The Collared Dove is a large and beautiful wild bird. They visit our garden so often that they seem to be the only bird in the area! There are some small birds about though, as I can hear them but there aren't many though, like in my youth. Of course it's the mating season for the Collared Dove and don't we know it! The monotonous noise they make drives us mad here. I know they have to mark their territory but my goodness they do this much longer and louder than ever in the past, to my certain knowledge. And it is for most of the year here!
I would love to have the right to engage a man with a bird of prey to cull them OR to make them settle away from our houses where they sit on the roof to make their confounded racket. It is first thing in the morning, all day on and off, and in the evening too. It is a noise nuisance and if it was a factory making all that noise we would be able to campaign to get it stopped. We have asked for help from the local Council and they do not consider it to be their control policy. The birds of prey are not seen here. Years ago they would do the job for us, but now we are lumbered with far too many Collared Doves. Ok, so we drop food from fast food outlets and they swoop down on it, well, so do the gulls that we have here yet they do not make all that penetrating noise. We are quite serious about this. We should be allowed to make a case for them to be controlled.
Desperate times calls for desperate measures, no matter how distasteful
I think "Sheena" put it best with her "selfish and silly post" remark - I'm sorry, I try to see things from everybody's point of view but this is just ridiculous. Singling out one particular species for making a "noise" but letting all the others carry on uninhibited? How utterly closed minded.
Somehow I don't think you'll have much luck organising a legal cull just because you don't like the noise. I doubt very many other people agree with you on that.
Yes, some birds can make some very loud noises but these characteristics are all threads of the fabric of the natural world, and in my opinion should be welcomed, and cherished. Whether they be the beautiful mellow song of the blackbird or the so-called "monotonous" (not my view) call of the collared dove, I'd rather have noisy birds all day long than absolute silence.
I would like to make it known that I'm not trying to offend anybody with my remarks (although I'm sure I have), but sometimes I think certain things just have to be said.
I would just like to add that if all we had to complain about was the natural sounds of wild-life, what a wonderful world this would be and when i spoke of the Collared doves, it was tongue in cheek.:0) I love all birds.
An optimist sees the beauty of the complete rose.A pessimist sees only the thorn .
Hi Peacelover i knew someone before exactly the same so i understand how annoying it is but surely in the world we live in there is so much other noise from dozens of things this is only annoying perhaps because at certain times the Doves are the only noise.Now just imagine next time that you hear them you have been deaf and that is the first noise you have heard,hope it helps.
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can