Pigeons nesting on ground?

Hi Flo, have brought this to the attention of our resident expert who will no doubt answer soon ... I do know that feral pidge nests are very scanty though!

Thank you!

I have been keeping an eye on them and they are very happy taking turns sitting on the egg or looking for sticks to build the nest. It recently started raining and it looks like they just about get cover from a gutter jutting out above them. Hopefully that is enough to keep them safe and allows the eggs to stay warm.

Do keep us updated Flo, any chance of a pic or two?

Bit of a strange one this, wild pigeons like Wood Pigeons usually build nests in trees and feral/town pigeons use ledges on buildings. It may be that these birds have built a nest like they would in a loft which is in an open front nest box with bits of foliage but have not the experience to look for a nest site but still had a strong urge to breed. Please keep us up to date

Quite odd, but then ferals often nest in bizarre places. Can you figure out which pigeon incubates at night and which one during the day? It is possible that the racer does not have the instincts of a wild bird and has built the nest in this odd location. Pigeons are very hardy creatures. By the way, their young are called squabs. If you could post some photos that would be nice. Feral pigeon eggs usually hatch about 19 days after being laid and the young fledge after about 30 days.

Hi everyone, 

Ive attached two pictures of the pigeon and it’s ‘nest’ on the ground. I live in an apartment so I had to zoom in as the pictures were taken from a window. 

When the pigeon is sat on their eggs they move the sticks almost as if they were tucking them underneath them. The second picture just shows that the eggs are on the ground huddled in a corner. 

Although this is quite peculiar, the pigeons do seem happy to be protecting their eggs and when they are not they bring lots of sticks for the nest. I regularly see them ‘kissing’ and grooming each other before they switch roles or just during the day. I just worry that since the eggs are obviously on the ground if they do (and hopefully they do) hatch safe and happy how will they grow and learn to fly without a high up nest? 

The original nest they spent a few days making before the eggs were laid was up high on the side of a roof on a ledge so I am puzzled as to why they decided to leave that nest and lay the eggs on the ground. 

Thanks for reading! 

Hi thanks for the reply!

I saw the feral pigeon actually lay the eggs so they are definitely the mother bird but it seems that the racing pigeon sits on the eggs in the morning and the feral pigeon more in the late evening but this is somewhat of a guess.
The racing pigeon and the feral pigeon were both very involved in nest building both in the first nest (up on the side of a roof) and the second nest on the ground. But I must say it seemed like the racing pigeon brought more sticks to the feral pigeon on the roof ledge. Now as they build this nest on the floor who ever is not sat on the eggs brings sticks until they swap jobs :)

The female typically sits on the nest at night and the male during the day. Part of courtship involves the male bringing twigs to the female for her 'approval'. They can add to the nest during the incubation process. They seem to be committed to the nest. Please keep us updated.

Great to see pics of the nest Flo, looks snugly tucked into that corner, hope for success!

Hi everyone! 

Not much to update but the couple are very dedicated to the new nest! They’ve been really busy the past couple of days collecting sticks and shuffling everything around. Managed to quickly get a pic when they were swapping jobs :) 

Thanks for reading!