25 Wednesday Dec 2019
It’s a little known fact that feral pigeons bathe just once a year. On Christmas Day, they gather together at well-known bathing spots for a giant mid-winter splash. One of the most popular locations in Wales is Cardiff Bay and I was lucky enough to witness today’s big event.
The birds take it in turns to bathe from the rocks, then line up on adjacent railings to dry off and preen.
For some birds the cleansing process is so dramatic that they even change colour from grey to white!
26 Saturday Oct 2019
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, feral pigeon, pigeon, squab
Squab: it’s an odd word to describe a young unfledged pigeon. The Oxford Dictionary gives its origins as: “Mid 17th century (in the sense ‘inexperienced person’): of unknown origin; compare with obsolete quab ‘shapeless thing’ and Swedish dialect skvabba ‘fat woman’.”
To me, judging by the behaviour of these two feral pigeons squabs I saw recently harassing their parent for food, squab seems more likely to come from squabble: a noisy quarrel! I almost felt sorry for the adult as it was chased along the pavement by its two young, who then pushed their heads as far down the adult’s open beak as possible, hoping for the ‘milk’ pigeons feed their young.
15 Friday Jun 2018
Posted in birds, flowers, nature, walks, wildflowers
Tags
#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Cardiff Bay, Carrion crow, Coot, Ely embankment, feral pigeon, Linnet, Mallard, Mute swan, Pied wagtail, River Ely, Small tortoiseshell
My regular followers will remember that, over the winter months, when there were more birds around, I posted a regular monthly roundup of the action along the embankment where the River Ely flows in to Cardiff Bay. Today, for day 15 of #30DaysWild, I thought I’d take another look. Here’s what I found …
The embankment is a riot of colour, with both native wildflowers and garden escapees in full bloom.
Two Linnets were foraging on flower seeds but were very skittish.
Loving these Oxeye daisies.
A juvenile Pied wagtail was feeding near the waterline.
A flock of 7 Feral pigeons was also foraging amongst the flowers
This Mallard had found a sunny spot for a snooze.
23 Mute swans were floating up the river, many taking the opportunity to preen as they went.
9 Coots were congregating at the water’s edge.
I saw my first Small tortoiseshell butterfly of the year.
Looking back up the river as an Aquabus shows sightseers the river. The black hulk is a new apartment block.
And finally, a Carrion crow was prospecting for tasty morsels.
11 Monday Jun 2018
Tags
#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, feral pigeon, house sparrow, Swift, wildlife at home
‘The best laid plans….’ Due to the unforeseen circumstance of untimely tradesmen I was forced to set aside my plan to go searching for butterflies today and instead spent day 11 of #30DaysWild at home. Still, there is always something wild to be found, just by looking out the window.
In the lovely tree outside my living room window, a young Feral pigeon has recently been spending much of its time, either perched or moving tentatively along the swaying branches, while it waits for its parents to return and feed it. Each time I heard it make its faint pleading peep, I popped up with my camera to try to get photos, though mostly the leaves got in the way. – a fact which, in fact, might please you when I tell you the pigeons regurgitate a type of ‘milk’ to feed their young!
House sparrows also popped in and out of the tree, heralded by their familiar cheep cheep, and I also caught them sitting on the back wall downstairs, looking around for anything edible.
The Swifts have been very active overhead much of the day, with four sweeping very low around the back of the house at times, even coming very close to the eaves. I’m not sure if they were checking the area for potential nesting sites or, more likely, swooping in to pick off insects to eat. They move so quickly I only managed one photo but watching their aerial agility was certainly the highlight of my wild day at home.
04 Monday Jun 2018
Posted in birds, flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers
Tags
#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff's canals, Common blue damselfly, Coot, Coot chicks, Coots nesting, feral pigeon, Fringed water-lily, Little Venice, Mallard, vegetation in canals
I had to go in to Cardiff city today to do a few chores so, for day four of #30DaysWild, I thought I’d take a wander along the old canals, an area known locally as Little Venice. The area closest to the main road is quite unkempt, but, except for the human rubbish, I like how overgrown it is – and I’m sure the wildlife does too – and the submerged plants are particularly lovely at the moment, with long streaming fronds covered in pretty white flowers.
The canals flow in a couple of different directions, both ultimately emptying into East Bute Dock, where once a million tons of coal a year was loaded on to waiting ships. The canals are bordered by various types of accommodation and office blocks, have footpaths along both sides, and in places are adorned with beautiful, currently flowering native Fringed Water Lily (Nymphoides peltata).
The canals also support a range of wildlife. Drake mallards snoozed on the warm stone edges, Common blue damselflies flitted back and forth, and a feral pigeon strutted towards me, hopeful of a spot of lunch.
The big drawcard of these waterways for me, though, is that Coots can usually be found nesting here, often very successfully. In their large sturdy nest structures, built of sticks and plant material and human detritus, I’ve seen broods of up to 6 chicks.
Today there were two pairs with quite well-grown young, and three more birds sitting, possibly with little ones tucked under their wings. And very cute they all were too!
14 Saturday May 2016
Humans have a love-hate relationship with the Feral pigeon (Columba livia domestica). On the one hand, we love to feed them – until recently, crowds would flock to London’s Trafalgar Square to be photographed feeding the birds (an activity now banned), and what child didn’t learn to love birds through feeding pigeons (or ducks). On the other hand, we hate the mess they make and spend millions defacing our buildings with anti-pigeon spikes and wires to stop pigeons roosting on their handy ledges.
Yet, the pigeon has long been a friend of humankind. It was probably our first tame bird, having been domesticated as early as c. 4000 BC; it has seen war service and been awarded medals as a carrier of messages; it has been admired for its homing abilities; and it was once an important source of food.
While many feral pigeons have the grey colouring of their Rock dove ancestors, others display a multitude of colour combinations, ranging from almost completely white through red and brown to almost completely black. The reds are my favourites, just because they’re so different, but I think all pigeons are pretty and I would never call them ‘rats with wings’, like Woody Allen did in his 1980 film Stardust Memories.
earthstar 
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