Woodpigeons are climbing as Britain's most common garden bird

by amyjudd | September 30, 2008 at 12:56 pm

789 views | 12 Recommendations | 28 comments

The Woodpigeon is quickly becoming Britain's most common garden bird, second only to blackbirds and blue tits.

However there was a report out last week about about the World's common birds are declining, as reported by our member LotusFlower so birds are suffering all over the world.

But there are an estimated three million pairs of pigeons in the UK and they are continuing to increase at a solid rate, mostly because homeowners put out seeds and other food.

They are now the third most common visitor to British gardens, despite the fact that many people see them as vermin, or 'flying rats'.

In the 1970s woodpigeons were a farmland species and they were a familiar sight as they descended in flocks to feast on stubble in the fields.

With changing farming practices the species shifted its attention to the nation's gardens where a wealth of food could be reached because of the increase in the number of people putting out seeds and other food for the birds.

In 1995 the woodpigeon didn't even make the top 10 of garden birds, being placed at number 11 when it was recorded in 66 per cent of gardens, but since then its rise has seemed unstoppable.

The bird is now seen in 85 per cent of gardens and ornithologists believe it may be only a matter of time before it takes over from blackbirds as the most common garden species.

Last year in London's urban gardens it overtook feral pigeons for the first time.

Dunnocks have suffered a slump and fell from third to fifth place but the robin population is thought to be stable and the popular bird has remained in fourth position in gardens for the last decade.

"Woodpigeons have crept up and up and up," said Paul Stancliffe of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), which released the figures as part of its Garden BirdWatch scheme. "They've had a meteoric rise.

High cereal content is attractive to pigeons, so if you wish to avoid them, you should not put out food like this.
The Woodpigeon is the largest member of the pigeon family in Britain.

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hawkgenes

at 14:14 on September 30th, 2008

The woody in my picture is fed at the bird table every day and is doing just fine, as are his offspring, who look fully grown by the time they appear. Beautiful birds and well worth the effort to give them a helping hand.

Hawkgenes

Pot Noodle 62

at 14:16 on September 30th, 2008

These Blue tits are very common around our back yards and countryside in south west of Scotland.

Pot Noodle 62 has contributed a photo to this story.

lurcher9302

at 14:23 on September 30th, 2008

In garden every day , to big and slow for the feeders , 5 have been taken by a local cat in the last 6 weeks.

lurcher9302 has contributed a photo to this story.

lambtonwyrm

at 14:30 on September 30th, 2008

This Blue Tit is one of many birds that visit my window feeder here in Co. Durham. Along with Great Tits, Coal Tits and Sparrows the Blue Tiits shuttle backwards and forwards taking the seeds off. I've even had a pair of Collared Doves frequent the feeder and it is amazing how they managed to slot themselves in.

lambtonwyrm has contributed a photo to this story.

SARAND

at 15:09 on September 30th, 2008

A busy blue tit parent attending to her brood who had just flown the nest, we regulary have a family of blue tits nesting in our nest box, each producing around 4 young chicks

SARAND has contributed a photo to this story.

ric seet

at 16:07 on September 30th, 2008

I took this picture of the Blue Tit when I was on vacation in UK in June 2008. They are pretty little birds and I love the markings and colors very much.

ric seet has contributed a photo to this story.

pace1958

at 20:16 on September 30th, 2008

Hi jessica your welcome to use my bluetit pics

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Paula Sealey

at 21:11 on September 30th, 2008

I live near a nature reserve and we have a wide variety of birds visiting our garden. These include the blue tit shown here, but also plenty of woodpigeons and collar doves.

Paula Sealey has contributed a photo to this story.

swamplife56

at 21:24 on September 30th, 2008

Got to love these little chaps.

afterforty

at 22:06 on September 30th, 2008

just one more juvenile blue tit. They are probably the most common birds at my feeders.

afterforty has contributed a photo to this story.

lindazFlickr

at 22:32 on September 30th, 2008

When I took the picture It’s was cold outside and I had put in some new food fore the birds. I must say that I don’t understand that people may not like these birds. They are so beautiful and I think that It’s so nice to have them so close so I can study how they look like, how they do when they are showing each other who’s the” boss” etc .. I’m looking forward to when they come back again.

