So... I don't really like Pigeons. They're a nuisance. I've spent months driving them out of my garden to stop them crapping over everything.
However, one pair had nested in the bush 6" from our lounge bay window. I've been keeping an eye on them and 2 eggs have hatched in the last 24 hours. Both seem to be doing fine and the parents are popping in and out.
The problem is that the nest is a bit shit and the bush isn't providing much stability or shelter. We are currently forecast upto 50mm of rain this afternoon and I'm somewhat concerned for their welfare.
Should I stand outside holding a brolly all afternoon or trust that Mum & Dad will be able to shelter them?
Is this another allegorical allotment-style thread about our social responsibility to the underclass?
Rats with wings.....
Maybe not (although it may quite literally be shit)
From that link:
The main requirement for a pigeon nesting site is that it is dry and protected on a flat surface.
Failing rather miserably on both counts.
Fair enough - you know the state of your particular nest but I was just pointing out that pigeons don't place much emphasis on aesthetically-pleasing nests.
I assume they are Wood Pigeons, imo they will be fine. It rains in the UK, they have evolved to deal with that!
Pigeons have extremely dense feathers, it is extremely difficult to get them waterlogged, water just rolls off them.
The parents will protect their chicks by tucking them under their breasts.
Yeah pigeon nests are pretty crap. They are merely a collection of fairly large twigs cemented together with pigeon shit. When the chicks want to have a shit they will point their arses to the edge of the nest, reverse, have a shit, and then return back to the centre of the nest. Over time it makes the nest stronger and stronger as the rock hard pigeon droppings hold it all together. Clever stuff.
Clever stuff.
But %*&^ing difficult to get off your &^%£ing decking.
We have two young pigeons in our garden. It's amazing pigeons haven't gone extinct if they are all like these; they seem to spend 99% of the time just sitting in stupid places - on the fence, in low down bushes, on the grass, everywhere - and only move if you get really really close, well within cat-pouncing distance. Every day I am amazed that they haven't become dinner of all the pigeon eating wildlife and cats around.
