The Pigeon Strikes Back

Our birds are quite heavy in the moult by now and I am always slightly concerned about raptor attacks when the birds are this far gone. So I have been keeping them in most of the time.

However, this afternoon I thought the birds looked like they were going a bit 'stir crazy', it has been well over 30 degrees C every day over the past 10 days. Even though I have fitted extractor fans in the lofts, it can still get a bit warm and muggy in the afternoon.

So this afternoon I let the cocks out. All our cocks are together now, our yearlings which have raced, and the young cocks which we have left. They only flew for a short time and then landed on the loft. Normally, at this time of year when all the racing has finished over here in frogland, I would go about my jobs and leave them to their own devices, but this afternoon I thought I had better stay around their loft and keep an eye on the skies. And - lo and behold! - after a few minutes, some bird of prey started circling overhead.

It didn't take our birds more than a few seconds to spot the little b... and they took off. To my surprise, they headed straight for the hawk, actually chasing it. A few dive-bombed it, and several got so close to its tail, I thought they were going to peck it.

The b.o.p. got the message quickly and disappeared over the trees, never to be seen again this afternoon!

So that is one up for our pigeons!

Phil

good to hear it phil, maybe safety in numbers made the hawk think twice.........hopefully a lot of them will not survive the winter.

Good going! My young ones had a near miss last week. Cars, not raptor. Took them 40 miles. Turned the van around and parked on the side of the road. Looked through the windshield from the rear of the van. Nothing coming, same behind me. Had a basket of 5 and a basket of 25. Opened the small basket. They have to pop up and out through the top. Took them some minutes. Opened the basket with 25, sitting in the back of the van, and they all rushed out. Cleared the roadway and started to rise. Three cars coming from the other direction missed them by inches. Pays to look both ways!!

halcanada wrote:

Good going! My young ones had a near miss last week. Cars, not raptor. Took them 40 miles. Turned the van around and parked on the side of the road. Looked through the windshield from the rear of the van. Nothing coming, same behind me. Had a basket of 5 and a basket of 25.  Opened the small basket. They have to pop up and out through the top. Took them some minutes. Opened the basket with 25, sitting in the back of the van, and they all rushed out. Cleared the roadway and started to rise.  Three cars coming from the other direction missed them by inches. Pays to look both ways!!

Been there Done that Hal Unfortunately the cars didn't miss mine here, in what is in my memory bank etc as the Wallan disaster . First car "week old" took the brunt among others. Owner not happy &   5 cars behind him was a cop car with 2 young lady coppers on board, which then suggested I knew nothing about pigeons to be tossing where I was etc . Final out come for my toss on the day 500 odd dollars to keep sweet with the car owner, plus training expenses      . Need less to say, I have never been back there again    .    

wait til ya get back home phil ...saturated here with them I saw one at dusk just before 9pm on his way through to roost up for the night sp obviously still active at this time...just over an hour ago saw another hunting in the rain ...we have a family of 5 peregines not but a mile from here ...winter lockdown is a must for me atb

Personally I do not think I would continue with all the hazards you folks have to put up with. My 'critters' here I can usually trap or poison or shoot. After all the years of raptor problems, I am surprised no one has devised a minimal loss regime. Or have they?  One idea comes to mind, if it was happening here, would be to catch some feral pigeons. Stuff them with poison and feed the raptors. No raptor viruses?
How about the fanciers on the Continent? Same problem?

As you know Hal, I am in Central Brittany, France.

We do not have any where near the same problem as they are having in England. It sounds as if the problems are Country Wide. I have a very good friend in Scotland and he is inundated with Peregrines and Sparrow hawks.

Darren, who lives in the South West of England, has also big problems and our Welsh members are not having an easy time of it either.

I have heard of guys in the heart of cities having problems with the little b...'s. So no one is safe.

I am not sure how easy it would be to get some poison in the UK. I am also sure there are those that have ways of getting rid of one or two of the pesky varmints, but one or two less, isn't going to make much of a dent.

I don't know what the answer is, Hal. Somehow we have to get the government on our side but that is a bit like pissing in the wind - you get it all back in your face.

Hil (my lovely wife) reckons we ought to get the Queen involved, after all she is the figure head of the RPRA! But to my mind, the RPRA are doing sod all anyway so how can we expect them to help?

Phil

I think the uk has the densest population of peregines in Europe this small island is saturated with peregines and sparrow hawks and now the gos hawk is increasing rapidly after the rspb released 200 pairs a few year ago

oldstrain wrote:

I think the uk has the densest population of peregines in Europe this small island is saturated with peregines and sparrow hawks and now the gos hawk is increasing rapidly after the rspb released 200 pairs a few year ago

Yes Darren - what ...... chance have we got!

Phil

Getting the Queen involved would be good but may be impossible.
My wife told me that she read about a fellow in Scotland breeding Eagle Owls. Well noted raptor killers. However his neighbors said they killed sheep etc and he had to dispose of them under pressure.
I do believe there are a few pairs in Yorkshire, however.
Goshawks are numerous North of here but they stay North except for migration.
Friend of mine out West related to me he observed a long eared owl dive bomb a peregrine from a tree and kill it. In daylight too. Spring of this year.

one of the main tv stations offered to do a report at the royal lofts but they declined it seems the royal lofts are very quiet last few years ...rspb and rpra both carry the queen stamp yet conflict so much seems strange

This pic was taken 4 years ago. Beside the lake 140 miles East from here. Lots of cliffs and raptors. The club there has many problems.