What Proportion of the Pigeon Population have been Shot At?

[Maddaftspaniel]

I have often wondered as I missed another pigeon how many times that has happened to that particular bird.

 

If the average kill to cartridge ratio is say 1:3 there must be a lot of birds flying around that have had near (or in my case not so near) misses.

 

Also when missing a decoyed bird I have often wondered what happens to it?

 

Does it rush off in a panic and tell its friends?

 

Does it go off and sit in a tree and then give it another go?

 

Does the sight of decoys and a whirly give it flashbacks?

 

Do pigeons suffer post traumatic stress disorder?

[bullet1747]

I have often wondered as I missed another pigeon how many times that has happened to that particular bird.

 

If the average kill to cartridge ratio is say 1:3 there must be a lot of birds flying around that have had near (or in my case not so near) misses.

 

Also when missing a decoyed bird I have often wondered what happens to it?

 

Does it rush off in a panic and tell its friends?

 

Does it go off and sit in a tree and then give it another go?

 

Does the sight of decoys and a whirly give it flashbacks?

 

Do pigeons suffer post traumatic stress disorder?

thought this myself a few times

[Harnser]

They proberbly complain to the pigeon council and seek help in re-adjusting to normal life . Proberbly seek a bit of compo ,every body else do .

 

Harnser

[stuy]

They proberbly complain to the pigeon council and seek help in re-adjusting to normal life . Proberbly seek a bit of compo ,every body else do .

Harnser

sounds about right to me ha!

[ezi bez]

According to form, a wood pigeons life span is only 3 years ,

[birdsallpl]

In an experiment designed to test why humans make investment mistakes, researchers proved that rats and pigeons are able to learn an optimal strategy and stick to it—while humans tend to second-guess themselves and show misguided confidence. Rats, however, can go one step further than their feathered friends. In another study where rats where given a choice to opt out of a test if they didn’t know the answer, they did so, “which suggests that rats, like monkeys, but unlike pigeons, may be aware of what they do,” according to the researcher.

 

Taking the above into account, I would suggest they are frightened away by the shot, then come back for another go when they perceive that other birds are feeding

[Cambsman]

You are assuming that they know about shotguns, pellets, near misses, etc and have a sense of their own mortality. All they heard was an unusual load noise. They are simply driven by an unrealised adherence to Darwinian evolution. Simples?

[Les*1066]

According to form, a wood pigeons life span is only 3 years ,

 

 

Not when it lands in my garden, it isn't!

[JDog]

Depends on the time of year. Resident pigeons may have been shot at before but immigrants possibly not.

[motty]

According to form, a wood pigeons life span is only 3 years ,

Pigeons can live a lot longer than that. It is only down to predation and the intervention of man that means the woodpigeon has such a low life expectancy. A pigeon could easily live to 10 years old in the wild.

[birdsallpl]

You are assuming that they know about shotguns, pellets, near misses, etc and have a sense of their own mortality. All they heard was an unusual load noise. They are simply driven by an unrealised adherence to Darwinian evolution. Simples?

But they do clearly move away from the shot. Don't know if it is the change in pressure as the shot passes them or the sound of the shot going through the air but they do jink away. (When not to late)

[evo]

I,ve never seen one jink away yet,,,only cos I never miss,,

 

only joking, its amazing what goes through your mind whilst out shooting,

 

what amazes me more is when you can hit a bird and see half its feathers come off in the air and it still continues,,i,ve hit some that must of flew away bald the amount of feathers that came off it,,

 

safe to say I didn,t see it attempt to come back :lol:

 

atb Evo

[Cambsman]

But they do clearly move away from the shot. Don't know if it is the change in pressure as the shot passes them or the sound of the shot going through the air but they do jink away. (When not to late)

I agree that they respond to a physical change. However, they have no concept of guns or shooting.

[birdsallpl]

I agree that they respond to a physical change. However, they have no concept of guns or shooting.

It's a complicated one isn't it. I'm sure from a general concept you're right. However they do know that a person with a gun is a danger.

If they see you in a hide they are away. If they see you just out walking you are usually able to get a lot closer. They see danger sometimes but not other times.

[kitchrat]

My GUESS is that most adult, UK resident birds have either been shot AT or have been in a group where another bird has been shot at. The sound would be very scary, let alone the shock-wave. I guess it is the shock-wave they swerve away from when having a near miss? Pigeons have all sots of sensors we know nothing about, allowing homing pigeons to home etc. IF they had seen a movement or noted a magnet before the traumatic event, it is possible they could link the two and become cautious in similar situations.

Of course, they could end up with post traumatic stress disorder and need therapy, perhaps we should avoid stressing them out on the grounds that it is against their human rights??

[marsh man]

I would have thought when a pigeon is shot at , he or she would associate that particular field as a danger point and not the decoy pattern that it went to, if the bird wasn't hit the only thing that frightened it was the bang. Once hunger set in its got to go and feed somewhere and that might be a area or field where it been before with no fear of danger, yes we know there are a lot of pigeons that have been shot at, but there are still a lot that have never been shot at and that is why we can still encourage quite a few to our decoys.

[Hamster]

There are documented accounts of shooters witnessing oddly marked wood pigeon coming back to the same field/pattern in the same day so they don't always make an immediate or lasting connection between a bang and danger.

 

Regarding the percentages it can't be too hard to work out for someone with the right skills and equipped with numbers; for instance if we accept there are approx 10m here and that 1m are killed each year then we know that 10% are defo shot at! Taking one in three as a kill ratio you'd say around 3m are shot at etc, etc, for what it's worth I think the majority never experience any danger from a gun although they may be in relatively close proximity to ones that do.

[matty*]

I have witnessed shooting on game cover, shooting into a gang dropping too out of three shots fired the same gang including the third pigeon shot at (witch lost feathers) then go into a near identical pattern on a different game cover in view and decoy well? Happened a few times that day. So the immediate danger of a whirly/flapper cant be there?