Pigeon Talk

[sourland]

They draw in so many raptors, I rarely had hawks before I had pigeons. Even when the other birds are out, a hawk will try to break into the pigeons instead of taking the duck thats sitting there watching.
This early spring a Goshawk tried. He was beautiful. Big red eyes, bright yellow shanks, pretty barred feathers, huge talons that clanked on the tin roof. I had to walk over and scare him away.
This little Coopers tried yesterdayView attachment 3121143

They put me out of business. I reached the point where I could no longer justify raising birds to feed the hawks.

 

[MeanCheek]

They put me out of business. I reached the point where I could no longer justify raising birds to feed the hawks.

Why do they like pigeons so much?

I've only seen one go after them when they were out once. It was when I only had about a dozen, they were all on the ground hunting pine nuts, and a Coopers quickly flew through, all the pigeons took off and flew the highest I've seen them go, circling around.

 

[cavemanrich]

Why do they like pigeons so much?

Probably because it is a medium size bird,,,, (comparing song birds, and chickens) and sufficient meal with just one capture.

 

[Qwerty3159]

I’m no Cooper’s hawk expert but I do know a thing or two about them.

For one thing they’ve adapted to urban environments better than any other North American hawk, helped in part because they prey on all our introduced species (starlings, house sparrows, pigeons, and collared doves) The mourning dove also forms a large part of their diet naturally. Feral pigeons are tough as nails but I think a lot of the Cooper’s especially the passage juveniles get a taste for pigeon because they’re just so common it’s easy for them to get lucky on a sick or weak feral pigeon. If a Cooper’s hawk makes a meal out of one of your pigeons it will definitely be back, but usually after a few unsuccessful attacks I don’t see the same hawk wasting it’s time trying to catch my birds. They’ll give chase in the air and I’ve seen a particularly persistent one circle and climb higher and higher after my pigeons until they became just a speck in the sky and the hawk eventually gave up. They’re also very sneaky, even if they fly by and see your birds they might not attack immediately, they often will go land in a tree and “strategize” a surprise attack. They know enough to fly low behind a fence or behind a building and pop over at the last second for an ambush, for example. Falcons on the other hand want your birds to get out in the open so they can stoop and dive on them, but if the Cooper’s hawk can’t grab one of your birds on it’s initial burst from cover it’s very unlikely to make the kill. Juvenile hawks act differently and are unpredictable, both from inexperience and sometimes starvation. You actually probably want to have some Cooper’s around if you have Peregrines in your area because if they can’t escape the hawk they definitely won’t escape the falcon. Coopers are amazingly fast and agile birds but they’re no good at gaining altitude, pigeons are much better at it than they are and your birds will learn this fast.

Also, crash cymbals are an amazing deterrent. Desensitize your birds a bit to the sound first. I’ve used this method to deter falcons and very hungry Cooper’s hawks with great success. Your neighbors will think you’re a nutter, though…

 

[Qwerty3159]

One of my ex racers escaped the other day and flew back to his old loft. I got him back the other day and the next morning he took off through the cracked door like a bat out of hell. I thought for sure I’d have to go pick him up again but he flew around with my whites for about an hour and eventually landed with them. I’ve done this three times now and he’s the first to trap back in.

 

[FrankieDoodle]

Has anyone used split leg bands before? I heard they aren’t as secure as permanent bands, but I’m really just looking for something I can customize and put on my adults in case one of them gets lost.
This is what I’m looking at.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/115263...1&variation0=2442781107&variation1=2547736061

If you’ve used them, what are your thoughts? Would you recommend them, or would you use something else instead? Unfortunately permanent bands aren’t an option for me right now.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Has anyone used split leg bands before? I heard they aren’t as secure as permanent bands, but I’m really just looking for something I can customize and put on my adults in case one of them gets lost.
This is what I’m looking at.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1152638039/15-splitopen-aluminum-leg-bands?click_key=c333826816ef134e17517ef42b93802fa6345ce2:1152638039&click_sum=a1ee7c0a&ref=shop_home_active_1&crt=1&variation0=2442781107&variation1=2547736061

If you’ve used them, what are your thoughts? Would you recommend them, or would you use something else instead? Unfortunately permanent bands aren’t an option for me right now.

I use them. I haven’t had one fall off yet, though if I did I would just replace it.

 

[FrankieDoodle]

I use them. I haven’t had one fall off yet, though if I did I would just replace it.

Awesome, thank you! Do you need any special tools to put them on? I have jewelry plyers of various sizes if pinching them on with my hands won't work.
Also, do you think 8mm is a good size?

 

[Qwerty3159]

Has anyone used split leg bands before? I heard they aren’t as secure as permanent bands, but I’m really just looking for something I can customize and put on my adults in case one of them gets lost.
This is what I’m looking at.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1152638039/15-splitopen-aluminum-leg-bands?click_key=c333826816ef134e17517ef42b93802fa6345ce2:1152638039&click_sum=a1ee7c0a&ref=shop_home_active_1&crt=1&variation0=2442781107&variation1=2547736061

If you’ve used them, what are your thoughts? Would you recommend them, or would you use something else instead? Unfortunately permanent bands aren’t an option for me right now.

I’ve never used split metal bands. I use plastic snap on ones though which are another option outside of permanent bands so I’ll offer my opinion on those. People have gripes against them but they’re certainly better than an unbanded bird. I use them. They are less secure than closed bands because they can be removed but this is a difficult process and they couldn’t just fall off on their own. Another benefit of the snap ons is that they are easiest to manufacture , making them the cheapest option if you want them custom compared to split or closed rings

When I miss the banding window for my birds they just get a snap on with my phone number on one leg. The ones that do get their AU bands also get a snap on with my phone number anyway, to make it easier for someone unfamiliar with reading pigeon bands to contact me.

8 mm is a good size for homers

 

[FrankieDoodle]

I’ve never used split metal bands. I use plastic snap on ones though which are another option outside of permanent bands so I’ll offer my opinion on those. People have gripes against them but they’re certainly better than an unbanded bird. I use them. They are less secure than closed bands because they can be removed but this is a difficult process and they couldn’t just fall off on their own. Another benefit of the snap ons is that they are easiest to manufacture , making them the cheapest option if you want them custom compared to split or closed rings

When I miss the banding window for my birds they just get a snap on with my phone number on one leg. The ones that do get their AU bands also get a snap on with my phone number anyway, to make it easier for someone unfamiliar with reading pigeon bands to contact me.

8 mm is a good size for homers

I was definitely looking at snap ons for a while, but I couldn't find anywhere that customizes them. Where do you get yours? Is there a minimum order?