how do "new "birds decide to join a specific flock????/

[tuxedobaby]

just wondering how pigeons decide that a flock is the one for them,is it a family thing or an opportunist thing?we have a new brown pigeon who has been here for a week,he is now venturing into the garden to be fed,before he would just sit and watch the others but today he came right in and joined the feeding frenzy,hes not been seen by us before last week,i hope he stays!

[cyro51]

With adults it is opportunistic and more to do with the feed that they find than with the flock itself. This is why often when you start feeding the pigeons regularly at a specific location you will find that you gradually get what is called "an aggregation" of pigeons. And also the reason that lost homers will often be found living with a feral flock (if they are lucky enough to find one). One of our local homers made a habit of escaping and flying to join our feral flock at River Green , which was a mile or so away, where he was adept at avoiding recapture by his owner.

We have also found that pigeons that we are able to recognise will appear at feeding time with diffrent flocks that live a block or two away.

Pigeons are very tolerant of strange birds in their midsts, and often the city flocks here will merge during a formation flight, then split again.

We have also noticed that a feeding flock that remains in one location during the day will break up into smaller groups that go in different directions to roost.

Cynthia

[tuxedobaby]

we have our regulars who are recognisable cos of color,markings etc,we have a white and black pige who visits on occassion(funny he usually makes an appearance on fridays for some reason!) a local building was demolished recently,it was derelict and home to a lot of pigeons,so i reckon some have joined our flock(known as the "food"flock as we have named them after various types of food,"milk",carmel log,caramel wafer,biscuit,smoky bacon etc,ok i didnt name them my daughter did lol)they gather round about 8 am and 5 pm for feeding,would it be advisable to buy a proper feeding station for them?(like the ones in lofts)as i dont like seed being scattered as our lawn is a bit patchy just now and it would keep iggy(cat)from eating left over seed(yeah he does,strange cat lol)

[John_D]

Down here at my place in Sussex, there is at least one sizeable gathering, on a roof opposite my balcony. As Cynthia says, as it gets towards roosting time, they drift off in various directions. I see a half dozen go, then maybe two or three, and so on.

I have my own regulars who always perch for the night in specific places on my balcony. Five of them have been roosting outside for between two and four and a half years now. In recent months, I have had a racing pigeon roost on an old stone plant tray just three feet from the door - most evenings, I peer round the door frame and say goodnight to her

They come and go - I've had a couple of squeakers grow into adulthood and claim a spot on the balcony since the Spring. I think a new one joining a roost has a tougher time than just turning up with the daytime loungers and feeders - he or she has to be quite assertive and stand up to the longer established pigeons. Most give up and go elsewhere (like the church tower up the street), but a very few are accepted, if one can use that term with pigeons.

One of my regulars, Capuccino - a real bruiser of a red bar - joined the roost well over a year ago and boldly comes in when the balcony door is propped open, sometimes three times in a day, to eat from his own private food pot

John

[Lady Tarheel]

John, I really enjoy reading about your pigeons. What a wonderful opportunity you have to observe and interact with them while they can remain wild but still enjoy the contact with you.

It must be comforting at night to go to bed and know that you have several dear little souls just a few steps away spending the night with you.

[LokotaLoft]

thats like asking why do homing pigeons home lol here there is a place actually a farm worked by ex-cons off limits to civilions , its a dairy farm and the birds come from all over to feed there every morning but they gather by the hundreds every morning and little by little they leave thru out the day to go where ever they go thru out the day .. I just wish I was aloud to visit to see the amount of banded birds that stop there , its like a pigeon paradise if you know what I mean

[tuxedobaby]

in our area we have a railway station which a few of them have esablished nests(i live 2 mins from station),i came home today to find some regulars looking in my window,some perched on washing poles and a couple on my fence.we have a lot of woodpigeons too but they tend to be less tame and a bit more reserved

[mountainstorm]

I've wondered this too. I see the pigeons nested above street, under the Interstate; but when the Interstate was built in the 60's or whenever--what made these particular pigeons move there? And how did they know it was available? And was it just four or five at first, and this flock of about seventy are their descendants, or did a whole flock move in at once? I know it's not important, really, but I am curious about it.

