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Pigeon season
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Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 9:55 am    Post subject: Pigeon season Reply with quote
    

What time of year do wood pigeons fledge? We have quite a few plump looking woodies frequenting our garden and virtually walking into the kitchen so I thought I'd take them up on their offer of dinner. I would like to ensure they don't leave behind unfledged young so how long do I have to wait?

(Of course, as it's illegal to catch pigeons purely for the pot I can confirm they are pests and I've tried non-lethal measures)

Jonnyboy



Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 10:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Quote:
(Of course, as it's illegal to catch pigeons purely for the pot I can confirm they are pests and I've tried non-lethal measures)


Is this a bye law for your area???

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 10:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Jonnyboy wrote:
Quote:
(Of course, as it's illegal to catch pigeons purely for the pot I can confirm they are pests and I've tried non-lethal measures)


Is this a bye law for your area???


Nope, it applies for the whole of the UK as I understand it - if you take the letter of the law. You can't shoot a pigeon unless it's a pest.

Jonnyboy



Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 10:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Quote:
P.5.2. The bird pest species which may be killed or taken under licence are: crow, jackdaw, magpie, rook, jay, house sparrow, starling, woodpigeon, feral pigeon, collared dove, herring gull, lesser black-backed gull and greater black-backed gull. The general licence permits these birds to be killed only for the purposes of preventing serious damage to agricultural concerns or for public health and safety. For any other purposes an individual licence must be obtained.


You're right, the odds of being prosecuted would be fairly remote mind.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 11:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Jonnyboy wrote:
You're right, the odds of being prosecuted would be fairly remote mind.


I doubt anyone has ever been prosecuted even after last years fiasco when defra tried to change the license but it never hurts to be able to prove they are pests.

Now, when can I carry out some pest controll?

Jonnyboy



Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 11:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

First thing? have yourself at the kitchen window with cup of tea and air rifle for early dawn???

tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45389
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 11:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Jonnyboy wrote:
First thing? have yourself at the kitchen window with cup of tea and air rifle for early dawn???


Will they already ahve fledged then?

Jonnyboy



Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

There seem to be plenty of youngsters flying around me with blushing pink breasts, but as for mating season I haven't really a clue.

crackapple



Joined: 19 Jun 2005
Posts: 204
Location: teeside
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 11:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

it doesn't matter if they are pests. find the nest and get yourself some squabs.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 11:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

crackapple wrote:
it doesn't matter if they are pests. find the nest and get yourself some squabs.


That's the problem, I don't know where the nests are so can't check if there are any youngsters there. We just get flocks of adults in the garden and they are looking nice and plump at the moment.

Jonnyboy



Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 11:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Not sure about the exact pigeon numbers in the UK, 13 million?? But I guess that you'll never be entirely sure you aren't orhaning chicks unless you shoot in autumn/winter.

It's worse with rabbits, I've taken ones well out of the supposed mating season which have young in them.

Penny Outskirts



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 12:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

But has anyone actually ever seen a baby pigeon They come out fully fledged don't they

Jonnyboy



Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 12:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Penny wrote:
But has anyone actually ever seen a baby pigeon They come out fully fledged don't they


Oven ready??

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
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Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 12:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Penny wrote:
But has anyone actually ever seen a baby pigeon They come out fully fledged don't they


I remeber a nest in an apple tree in our garden when I grew up, I saw the chicks grow and fledge but can't remember when they flew the nest.

Nick J



Joined: 19 May 2006
Posts: 94

PostPosted: Thu Jun 29, 06 1:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

With our milder climate now it is generally accepted I believe that pigeons now breed more or less all year. There is a tailing off in the winter months but if the weather is mild then they will be producing youngsters well into the autumn.

As for the regs. Yes they have to be considered a pest (strictly all birds are protected but some have their protected status removed on an annual basis because it is recognised that they can be a destructive species) but if you grow veg which they feed on that criteria is met. The only problem is if some nosey neighbour complains about you popping the odd bird for the pot. I keep a copy of the open licence handy should anyone complain. As things stand you can't just take a pigeon for the pot on the grounds that you fancy pigeon for your lunch.

I would also say that if anyone is thinking of using an air rifle in their garden it is imperative you have a safe back stop for the pellet and that the pellet does not cross your boundary. The latter being a legal requirement, the former obviously common sense from a safety perspective. You may have seen the reports in the paper this week of a lad home from university having put his mum in hospital (on the critical list) as a result of her getting a pellet in the neck while he was target shooting and unaware she was in the garden.

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