Abandoned wood pigeons....what to do?

[mamasavannah]

I have been watching a wood pigeon nest regularly. I have not seen the mother now for more than 18 hours. The 2 chicks are still in the nest (first observed 10 days ago). Should I intervene? I am willing to do whatever is necessary.

[John_D]

Hi

Are the babies still tiny yellow fuzzballs or do they seem to be fairly well feathered? Once they are past the tiny stage, parents may leave them for periods and return to feed them and at night. Were you able to tell if there was no parent present overnight?

Can you give a location, in case there is a wildlife rescue in your area who will take in baby woodies if necessary?

John

[mamasavannah]

The birds are well-feathered. I didn't get chance to see if the parent was with them overnight. I have been watching the nest constantly every day because the nest is very close to my window and I have a fantastic, unobtrusive view. This is the first time that the young have been left unattended for such a long time. Should I just keep observing? I am in Wiltshire near Chippenham.

[plamenh]

Watch their behavior. If they move, preen and show energy, that means they are Ok.
Abandoned babies will try to go out of nest or become listless.

[amyable]

Hi,

It's possibly the stage now where the parents leave them unattended for longer periods.
If you are able to see things without the parents being too aware of your presence, then I would just observe.
Obviously being Woodies, they are more nervous of humans and if they know you're around they might not come near until you're out of sight. That makes it hard to keep an eye on them, but if they are still being cared for, then it would be a shame to intervene too quickly.

It's great you're able to see them and if you really think there is a problem then we'll help you through that.

Keep us posted, we'd like to know things are ok.

Janet

[mamasavannah]

Panic over! Mum has just returned and is busily feeding her young. Thanks for your advice. I'll try not to over-react again!

[John_D]

It's good that you were concerned

We have had lots of instances of young woodies found in danger of predators, or having been caught by cats, so it's observant people like you who help give them a chance.

John

[amyable]

Brilliant, you can enjoy watching them develope now, you're very lucky to be in that position !!

Thanks for caring, and as John says, they are always in danger so having someone watching over them gives them a slightly better chance,

Never think you're over reacting either, it might not have been just as simple as it turned out and you could have averted a disaster.

Let us know how they're getting on.

Well done.

Janet

[mamasavannah]

Will do! I was worried that the neighbour's cat had got the mum, as I have found piles of feathers in the garden before now. The nest is in the hedge, 2m high, and well protected. It is just on the other side of my window, offering a great view without me disturbing the birds. I've just uploaded a video of the birds feeding to Autumnwatch website under 'garden action' but not sure if the 'through the window' quality is good enough for it to be approved.

[mamasavannah]

By the way, I came 2nd in Springwatch's nationwide competition to find the UK's strangest nesting place. It was the pigeon nesting in a green monster's mouth at the entrance to the Ghost Train at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

[mamasavannah]

Also, I have a video that gets aired every so often on 'You've Been Framed' of a pigeon chasing a black & white cat as it tries to eat it's food. This was taken when I lived in Kenya, and I was rehabilitating the young pigeon. It used to fly into the house to eat the cat food. We had to close all the doors so that the cat could eat in peace.

[John_D]

Hey, you have had some excellent pigeon adventures!

I recall the monster mouth bird

John

[Mindy]

I would love to see that picture of the pigeon and the green monster is there anyway you can post it, or where can I go look at it? Great job. min

[John_D]

Hi Min

This is the video, second segment in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZRHtHmowMo



John