benelli Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 How many pigeons is there on average in the uk and is the population declining or rising.The reason i ask is taht people have such big bags it makes me wonder how many pigeons actually live in the uk. Does anyone know the name of that irishman who shot 7000 doves in one day in argentina? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Bogardus Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Bet it's McFly !!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benelli Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Steve Marsden.There is a fild about his record day called "argentina record" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 In the last BTO magazine they estimate the wood pigeon populationto be 8.5 million in the UK and steadly rising ( up by 2\3s over the last 40 years ). So shooting is having little effect on the national population. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country Boy Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 In the last BTO magazine they estimate the wood pigeon populationto be 8.5 million in the UK and steadly rising ( up by 2\3s over the last 40 years ). So shooting is having little effect on the national population. 8.5mill - I was going to say thats a conservative estimate but in truth its more of a new labour guestimate! i.e. Quote PM Gord: The UK has approx 8.5 thousand illegal immigrants!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
col s10 Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 some members on here like to feed them in their gardens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 some members on here like to feed them in their gardens BUT more members like to feed them lead !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 years ago i heard that there were about 20 million pigeons in the uk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Sorry I made a misread the BTO mag . They estimate 8.2 not 8.5 million birds.......or was that second estimate after a couple of good days decoying ? I can see you distrust stats Country Boy , but the BTO surveys are usualy pretty good with a sample taken from right across the country. So give or take 1\2 a million I would say its close to the mark. I do not know where you heard of 20 million pigeons from Mossy ? I was surprised it was as high as 8.2 million , the last estimate from MAFF 20 years ago was around 5 million and farmers are not likely to under estimate the the damage they would cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 im sur i read it in the shooting times, many ,many years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning GTS Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 some members on here like to feed them in their gardens What illegal immigrants or pigeons ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcliff Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 BTO says: Summer: 2.5 to 3 million territories in 2000, whatever that means...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob300w Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 According to the telegraph, the pigeon population is up 600% this year, in this area it is much higher than that. If this lot breeds this year, next year is going to be a record breaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Master Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 (edited) The amount reported in urban gardens that is... FM Edited April 7, 2008 by Ferret Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Dcliff, 2.5-3 million territories means the number of breeding pairs. However pigeons are ver hard to census using Common Bird Survey methods partly because they have such a long breeding season. Nest losses for pigeons are high , but as they breed 2-4 times a year laying 2 eggs at a time plenty of young are produced. Say 2.5 million pairs lay an average of 3 clutches of 2 eggs thats a potential of 15 million young. Predation from predators ( magpies\hawks ) would probably account for about 50% of the eggs and squabs. Add shooting mortality of the adults and we get somewhere near the latest BTO mags estimate of 8.2 million birds. I also suspect foxes may take a lot of adults in summer. I work in a large woodland and there no shooting in the wood and little spring\summer shooting on the surrounding farms ( due to the pheasants breeding ) and yet I find a lot of the remains of pigeons about the wood in summer , As the flight feathers are often biten through its not hawks and most likely foxes. I frequently see odd pigeons feeding along the narrow woodland rides in summer and I think It would be easy for a fox to ambush them. In such confined spaces pigeons have some trouble making a quick getaway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.