BREEDING BIRDS

[Highlander]

Just got back from a pigeon recce and saw mother duck (mallard) with 6 ducklings no more than a few days old. Global warming or what! Also 3 yes 3 all white pheasant chicks with mum in a batch of 6 wild bred ones.

[kirky640]

the proffesionals were ferreting at the week end past and they bolted baby rabbits

it is october isnt it?

warm times kirky

[Highlander]

Seems like Woody's not the only thing that'll breed nearly all year round...if given the chance

[Topgunners]

We do , don't we??

 

 

 

Dave K

[Highlander]

We do , don't we??

 

 

 

Dave K

 

Practice maybe...breed

[Suffolk shooter]

We've got woodies building nests in the trees at work here and they have been doing it right the way through from last year. Seen four broods in the year, crazy really

[Paul in North Lincs.]

At my local petrol station collared doves are nesting in the stantions above the pumps................bring back those good cold and icey winters.........Its bizare how the seasons have changed..even in the last 10 years

[M ROBSON]

It's not the weather that makes them breed, it's the amount of daylight hours.

 

There have always been late broods, it's just in the past the weather would kill off the young. Now it's warm enough for them to survive.

 

Mark.

[Paul in North Lincs.]

It's not the weather that makes them breed, it's the amount of daylight hours.

 

There have always been late broods, it's just in the past the weather would kill off the young. Now it's warm enough for them to survive.

 

Mark.

 

 

I would disagree....................................Birds never used to breed all year round.........winters are warmer nowdays.....warmer weather means more food.....more food means more young................the length of days in the winter are not changing ..

 

the ability for birds to breed and youngsters to survive is depenant on the climate...ie. the weather

[M ROBSON]

It is a scientific fact that sunlight hours are the controlling factor of the breeding patterns of birds.

 

Like I said, the weather will control the survival rate of these late broods.

 

We breed captive Hawian Geese that nest in February due to their natural location.

 

 

The effect of daylight hours on a bird

Birds perceive light in two ways. Firstly, through the eye. The retina of the eye is capable of transmitting information about the intensity, colour composition, and polarisation (direction) of light. This information travels in two directions; to the brain via the optic nerve, and through a special pathway to the pituitary gland.

 

Birds have an additional way of perceiving light, a special gland which surrounds the eye, called the Harderian Gland. This gland measures the duration of light a bird experiences, known as the photoperiod, and passes this information onto the pineal gland.

 

Both the pituitary gland and the pineal gland act as regulators to the endocrine system and thus effect the whole metabolism and reproductive system of the bird.

 

Cheers,

Mark.

[Suffolk shooter]

It's not the weather that makes them breed, it's the amount of daylight hours.

 

There have always been late broods, it's just in the past the weather would kill off the young. Now it's warm enough for them to survive.

 

Mark.

 

I agree with you regarding the daylight hours, but only in respect of poultry such as chickens.

 

Also your right there have always been late broods and that the cold weather killed off the young, but due to the amount of food/cover still available and the fact that we only have a very cold period (normally Jan-Feb) these broods are surviving.

 

So in this case it seems that global warming is having an effect

[Highlander]

Good so we get more pigeons to shoot downside is the weather, wet and wet and the growing season late and later.