What to do with pigeons?

Hello

I need some advice on pigeons.

Last year we had 2 beautiful white pigeons appear in our garden. Apparently, they were residents of a dovecot nearby on a piece of land. A school bought the land and removed the dovecot and all the pigeons were sent off to live in the wild.

The 2 pigeons have since then had at least 3 sets of babies (they even had some over Christmas) and now we have a flock (how many are babies and how many are outsiders I don't know) of about 11. As I frequently put food out for the garden birds they now all live on our roof, and seem to be nesting underneath our solar panels.

They seem quite tame, I can get quite close to them before they fly away, and they seem to like sitting on the roof looking down at what myself and my husband are doing.

My question is, are they ok? How tame would they have been being in a dovecot, should we just leave them be, should we be discouraging them, will they need extra help to feed or will they be able to fend for themselves. Should we stop providing food at all to any birds to discourage them?

I quite like them, and it's interesting see their babies range from pure white to standard rock pigeon and all sorts of varieties in between, but their rate of multiplication has made me worry we will be covered with pigeons soon!

I'm no expert, but they could very well be tame in the fact they're used to human company, but may still have that air of caution.

If they're breeding, I'm guessing there are trees close by, or something they can use for refuge and nesting, so they must be comfortable with their surroundings or they wouldn't breed. Often nature will adapt to changes in surroundings, so long as there is something suitable (and preferably natural) for them to move to, unlike most human developments where there habitats are totally removed and they get left in limbo.

So I think there is no cause for concern, but if I'm wrong, hopefully someone will correct me.

Mike

Flickr Peak Rambler

Hi
I have had a similar experience with Feral Pigeons which I think came from the local town. At first they were wonderful, bright colours, interesting etc They visited a couple of times a day and "hoovered up" bird feeder spills. Sadly, they are now a nightmare; They are on the roof almost constantly (about 20 now) . Their poo covers my patio and they have leared to use all types of feeders (banging them to spill feed is a favourite) and between them and the starlings my "little bids" don't get a look-in Any advice, as it it ruining my enjoyment of feeding birds.? A secondary question is; should you feed birds in the summer ? I've heard arguments both for and againt. Any opinions Thanks Bethannie

Quite a few people, myself include, stop feeding birds in late Spring /early Summer as there should be plenty of natural food available. If you did stop maybe your "pest" pigeons would be attracted to other food sources. I can understand why people feed all the year round as they provide a great deal of pleasure to those who cannot get out into the country.

Pete

Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can

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