Dead and Dying Pigeon

[CaptC]

My daily walks with the dogs is usually in the local woodland where we live. Over the past week or so my Labrador has come back with either dead or wood pigeons - as many as two or three per walk. Driving through the wooded country lanes there are also pigeon sitting immobile obviously quite sick. They do not fly away when approached.

The pigeons do not appear underweight but their crops are empty.

Anyone else finding them?

[JDog]

If your part of the country has oak woods the pigeons may be dying of tanin poisoning caused by eating acorns over a long period.

[CaptC]

Thanks JDog, I had similar thoughts about beech mast? 

[ditchman]

could it be they are filling up on berries that are fermenting...............check their crops and report back 

[CaptC]

Morning ditchy - crops are empty with no signs of fermenting - no sticky goo either. The live ones appear to be drugged and show very little fear when slowly approached. The only time they show enthusiasm for flight is when the Lab gets close.

[dad]

Try if you can to check the inside of theiŕ throats i have seen some with white smelly growths inside.

[CaptC]

Will do, I will see what I can find in the next couple of days and report back (also investing in some latex gloves!)

[lloydi73]

7 hours ago, JDog said:

If your part of the country has oak woods the pigeons may be dying of tanin poisoning caused by eating acorns over a long period.

How the hell do you know all this stuff?? As soon as I learn something new off you and think my education is coming on, you blow us away with even more

 

[bluesj]

see quite a few  sheep and cattle dying of suspected acorn poisoning this year

[figgy]

Noticed some in the trees in next doors garden sat for two days hardly moving. Been loads of acorns and beech mast around. All the hard are long gone. I'll keep an eye out see if they move, do get the odd dead one but they look like been had by bop or cat.

[CaptC]

Just returned from the evening walk around the woods and because of Sod's law we did not find any to dissect!

 

[old'un]

32 minutes ago, CaptC said:

Just returned from the evening walk around the woods and because of Sod's law we did not find any to dissect!

 

Its an old article but may point you in the direction of the cause for the dead and dying pigeons you have found….https://www.farminglife.com/farming-news/hundreds-of-dead-pigeons-are-falling-out-of-the-sky-1-6515303

[matone]

9 minutes ago, old'un said:

Its an old article but may point you in the direction of the cause for the dead and dying pigeons you have found….https://www.farminglife.com/farming-news/hundreds-of-dead-pigeons-are-falling-out-of-the-sky-1-6515303

An interesting read,thanks for posting the link ! Wonder if the exceptionally wet autumn has been the catalyst for an outbreak?

[old'un]

5 minutes ago, matone said:

An interesting read,thanks for posting the link ! Wonder if the exceptionally wet autumn has been the catalyst for an outbreak?

I have been seeing this every autumn for the last few years and yes it does seem worse in very wet autumns/winters.

[JDog]

2 hours ago, lloydi73 said:

How the hell do you know all this stuff?? As soon as I learn something new off you and think my education is coming on, you blow us away with even more

 

It's almost seven decades of amassing totally useless information. 

[kenholland]

he probably watched a lot university challenge, but he will always give you a good reply , bless him.

[ditchman]

3 hours ago, kenholland said:

he probably watched a lot university challenge, but he will always give you a good reply , bless him.

when he was watching university challenge............the rest of us were watching juke box jury............which may explain the lack of intellect on my part

[marsh man]

On 20/11/2019 at 22:23, ditchman said:

when he was watching university challenge............the rest of us were watching juke box jury............which may explain the lack of intellect on my part

You say the rest of us , I take it you mean the ones that were in the position to own or rent a t v  , we never had one of the early ones so we had to watch the next door neighbour's through the window from the outside , whatever they had on it was in Black and White with no sound , snooker was the worse as all the balls looked the same colour 

[ditchman]

4 minutes ago, marsh man said:

You say the rest of us , I take it you mean the ones that were in the position to own or rent a t v  , we never had one of the early ones so we had to watch the next door neighbour's through the window from the outside , whatever they had on it was in Black and White with no sound , snooker was the worse as all the balls looked the same colour 

"and we lived int shoebox in bottom of tet laeke....we were that poor"............

ahhh the good ole days eh...........

 

and the tv had a canvas screen ....by gum ...they dont meake em lieke that any more.....built to last ..

Edited November 22, 2019 by ditchman

[marsh man]

2 minutes ago, ditchman said:

"and we lived int shoebox in bottom of tet laeke....we were that poor"............

ahhh the good ole days eh...........

Our first telie was a 14 inch one that the ole chap rented from Radio Rentals, must have been about the time when Coronation Street was still being built and Miss Rosalin kept missing me out of her magic mirror  

[CaptC]

Muffin the mule is my earliest memory - The TV was in a cabinet jobbie and when it was turn off we were told not to stare at the white dot!

Back to the pigeon - Not a single dead bird in the last three days! This morning's hail and rain might produce something but it appears that whatever killed them has moved on.

[ditchman]

2 hours ago, marsh man said:

Our first telie was a 14 inch one that the ole chap rented from Radio Rentals, must have been about the time when Coronation Street was still being built and Miss Rosalin kept missing me out of her magic mirror  

romper stompa dompa do ...tell me tell me tell me do

she was on anglia a couple of weeks ago.talking about the good old days..grey hair now of coarse

[Old Boggy]

1 hour ago, CaptC said:

Muffin the mule is my earliest memory - The TV was in a cabinet jobbie and when it was turn off we were told not to stare at the white dot!

Back to the pigeon - Not a single dead bird in the last three days! This morning's hail and rain might produce something but it appears that whatever killed them has moved on.

How times change. Muffin the Mule is now illegal. 

 

1 hour ago, marsh man said:

You say the rest of us , I take it you mean the ones that were in the position to own or rent a t v  , we never had one of the early ones so we had to watch the next door neighbour's through the window from the outside , whatever they had on it was in Black and White with no sound , snooker was the worse as all the balls looked the same colour 

My first recollection of television was watching the Queen’s Coronation on a neighbours 9 inch black & white  TV. The only TV in our village and all us kids were invited to watch. I think that I was about 10 before we had our own.

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, ditchman said:

romper stompa dompa do ...tell me tell me tell me do

she was on anglia a couple of weeks ago.talking about the good old days..grey hair now of coarse

I did see it , they were celebrating 50 years of Anglia t v , if she was only on the box when Anglia started ,then I must have been watching her in my low 20s , maybe I was still hopping she would see me 

 

1 hour ago, Old Boggy said:

How times change. Muffin the Mule is now illegal. 

 

My first recollection of television was watching the Queen’s Coronation on a neighbours 9 inch black & white  TV. The only TV in our village and all us kids were invited to watch. I think that I was about 10 before we had our own.

Wow , that is going back a bit , we had a street party for the Queens coronation , we all got a two bob bit and a mug with the queen on it 

As for the dead and dying Pigeons , the times we have been out lately we haven't seen any signs of dying pigeons or dead ones , maybe we haven't got the number of acorns other counties have got , we are out again tomorrow so I will keep an eye out for any of the above . 

[CaptC]

Four dead this morning! They were all fresh, eyes quite bright (for a dead bird) all had empty crops which, when opened contained a pale coloured mucus. Body weight was just under normal. As there were other walkers I had to be careful flashing around the old Swiss Army knife and cutting up pigeons!