To Love Pigeons

[itsnotmeitsu]

theconversation.com/in-defence-of-pigeons-187216?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB > Putting a link on here but I don't think it works. The article came up on on Firefox. I love to see the pigeons in my garden, and can work out the pairs. I love to see the fat fools rambling about. I don't leave out food for them, but they peck at my apple trees. I also love to hear them calling to each other from far away. There'll be a pigeon sound and, a few seconds later, one back, saying 'I'm here'.

We have a heirarchy of what creatures are acceptable to humans. It infuriates me when I see adults encouraging their children to go for pigeons by kicking at them etc, rather than teaching them to respect all forms of life.

I have so many questions about this picture! Why is it on a doormat? Is it inside your house? Did it lay that egg??

Pigeons have adapted extremely well to live in areas populated by humans. Just like foxes, rats and mice. I have a theory that people don't like to see any animals doing too well in a human environment. People love pandas, but they would hate them if they were all over town and going through their bins.

Hehe, it’s not my photo sadly but they are notorious for building rubbish nests- google “pigeon rubbish nests” and you’ll see loads of examples 😁

I love them too. And gulls, grey squirrels, magpies, rats.

I like them. Live in London suburbs so get a mixture of wood pigeons and their town cousins the rock doves. Sometimes I get into feeding them - I know I shouldn't but it's hard when you see the same one coming back time after time and looking quizzically at you through the back door, thinking, "Come on, food lady". The rock doves are pretty intelligent and can definitely recognise one human over another.

I absolutely love pigeons, especially wood pigeons. They are incredibly beautiful with their slate-blue/grey/lilac/pink/russet plumage with touches of green and white. I love the way you can't see individual feathers because they all merge into a smooth finish.

My personal view is that people who don't see the amazing beauty of pigeons are stupid, insensitive, philistine fools. If pigeons (like pheasants) were rare, we'd we raving about them, but because you see them everywhere no-one really looks at them.

I agree that their cooing (wood pigeons: My toe hurts, Betty, my toe hurts! and Collared doves: United, united!) is lovely, restful and life-enhancing.

Long live all kinds of pigeons, even the Trafalgar Square variety - bless them.

I had to take a seagull with a broken wing on quite long car journey last week (to a wildlife rescue). Christ it was loud, and huge and shat for England. I still found it endearing though.

Yep, me too, particularly rats. They are soooo cute! Their twitchy noses and furry little faces ...

Magpies are utter arseholes but can be so funny. We have a juvenile one that has yet to figure out that it can't walk up a steep roof. It just slides back down. We had a couple of sparrow families nesting in neighbours' eaves and using our feeders, so I didn't like the magpies to feel too welcome in the garden (sadly, all in vain as I think the hot spell in July killed them). I they play hide and seek, walking along a fence until they can't see you any more. One of them ended up hiding its head behind some trellis and figured I couldn't see it any more 🤣

I've found my pigeon people 😀😀But I wouldn't want to take on a magpie > they will never back down from the foxes when they've got chicks. It's like, 'I will kill you'.

Oh, and the crows are even more fierce. They'll follow the foxes on the ground chattering at them - love those fierce birds (but also love my foxes).

I like pigeons, we have a field full of trees at the back of our house and there is a pair of pretty wood pigeons who live out there (Mr & Mrs Wood Pigeon) when they aren't shagging they're squabbling with each other.

@PickAChew > I would spend endless hours watching your birds 😀The more of an "utter arsehole" a creature is the better 😁, as I tell my dog over and over again.

@Picklypickles > That's the thing with pigeons; if people take the time to study them they'll see the patterns in their behaviour and how they're a creature (bird) that looks after their family so well. There're bumbly fools, but they care about their family. It does make me laugh when they spread themselves out on the ground when it's hot.

Oh no, I've just thought of something. My pigeon who comes into my garden and whose friend I'd like to be (mentioned earlier in thread ) is always on his own. That can't be a good think, can it? People keep mentioning groups and couples on here, so it's got me thinking. Please tell me it's normal or I'll sob!

I'm going against the grain to say I hate them.

I do see parents allowing their kids to run after them and scare them, which I hate, because it makes them fly off.

I think it is cruel, it must be scary for the pigeons seeing something 20 x their size chasing them.

But I have a very real phobia of flapping things, which means I'm not good when they're around and avoid city centre shopping because of them.

I love watching the fat pigeons trying to balance on the slender branches of the cherry tree.

I once pointed out the nice Mr and Mrs Pigeon to my young daughter and they immediately started shagging which was a bit embarrassing ( for me; they are shameless and rightly so)

We love pigeons, my daughter named the 3 who visit our garden. This was after the bauble shaped Bob crashed into her window.

I hate the filthy disgusting things, they start with their stupid noise before the crack of dawn which wakes my cats who then wake me. They shit all over the garden and the furniture and spend all day shagging anything and everything. They are not cute, they are vermin but I would hate to see anyone hurt them.

I love them too! Also love DOVES - posh pigeons.

Are you getting pigeons confused with men?

I dont dislike pigeons. They don't harm anyone. What does annoy me is, being woken up at 3am by some fecker cooing loudly outside my window.
This happened the other day, twice. I think some male pigeon was getting a bit much.

@TwoMonthsOff that is the best thing I have read in weeks ❤️ absolutely warmed my heart.

I love pigeons, love all animals really. Have two resident wood pigeons in our garden. Lovely to watch and observe.

And I get what OP means, when I was growing up (in a big city then) my Mother would actively encourage me to run at and shout at groups of pigeons because she said they were vermin 😞