Hi,
Unfortunately I found two dead baby wood pigeons on the lawn today below a conifer tree at the end of my garden. It was very sad as the two parents have been daily visitors for years and we are very fond of them. Thankfully the mother appears to be unharmed as we saw the parents together again this evening - needless to say they got extra food tonight!
Just wondering what people thought might have happened to their Squabs? I was out in the garden at lunchtime under the tree and there was nothing, I found them dead at about 5pm, so it had to be this afternoon.
They had clearly been attacked, but I thought it was odd how they had been left on the lawn together. Why would they not have been taken for food? They were about the size of a fist, so too young to have fled the nest I think(?).
We do get a lot of Magpies and Crows around us as there is a woodland close to our house. Occasionally birds of prey - but not often. Could another bird have attacked the Squabs? However, when we leave food out it's normally the Wood Pigeons bullying the Magpies!!
It has been windy lately, but relatively calm today and no evidence of a nest fallen out of a tree.
We do have a cat next door, but they hardly ever come in the garden and we've never had any dead birds, despite daily feeding for years.
If anyone has any ideas then I'd be interested to know.
Regards,
Ian.
Well I hardly thought it was aliens that had come down. I was wondering what type of birds do this and why they wouldn't take them to be eaten. I highly doubt it was a cat. Thank you for your insight...
The windy weather recently may have weakened the nest. As two were on the ground under a tree, my guess is they fell out. Not clear whether you knew where the nest was, so if some distance, then falling out is unlikely! If definitely attacked, as opposed to looking worse for wear due to a few hours of weather damage, or crash landing still just about alive then struggling, could well have been attacked on the ground. In which case, a cat is most likely as wild predators would likely take away their food. If partially eaten, maybe a magpie. Pigeon nests often collapse/fail.
Thank you! That's very interesting. I'll never know for sure, but pretty certain it was an attack. I will try and ensure more bird protection from cats in case it was that.
No probs. I don't think a cat would have brought the nest contents down in the first place. Much more likely weather. It is also possible a magpie or squirrel, or similar got onto the nest and resulted in falling youngsters.
Yes, I do think the Magpie theory is also quite likely as we have a few that occasionally hang out on the nearby trees. I can't find the nest, but I know it's somewhere in the clump of trees at the back of the garden. Thank you again for your thoughts!