Wood Pigeons.

Over the years I have tolerated these plump and pushy birds. I have rescued them innumerable times when they have entered the greenhouse to feed on our produce and then been too dumb to get out. I have allowed them to feed from the bird table, even though they devoured most of the food placed there, thus denying the smaller birds a decent feed. I have let them trample all over our daffodils and I have never seriously contemplated harming them.

 

But of late, it seems that this treatment has encouraged more than ever of them to frequent the garden and they are starting to be a significant pest. Unfortunately,  they are too large to be tackled by our also numerous Sparrow Hawks, which can take out a Collard Dove but do not attack the Wood Pigeons. 

 

This has resulted in me shocking myself, with the thought that I should cull some of these birds. I don't know whether I can steel myself to do it, but just in case, I have been reading through pigeon recipes and looking at an excellent video about how to pluck and gut them. (View.)

 

Macabre or what! No, just cost effective game control and usage in the countryside. It couldn't be more natural.