successful methods of keeping the birds off your crops? Click here tell us about your strategies.  

 

 

 

So what is causing these birds to have become so successful? Most evidence seems to point to the increase in intensive arable farming and in particular the growing of oil seed rape. This crops provides an over winter, plentiful food source for many brassica pests including wood pigeon. It bridges the gap at a time when shortage of food used to mean that many brassica pests died. Consequently gardeners have seen an increase in pest and disease problems associated with brassica growing.

 

 

 

Cover your brassicas before the pigeons have a feast!   Heavy Duty Anti Bird Netting is a high density polyethylene netting with a 20mm x 20mm diamond mesh and is the same high quality netting that is used on the roof of our fruit cages. Available in a choice of four width options and supplied by the linear metre or extra value 100m rolls.    CLICK HERE