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Have you experienced an increase in Stock Doves in your area


birdsallpl
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Loads of them around here, at least a dozen landed today into my pattern... there are in greater number than woodies at the moment... :sad1:

 

I'll second that, I was out on a pea drilling yesterday, I had far more Stock Doves come in to the deeks than Woodies, but, as others have said, they do help to draw the Woodies in by floating around over the pattern.

 

Cat.

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  • 1 year later...

What do you call rock doves?

 

The true rock dove is the ancestor of feral, racers and all the ornamental doves. Now limited to parts of coastal Scotland, Wales and west country where there are high cliffs.

 

I trust that you won't be eating anymore stock doves.

 

Yes stock doves and a!so what we call rock doves which are getting more common around these parts why I don't know, a lot faster than woodies and quicker to notice something untoward but seem to come into my decoys very willingly, I have eaten them and must prefer them to woodies.

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Stock dove populations dived big time in the 60’s & 70’s this decline was put firmly at the Farmers door because it coincided with the widespread use of organochloride in pesticides like DDT and also similar in seed dressings.

 

The recovery has been strong since the product has been banned but it can take years for the effects of such organic compounds to leave the body. Some people who ingested cereals or foodstuffs contaminated with OG’s in the 70’s still show high residual levels now.

 

It’s not just the Stock Dove which suffered either, Corn buntings, Grey partridge, Corncrakes, Finches even the humble Sparrow all were exposed to various degrees.

 

The simple method of identification is to look for the white neck ring, if its got one it will be a wood pigeon (unless it’s a young woody) The flight too is quite distinctive. If you shoot regularly you will soon be able to tell the difference between the flight of a Dove and that of a Wood Pigeon.

 

Rock Doves are generally found only in cliff side coastal areas and are getting increasingly scarce.

Edited by Fisherman Mike
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Stock dove populations dived big time in the 60’s & 70’s this decline was put firmly at the Farmers door because it coincided with the widespread use of organochloride in pesticides like DDT and also similar in seed dressings.

 

The recovery has been strong since the product has been banned but it can take years for the effects of such organic compounds to leave the body. Some people who ingested cereals or foodstuffs contaminated with OG’s in the 70’s still show high residual levels now.

 

It’s not just the Stock Dove which suffered either, Corn buntings, Grey partridge, Corncrakes, Finches even the humble Sparrow all were exposed to various degrees.

 

The simple method of identification is to look for the white neck ring, if its got one it will be a wood pigeon (unless it’s a young woody) The flight too is quite distinctive. If you shoot regularly you will soon be able to tell the difference between the flight of a Dove and that of a Wood Pigeon.

 

Rock Doves are generally found only in cliff side coastal areas and are getting increasingly scarce.

NOT at the farmers doorstep, DEFRA, MAFF, or whatever it was ok'd these chemicals, even recommended them, not all farmers are ecotoxicologists.

 

Aside to that I agree, easy to see in flight, but difficult when it gets very busy.

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NOT at the farmers doorstep, DEFRA, MAFF, or whatever it was ok'd these chemicals, even recommended them, not all farmers are ecotoxicologists.

 

Aside to that I agree, easy to see in flight, but difficult when it gets very busy.

OK sorry I will re phrase that .... at the Farming Industries door step...however many Farmers continued using them even after it was found that they were harmful I'm afraid.

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couple of places around here that when out on the pigeons stock doves are guaranteed to drop in on the deeks, they are easily spotted and the fact they tend to drop in singularly helps, but yes saw more last season than I have previously noted.

 

 

KW

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You could shoot blue rocks( stock doves) up until the early 1980s . I used to sell to the game dealer for about 5p back then wood pigeons fetched around 20-30p , not a lot has changed there! The numbers around here are pretty stable ,it very much depends on the crop your shooting over on how many you see. They feed more on grain/ seeds than wood pigeons

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I set up under a small flight line yesterday (suffolk/essex border). Most woodies were to high for me though so left em. A few decoyed but a good half of those were pairs of rock doves. Several times i had to double glance before i shot to make sure!

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