Pigeons breed very late

[pigeon master]

Hello fellow PW members,

 

I’ve been reading a few posts about the numbers of pigeons, also whether we should hold a voluntary closed season on pigeons during the summer months.

 

I have a question for you all, but first let me tell you this.

 

As a kid I watched birds every weekend spending most of my weekends looking for nests and identifying birds. Many of these were wood pigeons; the point of this is…I never ever came across any young wood pigeon in the nest until about August.

 

I also have never shot a wood pigeon without a white collar until August so why stop shooting them when most are only flirting rather than breeding.

 

PM could be wrong but I’m sure wood pigeons are one of the last birds to get down on the nest to sit their eggs.

 

Q: Please post when you down your first young bird this season and we will see how late they really breed.

 

The PM

[henry c]

where i live pigeon numbers are only realy high every few winters when the beach mast crop is good, think they are foreign birds. so i dont shoot the local birds until september to give them a chance but i heard pigeons are having more and more clutches later and later so i suppose that even then it is likely you could kill a bird with nestlings.

Edited May 18, 2005 by henry c

[scolopax]

I'm no expert but I do know that woodpigeon do have a long breeding season. Sarting early spring right through to late autumn.

 

But from my own observations the real peak of the breeding season is july, august and into september, i.e. late summer. The pigeons have obviously cordinated their main nesting spell to co-incide with the cereal harvest.

 

I tend to leave them alone now during the summer. Well at least I do not actively look for pigeon shooting at that time of year. But if a good field finds me then its hard to resist the temptation to have a go!

[M ROBSON]

We had three young birds one week in the middle of April this year! It's the earliest I've ever seen young Pigeons. They may have been from barn nesting Woodies??

I'm seeing a lot of birds gathering nesting material at the moment though.

 

Mark.

[Catamong]

Like M Robson, I shot a couple of young'uns in April - I reckon they must have been born about Christmas time..!!

 

I remember finding a nest with squabs in it a few years ago on a very cold Spring day - the date sticks in my mind - 12 April...!!

[Fisherman Mike]

They will indeed breed year round if the weather allows, although this year locally breeding seems to be well forward with birds paired off and nesting.

 

In 1997 I recorded a pair of squabs in the nest on December the 14th !!! and I have seen eggs in the nest in February and September.

 

I have also seen in my own garden a pair raise three broods in May, July and September although only one chick survived from two of the broods.

 

FM.

[Catamong]

FM,

 

Did only one survive because you shot the rest...

 

:thumbs: :( :( :( :(

[Fisherman Mike]

yes :thumbs: :(

[jordan]

when i was out on amooch on wedsnday i found 3 woodpigeon nests one with 2 nearly full grown chicks one with 1 egg in and the other had 3 chicks. in someways i agree on not pigeon shooting in summer but if im out on a mooch and a pigeon flys over im not gonna pass up the chance of a shot.

[henry c]

the other had 3 chicks.

 

 

thought pigeons only ever had two chicks never more?

[Fisherman Mike]

Three is very rare but not unknown.

 

FM.

[pigeon master]

It just shows how different their breeding patterns are throughout the country.

 

April for squabs, I didnt think they started that early, I'm up in the northeast so the weather is a bit colder compared to areas more south, but I will keep a closer eye on whats about.

 

The reason I thought they breed late on was that the pigeons need the high protein grain to produce the milk to feed the young, but it seems they can sort that out on rape ect.

 

I'll let u all know when I drop my first young bird of the year but it'll be august for sure where I live.

 

The PM

[Fisherman Mike]

The parent bird can produce crop milk all year round which is why the breeding cycle is extended. Unlike other birds such as the main nucleus of insectivores the birds do not have to time the breeding with the peak emergence of caterpillars and other insects.

 

Although naked when hatched the squabs quickly develop a fluffy plumage which keeps out the cold this is essential as the pigeons nest is just acollection of sticks or twigs often transparent with no insulation value.

 

If the winter is particularly cold the large flocks form and congregate in numbers which is a natural safety measure these flocks will often stay together well into the normal breeding cycle of the average insectivore and the need for them to breed early is diminished.

 

Over the last 150 years or so the habits of the wood pigeon have changed dramatically and they have left the "woods" to establish themselves in parks, gardens, towns infact almost anywhere ther eis a food source. Many regional populations have lost the urge and indeed the requirement to flock as natural winged predators have diminished dramatically. I dare say if we see a reversal in the climatic variations between November and february and start getting one or two hard winters this trend will be reversed. Only harsh weather is the pigeons main enemy and the numbers shot each year has I believe and many other s who have studied these bird has had little if nil effect on the global population.

 

I think we also underestimate how intelligent and wary this bird is and it will readily seek out new territory if there is constant shooting pressure. It has grown to recognise a poor deek as easy as it would a Peregrine or Goshawk on the wing or even a human for that matter, and this instinct would undoubtably become heredetory over many years of successful breeding.

 

I think many of us assume incorrectly that because the birds are not in large gatherings in our areas the numbers are down but I dont believe this to be true and the general BTO census statisticsfor the last 75 years confirm this.

 

FM.