18
Jan
They mate for life and whilst they stick to their pairs and are territorial during the mating season they flock for the rest of the year sometimes in flocks of hundreds or thousands of birds. We have shared our home with wood pigeons for 30 years - almost always in pairs.
Their nests are often vulnerable to predators like crows due to their rural location however young wood pigeons can survive on their own from as little as 20 days after hatching.
Wood pigeons pair for life. Mating for Life. Pigeons are loving birds and are usually a monogamous lot. They mate for life and live as a couple.
The mating process usually happens as an organized ritual. Once the couple goes through the stage of courtship and is paired they begin to build a nest and do squabs in the form of a cushion with feathers. The UKs largest and commonest pigeon the woodpigeon is largely grey with a white neck patch and white wing patches clearly visible in flight.
Although shy in the countryside it can be tame and approachable in towns and cities. Its cooing call is a familiar sound in woodlands as is the loud clatter of its wings when it flies away. Wood Pigeons pair for life and over several years I have had the same pair visiting my garden and in fact often nesting in the Fir tree that you saw the Dunnock singing from yesterday.
The other day I thought it was time I videoed them in my back garden. My story does not finish here but look at the video first. It can be access at.
The woodpigeon is a big heavy bird with a full breast but small head. In late winter and early spring many pigeons feed on ivy berries the large green slimy droppings found underneath ivy-clad trees are a sign of that. Our largest and most common pigeon the woodpigeon is a familiar bird of gardens parks woodlands and farmlands right across the country.
Its husky hoo-hroo call is a well-known sound of the country. It feeds on seeds leaves grains fruit peas and root crops and can become a. Around 90 of the worlds bird species are monogamous.
This means they have one mate at a time. Most will not pair for life though and their partner may change each breeding season. Some birds have several broods each season and may produce each one with a different partner.
Another load of facts about Wood Pigeons. Feeding flocks are highly gregarious and may number many thousands of birds. In many parts of Europe the wood pigeon is the favourite prey of the goshawk.
Though they have been recorded breeding in every month of the year the peak month for fledging is August. Before nesting and egg laying can occur pigeons need to find a mate. Many pigeon pairs will mate for life unless they arent able to produce eggs.
Then they may separate to find another mate. Males start the mating process by preening and strutting for the females. Once a female shows interest the pigeons will pair off and prepare to reproduce.
A pair of wood pigeons systematically cleared out a blue tit nest and a thrush nest in a tree in my garden today. One juvenile and the adult blue tits escaped. They got 2 baby thrushes.
My wife watched it happen. They mate for life and whilst they stick to their pairs and are territorial during the mating season they flock for the rest of the year sometimes in flocks of hundreds or thousands of birds. Wood pigeons in the UK are sedentary and rarely move more than 10 miles from where they hatch.
The wood pigeons lifespan is on average 3-5 years but they are known to live up to 15 years on occasion. Their nests are often vulnerable to predators like crows due to their rural location however young wood pigeons can survive on their own from as little as 20 days after hatching. Most young will fledge around 33 days.
We have shared our home with wood pigeons for 30 years - almost always in pairs. Currently a pair have built a nest not a very good one admittedly in a tree and there is an egg in it which they sit on for lengthy periods. I suspect this means they are partners.
The repetitive call of the Woodpigeon can prove rather tiresome if you are unfortunate enough to have a pair nesting close to your bedroom window. The familiar aide-memoire of take two cows taf-fy is used by many birdwatchers to identify a calling Woodpigeon and to separate it from the similar u-ni-ted call of Collared Dove and oooh-uh call of Stock Dove. The Wood Pigeon has become an abundant species in the UK having expanded its very historic range from woodland to also include more open country parks and gardens.
In areas of arable farmland and especially where brassicas are grown Wood Pigeons can be a serious pest and also can be in gardens and allotments for the same reason. However with this unfortunate fact put to one side. The population is estimated at about 25 million pairs it is by a long way the most prolific large wild bird in Britain.
Evidence shows that Wood Pigeons breed throughout the year the peak month for fledglings is August. The amount of food it can hold in its crop is extraordinary. As many as 200 beans 1000 wheat grains and 15 acorns.