Whilst many of our other common birds breeding efforts are restricted to the Spring, the wood pigeon breeds in Otley 10 months out of 12! Breeding from February to November and taking a little Christmas and New Year break. It is fairly easy to spot these large birds at it, as I did today at Wharfemeadows park. The male starts to display with his familiar drawn out 5 syllable coo, then performs a display flight, fluttering around the female and if she is suitably impressed, she’ll present.
For this reason and that they are generalist eaters, they are one of the most numerous wild birds in Britain, with a population estimated at around 2.5 million pairs.
By River Six
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