I was also curious about why I only see the pigeons on the west side of the Interstate and never the east side. I think it's because the east side is some other type of birds territory, including starlings, and sometimes mourning doves.

When they re-build the Interstate support structures, I've noticed they're doing it with a different design, probably for earthquake codes, or something. This makes it harder for the pigeons to live there; although I've seen a few re-establish. How do the others who leave know where to go?

Rach

[TAWhatley]

Interesting topic/question(s) .. For many years, I NEVER saw even a single pigeon at the local duck pond park. Then .. all of a sudden .. there were perhaps ten pigeons at the park. Why did they decide to come there? Obviously the water had been available for decades as had the food that park visitors brought for the ducks. This flock numbers probably 80 or more birds these days. They spend their days in the park mooching food from the park visitors, bathing in the pond or in the stream, and napping in the sun. It's a very good life for them but why they "missed" it for so many years, I don't know. Once the first few showed up, word traveled fast, and it wasn't long before the flock size grew to what it is today. By the time dusk is coming on, they are all gone to their night roosts wherever those may be. I've often tried to watch which direction they are going when they are leaving for the day, but I'm still not sure where they go.

Terry

[Grimaldy]

The Swiss used to pay their policemen to shoot pigeons as a method of pigeon control; there are a number of articles about it. What they learned was that the more pigeons they shot, the more pigeons appeared. Finally they hired a professor at Zurich University to study the problem and he concluded that pigeons maintain a pecking order within their flocks and police their own turf. Shooting often killed off the dominant members which simply encouraged others to migrate in.

I have often noticed when I let my cripples and injured out for group exercise, in a very short time they will start jockeying for dominance, and it is usually sparked by one bird getting to a higher perch on the furniture or wanting to eat first at an open seed container. If I put them into a loft, immediately the fighting will start as to who is in control and the others had better look out. I have also noticed that frequently when feeding a particular flock at a particular prearranged time and place, a crippled stranger which is obviously half starved will show up. As long as there is sufficient seed for all and the others are too busy eating, the stranger is left alone. As soon as the seed is eaten, one of the dominant birds will chase it away.

[tuxedobaby]

we have a one eyed pige who had bad leg(happily shes better now and walking well)she(one eyed jack)was kinda left out as you say,but now she seems to have a mate and is integrated well into the flock,we felt real sorry for her as she looked so forlorn but she is now a bossy boots and will chase any other birds away from her "share",today we bought a feeding dish and thought birds would ignore it but they were digging in when i last checked,my husband also built a "landing board"to stop iggy(cat)from getting to close(although hes kept indoors at feeding time)

[Grimaldy]

There seems to be some sort of membership by invitation that works in flock dynamics as well. When I have a rehabilitated hen that I release I notice that they immediately stand out; well fed, sleek, bright colors, a posture of confidence. A male will often immediately come up and start his "bow-coo" dance even in the middle of winter.

For those of you who remember the book "Lord of the Flies" it seems not too improbable that among a group of half-sick, half-starved pigeons, the appearance of a healthy pigeon might well be perceived as an asset to the group and welcomed in. The reverse may also be true, but I am certain many of you may have seen pigeons clustered up against a wall in a snow storm who are giving shelter and cover to one or two that can not fly.

[tuxedobaby]

from observing our flock,there are definatly birds who seem to be"leaders"(milk,caramel log,forcepoo are 3 of ours)they are always 1st to come to check out food and once they come in,the rest follow,also when flying around,these birds take lead(milk and forcepoo are male,caramel is a female)the dominant birds have their own"perching"place(on my shed and wash pole)the submissive and younger birds "line up"along the roof waiting for some kind of pigeon signal to begin eating