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So do pigeons migrate in the winter?


turbo33
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Very good links yickdaz. That is some migration from somewhere.

 

However you have incorrectly identified the country let alone the region. That countryside is 'south of Birmingham', they are the sort of numbers regularly seen in that area, the langauge is the local dialect or patois, and if you look carefully PC can be seen shooting a thrush.

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Very good links yickdaz. That is some migration from somewhere.

 

However you have incorrectly identified the country let alone the region. That countryside is 'south of Birmingham', they are the sort of numbers regularly seen in that area, the langauge is the local dialect or patois, and if you look carefully PC can be seen shooting a thrush.

:lol:

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Very good links yickdaz. That is some migration from somewhere.

 

However you have incorrectly identified the country let alone the region. That countryside is 'south of Birmingham', they are the sort of numbers regularly seen in that area, the langauge is the local dialect or patois, and if you look carefully PC can be seen shooting a thrush.

Yam got it rong again I was shooting with thrush!!!!!!!!!!

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They migrate from the north down through the midlands to the south . When I spend time on the Greek mainland I always go to local gun shop for a natter and a look at his pictures of woodies he has shot during the winter . I get my own back with a few of my pictures. When Scotland has wet cold weather we see an increase in birds in the midlands

I thought they all got shot once they reached you and David.lol

 

Dave K

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I have a friend who is a bird watcher he travels all over the world but likes his pigeon meat,he has told me many times about flocks of woodies in their millions coming over the sea at flanborough in East Yorkshire .he says these are from Scandinavia .

very interesting that Micheal, the area you mention is flamborough close to Bridlington i know the area very well.

there is a well known lighthouse at flamborough, perhaps the birds use this landmark for direction?

just been watching autumn watch about migration, and they say migrating birds use landmarks.

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I have a friend who is a bird watcher he travels all over the world but likes his pigeon meat,he has told me many times about flocks of woodies in their millions coming over the sea at flanborough in East Yorkshire .he says these are from Scandinavia .

Never heard of this and never seen millions of pigeons in East Yorkshire or passing through.

I think it is a bit of an exaggeration and having lived in the area all my life i find it totally unbelievable.

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Never heard of this and never seen millions of pigeons in East Yorkshire or passing through.

I think it is a bit of an exaggeration and having lived in the area all my life i find it totally unbelievable.

Because scandinavian, and russian winters are much more severe than in the uk, Large numbers of wood pigeons, field fares etc migrate to the uk, Not sure which route they take to get here though.

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Never heard of this and never seen millions of pigeons in East Yorkshire or passing through.

I think it is a bit of an exaggeration and having lived in the area all my life i find it totally unbelievable.

Whenever we see terrible weather forecast for Scotland or Northen England we defiantly see an increase in the pigeon numbers in the Midlands. The birds will use the river valleys as a form of motorway as they have a proliferation of wooded areas for resting/roosting . You say that your in East Yorkshire which could be exposed to the extreme weather and force the birds down the centre or west of the country. I think they go into a survival mode and move for food and warmth. That's my experience over twenty four years. I remember the winter of 1962 when we had flocks of pigeons coming into the city for warmth, you could not fit another bird on the allotments and the trees had branches broken down by the number of birds roosting on them . They were so weak that they would not fly off only if your we're two or three feet away. Daz and JDog made comments re the Spanish Migration , this is proof that they do migrate from Northen Europe whether this includes Scotland is open for debate.

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Whenever we see terrible weather forecast for Scotland or Northen England we defiantly see an increase in the pigeon numbers in the Midlands. The birds will use the river valleys as a form of motorway as they have a proliferation of wooded areas for resting/roosting . You say that your in East Yorkshire which could be exposed to the extreme weather and force the birds down the centre or west of the country. I think they go into a survival mode and move for food and warmth. That's my experience over twenty four years. I remember the winter of 1962 when we had flocks of pigeons coming into the city for warmth, you could not fit another bird on the allotments and the trees had branches broken down by the number of birds roosting on them . They were so weak that they would not fly off only if your we're two or three feet away. Daz and JDog made comments re the Spanish Migration , this is proof that they do migrate from Northen Europe whether this includes Scotland is open for debate.

 

In other parts of the country you may notice a difference in the increase of the pigeon population which i do not dispute.

But i have never noticed any increase in pigeon population during the winter where i am ever.

I believe some of our native pigeons will move around the country looking for food in flocks.

But i was replying to the post saying flocks of millions of pigeons have been seen at Flamborough coming across the sea from Scandinavia.

I had never before seen or heard of this phenomenon and therefore remain sceptic.

I do not believe this country gets a mass migration every year of pigeons from Scandinavia.

 

Do woodpigeon migrate | Shooting times

 

Wood Pigeon Migration - BirdForum

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In other parts of the country you may notice a difference in the increase of the pigeon population which i do not dispute.

But i have never noticed any increase in pigeon population during the winter where i am ever.

I believe some of our native pigeons will move around the country looking for food in flocks.

But i was replying to the post saying flocks of millions of pigeons have been seen at Flamborough coming across the sea from Scandinavia.

I had never before seen or heard of this phenomenon and therefore remain sceptic.

I do not believe this country gets a mass migration every year of pigeons from Scandinavia.

 

Do woodpigeon migrate | Shooting times

 

Wood Pigeon Migration - BirdForum

I respect your opinion and think the only way is to ring birds and perhaps but a bounty on the return of the ring with location, perhaps all our migrating birds come for the Cotswolds??????

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Not sure if I have said this before. Probably bit the French shoot them on migration. There so high they have to make stands in the tree tops!

 

I have also seen pigeon making land in Norfolk, they have no reason what so ever to be out at sea.

 

Karpman

http://www.gourmetfly.com/Huntpal.htm

Edited by karpman
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Never heard of this and never seen millions of pigeons in East Yorkshire or passing through.

I think it is a bit of an exaggeration and having lived in the area all my life i find it totally unbelievable.

i can see flamborough head from the back of my house and lived very close by on the coast for many years. i work up and down the east coast and have never seen any noticeable pigeons coming in off the sea some of the farms that i shot on are right up to the cliff edge north and south of flamborough head but it might happen ?

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I don't doubt that Pigeons do migrate here from Scandinavia..only last night on Autumn Watch there was a reported 4000 birds confirmed arriving in the NE of England from Scandinavia.

 

However the resident British population do not "emigrate" to Europe en mass as far as I am aware.

 

Pigeons rung by the BTO and other birding organisations do turn up in France and the CI but not in any significant numbers and it may be that these birds are just migrant birds returning to Europe.

 

In nearly 45 years of serious birding, including membership of the RSPCA and survey work for the BTO in that time I've never heard of sightings of large flocks of woodpigeon leaving these shores...and if they did they could easily be picked up on todays sophisticated radar systems.

Edited by Fisherman Mike
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