Birds in the back garden

There's nothing as quintessentially English as the woodpigeon, says Graham Lorne, but their behaviour has changed markedly

- Graham Lorne

All the local woodpigeon shooters agreed on one thing last winter; there just didn’t seem to be the consistently large flocks they would expect to see. Like keen pigeon decoyers across the nation, they had a few days where there were sufficient numbers ravaging the crops to require swift, lethal intervention, but very few experienced days worthy of note. Various theories were expounded, with the threat of avian influenza — bird flu — being popular, as several domestic poultry sites had been affected within our district.

Odd weather 

The season’s odd weather was considered a potential reason too, with woodpigeon flocks allegedly failing to migrate to the UK because of milder winter conditions on the Continent. Conversely, others blamed the reduced growth of the oilseed rape crop by farmers as being a reason. There were certainly more theories than definitive answers.

One change in woodpigeon behaviour I have noticed centres around the increasing quantity we see in our gardens. 

I have lived in my current property since 1980, and it’s an undeniable fact that woodpigeons are the most plentiful species in my garden. It was no surprise to learn that the RSPB’s 2023 Big Garden Birdwatch had recorded the ubiquitous ‘woodie’ at number four in its survey.