Wood pigeon - odd sound needing identification

Sorry if this is the wrong part of the forum, I'm new here!

We have a large number of birds frequent our garden as we live in MK and so are surrounded by a lot of green spaces, so I thought I had heard most noises!

At the moment I am being woken up by a wood pigeon either in or on our roof from 5am until about 9am. We don't want to go in to the roof to investigate if it's a nesting sound which is why I wanted to ask the question. We wouldn't want to disturb and will go close up the roof after breeding season.

The sound it makes goes on for a very very long time and is a low loud hurrr hurrr hurrr hurrr hurrr hurrr. It is the same pitch and maintained rhythm.

It's not the normal call, or the slow cooooooo coo, when the male is bowing to the female to mate.

I initially assumed it was mating but it seems to go on for much longer (5 minutes + at a time at least) and I cant hear any associated wing beating as the male tries to keep his balance!

Any help would be appreciated!

  • Are you able to record the sound? I have Wood Pigeons nesting in the holly tree in the garden. There are sometimes odd noises coming from the nest. Female Feral Pigeons make a persistent and loud woooo woooo woooo noise which gets louder and more frantic as it goes on. Can't say I have heard the same from Woodies though.

    Unicum arbustum haud alit duos erithacos

    (One bush does not shelter two Robins)

    Zenodotus (3rd Century B.C.)

     

  • I'll have a go tomorrow morning! :) We don't have feral pigeons around here, only wood pigeon and collared doves (in that bracket). Visiting our garden we have a breeding pair of collared doves and 2 pairs of wood pigeon and a male who keeps trying his luck but you only tend to see feral pigeons in the town centre, I think the wild birds keep them at bay in the 'suburbs' as never seem to see them anywhere else in MK.
  • Could the noise be from your Collared Doves who seem to have a much gentler sound than Wood Pigeons

    Pete

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