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Thothian

at 22:45 on September 30th, 2008

Thothian has contributed a photo to this story.

Thothian

at 22:54 on September 30th, 2008

Wood pigeons have become more common in my rural Hampshire garden in recent years. Their cooing is a great sound amongst all the birdsong. I enjoy their ariel displays and wing claps on summer evenings. They often come to the bird bath in dry weather. So far they have n't attacked my vegetable plot!

Thothian has contributed a photo to this story.

red_flame

at 23:13 on September 30th, 2008

im fortunat that i get so many wildbirds in my garden
all sorts of tits,finches,robins and a resident pair of pigeons

red_flame has contributed a photo to this story.

reghorse

at 00:06 on October 1st, 2008

In my garden in Shropshire Woodpidgeons are the most popular bird and roost in a large conifer at the bottom of the garden.Most of my neighbours dislike them and call them pests. This Bird was feeding on food put out on my garden path.When i was young many years ago you rarely saw Woodpigeons, the farmers and game keepers used to shoot them as well as Magpies which were classed as vermin.Woodpidgeons were also eaten.
Reg Horseman

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ria3

at 00:40 on October 1st, 2008

This shot was taken during our weekend away in Wales back in April of this year.
I put some seed on the fence posts right ouside the kitchen and bedroom window's of our caravan and we were visited by a number of Blue Tits, Chaffinches male and female and of course the delightful Robin. But I have to say I was so pleased when a couple of these equally delightful Nuthatches graced us with their presence.

ria3 has contributed a photo to this story.

Paschen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 03:22 on October 1st, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Some species do better with the new climate then others and this will result in an era of great change and even conflicts for survival of those in decline and those that strive on the new conditions. However since those conditions are still changing and this rather rapidly it is likely to see more of this, to the point that the new masters such as the Wood Pigeon may very well be pushed out them self as well with in another decade.

simball

at 04:20 on October 1st, 2008

3 juviniles Blue Tits are shown the 'ropes' ~ or how to feed on my garden nut feeder ~ by adult Blue Tit parents... they all nested in a Blue Tit box (28mm hole) in a nearby tree :-)

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valentepvz

at 07:35 on October 1st, 2008

Hey this is in Spain, not in Britain... =) But thanks for the invite!

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Kath Stennett

at 08:24 on October 1st, 2008

Actually although usually we see many wood pigeon in our garden we have not seen any for several weeks now. This Blue tit is a regular but the most abundant birds in our garden are currently Goldfinch

Kath Stennett has contributed a photo to this story.

wife_of_mr_simms

at 09:40 on October 1st, 2008

I agree with Kath Stennett - the most common bird in my garden is the Goldfinch. On several occasions I have counted at least 20. We do get a couple of wood pigeons that visit on a regular basis, plenty of starlings & a small family of blue tits.

alastair139

at 10:46 on October 1st, 2008

Blue Tits are common in my garden, along with blackbirds, starlings, sparrows, robins, finches, wood pigeons, herring gulls, but most prominent are collared doves. My location is in Central Scotland.

alastair139 has contributed a photo to this story.

patgarcia

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 11:34 on October 1st, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. Beautiful birds!

The Gaff

at 12:01 on October 1st, 2008

This woody is one of three wood pigeons that regularly visit my bird table. On this particular day a rather brave Starling decided to take a stance on who was the boss of the table. I couldn't resist the shot.

The Gaff has contributed a photo to this story.

jimblonduk

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 17:08 on October 1st, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's great stuff.

eshortie

at 09:01 on October 4th, 2008

I'm new to this, got an invite from flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/eshortie/)
This was taken out in my garden. Dad always puts out a birdfeeder and lately Blue Tits have swarmed around it so I decided to take shots, this was prob the most decent of them.

Thanks :)

eshortie has contributed a photo to this story.