Pigeon Talk

[Qwerty3159]

Those European house sparrows are probably draining most of the seed. In some areas there are seemingly infinite numbers of them.
I practiced a "live and let live" policy with those invasives because I live in a pretty rural area and used to not see many until they began moving into barns in the area. After seeing them kill a number of native cavity nesters on my property like chickadees and bluebirds I have been shooting them on sight. I do not enjoy killing anything especially birds but I also like my yard to be a refuge for native birds which they cannot do with the HOSP pecking holes in their heads.

I have a fairly predictable crew that comes to my feeder array each day. Every year for a number of weeks during breeding season this lone fish crow comes and cuts off large chunks of suet and carries them off in the same direction for his brood.

These two mourning doves used to belong to a company of four but two were taken by the Coopers.

 

[biophiliac]

Those European house sparrows are probably draining most of the seed. In some areas there are seemingly infinite numbers of them.
I practiced a "live and let live" policy with those invasives because I live in a pretty rural area and used to not see many until they began moving into barns in the area. After seeing them kill a number of native cavity nesters on my property like chickadees and bluebirds I have been shooting them on sight. I do not enjoy killing anything especially birds but I also like my yard to be a refuge for native birds which they cannot do with the HOSP pecking holes in their heads.

I have a fairly predictable crew that comes to my feeder array each day. Every year for a number of weeks during breeding season this lone fish crow comes and cuts off large chunks of suet and carries them off in the same direction for his brood.
View attachment 1887329
These two mourning doves used to belong to a company of four but two were taken by the Coopers.
View attachment 1887332

Nice photos! I love crows and the old brick building where we live provides nesting spots for several species, including some mourning doves. I did not know those sparrows were so aggressive! Are they attacking to take over a nest spot?

 

[Qwerty3159]

Nice photos! I love crows and the old brick building where we live provides nesting spots for several species, including some mourning doves. I did not know those sparrows were so aggressive! Are they attacking to take over a nest spot?

Yes, they'll kill young as well as adult birds if they fight back to claim a nest site. They are less common in undisturbed habitats because they rely almost exclusively on humans for food.
They make unpleasant neighbors for the other birds as sometimes they'll drive other species out of a nest but not even use it. There are other more passive ways to control them but I usually only have to dispatch one or two a month in the springtime which keeps them from establishing themselves.

 

[biophiliac]

My current bottle baby...

 

[CCUK]

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/1?q=skyleader+gps+homing+pigeon+ring&safe=strict&sa=X&biw=601&bih=962&tbs=vw:g,ss:44&prmd=sivn&prds=num:1,of:1,epd:14964862553032023573,paur:ClkAsKraXxdyAI-_DMq9V6wBwN8e8r3eqYcS64SuFTeo4E_gWsYJXktsZDqt-DCz9d7UucqaPyPNYpczFBYnGneGoviyB8tnLsTbJyUPtVcn453yyBuFarL-uBIZAFPVH72xJI6gazszDzejz-cCaM5kmUr-fw,prmr:1,pid:14964862553032023573,cs:1&ved=0ahUKEwiK7pqr05nkAhUEc98KHT1wB2 long link...

Buttt? What are these? Surely they aren't trackers! They are way to cheap! I haven't read only them much yet, so I may be missing something!

They are ETS rings. That's the cheap bit. The actual reader will cost several hundred £/$. They program the ring that has a small chip in with a unique ID, when they return to the loft there will be a reader that is in the trap that logs their return. The GPS readers are even more expensive.

So there was another 'unauthorized incubation' in Dragon Loft. The pair of blue bars has produced several clutches of young blue bars as expected. In this recent hatch one was not getting fed and I brought it inside for hand feeding. As the feathers come in I'm starting to think it's a barless!?! [example image of barless below]
View attachment 1886755

That's a lovely looking bird there bio. You have quite a lot of nice birds now.

 

[CCUK]

Yes, they'll kill young as well as adult birds if they fight back to claim a nest site. They are less common in undisturbed habitats because they rely almost exclusively on humans for food.
They make unpleasant neighbors for the other birds as sometimes they'll drive other species out of a nest but not even use it. There are other more passive ways to control them but I usually only have to dispatch one or two a month in the springtime which keeps them from establishing themselves.

Ironically I actually try to discourage wild birds from garden. Moreso it's the risk of bringing nasties to the rest of my birds. My chickens got red mite and the only way I believe they could have caught them was from wild birds. It took me a long time to get them under control. I do still have wood pigeons, collared doves, starlings, blackbirds come visiting but not any sparrows! The magpies stopped visiting too after I finished with quail.

 

[Qwerty3159]

Ironically I actually try to discourage wild birds from garden. Moreso it's the risk of bringing nasties to the rest of my birds. My chickens got red mite and the only way I believe they could have caught them was from wild birds. It took me a long time to get them under control. I do still have wood pigeons, collared doves, starlings, blackbirds come visiting but not any sparrows! The magpies stopped visiting too after I finished with quail.

Fortunately I have enough space so that I can feed the wild birds on the other side of the house than my pigeons and they don't seem to pay them any mind. I haven't had a disease issue yet so fingers crossed
Noisy and aggressive birds like jays and crows are good to have around because they won't tolerate hawks lurking around if they find them.

 

[Qwerty3159]

This is the typical crew at my feeders. Mr. Catbird and the grackle take turns with the suet and I also have a pair of cardinals with several young that are still following them around. The rabbit is a common visitor but I actually took this picture because its the first time I've seen two.

Some of you might remember the chipmunk that used to sit on the perch in the settling cage with my youngsters. He's still around and like clockwork every morning when I feed the birds he pops up from under the fence and waits underneath and grabs whatever food they drop as soon as it hits the dirt.

 

[CCUK]

This is the typical crew at my feeders. Mr. Catbird and the grackle take turns with the suet and I also have a pair of cardinals with several young that are still following them around. The rabbit is a common visitor but I actually took this picture because its the first time I've seen two.View attachment 1888770
Some of you might remember the chipmunk that used to sit on the perch in the settling cage with my youngsters. He's still around and like clockwork every morning when I feed the birds he pops up from under the fence and waits underneath and grabs whatever food they drop as soon as it hits the dirt.View attachment 1888789

I don't know how much if any nuisance chipmunks can be but that is seriously cute!

 

[backyard pigeons]

I don't know how much if any nuisance chipmunks can be but that is seriously cute! [\QOUTE]

I know! It's pretty cute!