catching pigeons

geordief

Is it legal to trap wood pigeons in Ireland?
Is it easy to make a trap or do you just buy one of those metal cage contraptions ? (I saw a few pics on the internet)

tfox

Y do you want to catch one.....?

B00MSTICK

Dastardly and Muttly had awful trouble getting them!

lee70

B00MSTICK wrote: »

Dastardly and Muttly had awful trouble getting them!

NO they didn't LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA97hEtxVq8

Dusty87

geordief wrote: »

Is it legal to trap wood pigeons in Ireland?
Is it easy to make a trap or do you just buy one of those metal cage contraptions ? (I saw a few pics on the internet)

is that a larson trap you seen??
Why would you want to trap woodies?

geordief

Dusty87 wrote: »

is that a larson trap you seen??
Why would you want to trap woodies?

Well they are a bit of a pest at times and I think they are edible.
I have a bevy of them just the other side of my garden wall making a screeching sound and deleafing my cabbages from time to time.
I don't have a gun so trapping sounds more likely.
Couild I use the same trap to catch rabbits by any chance?
I don't want to be hungry.

Anyway here's the trap I saw

http://www.pigeoncontrolresourcecentre.org/html/reviews/kill-pigeons-pigeon-traps-killing-pigeons.html

Dusty87

Cant see that link on my phone for some reason.
Yes they are edible and they are not too bad:)
can be used in a range of dishes. Not sure about the screeching tbh. And have never tried the traps being honest

geordief

that pic any good?

Dusty87

See it now alright. TBH, iv never seen them or used them before. Decoying over crops is what i do most, and iv never even heard of that, to answer your question id be just using google, so no use here. Maybe some other lads will know better soon.

sfakiaman

If there screeching there not woodpidgeons. Still might taste ok though.

geordief

sfakiaman wrote: »

If there screeching there not woodpidgeons. Still might taste ok though.

so what would they be? Another kind of pigeon?

Someone said if they were eating my cabbages that would make them very probably wood pigeons.

I did stand for 10-15 minutes to get a good look at them as they flew between the tops of the sycamore /alder trees and I could see they were definitely a pigeon of some kind.

The screeching noise was very piercing (it goes on all day on and off -there must be dozens of them circling around) and was followed by a rapid deeper clucking sound (about 10 or more clucks at a time)

Dusty87

Pigeons dont screech. Perhaps a bird of prey? But iv never heard them do it all day in one area?

Birdnuts

geordief wrote: »

so what would they be? Another kind of pigeon?

Someone said if they were eating my cabbages that would make them very probably wood pigeons.

I did stand for 10-15 minutes to get a good look at them as they flew between the tops of the sycamore /alder trees and I could see they were definitely a pigeon of some kind.

The screeching noise was very piercing (it goes on all day on and off -there must be dozens of them circling around) and was followed by a rapid deeper clucking sound (about 10 or more clucks at a time)

Strange - if there at your Cabbage it suggests they are a type of dove/pigeon. Maybe some exotic breed thats gone wild in your area

Dusty87

Birdnuts wrote: »

Strange - if there at your Cabbage it suggests they are a type of dove/pigeon. Maybe some exotic breed thats gone wild in your area

if were going that road, a macaw or grey etc would be noticed, a cockatiel or similiar would be run in a matter of minutes, even by the likes of swallows.

maringo

Sounds like magpies to me

Birdnuts

Dusty87 wrote: »

if were going that road, a macaw or grey etc would be noticed, a cockatiel or similiar would be run in a matter of minutes, even by the likes of swallows.

I was thinking more some exotic type of pigeon - probably wrong though:(

PS: There is a large wild/feral population of parakeets in parts of the UK now, but apart from the odd report from Dublin I don't know of any population currently in this country

Dusty87

Birdnuts wrote: »

I was thinking more some exotic type of pigeon - probably wrong though:(

PS: There is a large wild/feral population of parakeets in parts of the UK now, but apart from the odd report from Dublin I don't know of any population currently in this country

can be shot under general licence in the uk i believe. Sorry, didnt think you meant exotic pigeons which i know nothing about. Do know of one wild parakeet here, the woman's handreared, which managed to disappear under my watch!! Bad books for weeks

geordief

I am sure there is nothing exotic in this area.The only thing that rings a bell is the hawk (but I haven't seen it recently).
There are a few magpies too.
I seem to remember the screeches (screams?) began a few years ago when the hawk first showed up.
I assumed the screeches were some sort of a bird sounding off the alarm.
As I said , when I saw them (the pigeons) today there were 2 sounds .First a high pitched screech and then a kind of a series of rapid clucks.
So could the 2 sounds come from 2 different birds?
Do pigeons make that clucking sound ( a bit like a football rattle) ?
I thought they kind of cooed like a dove.

Dusty87

geordief wrote: »

I am sure there is nothing exotic in this area.The only thing that rings a bell is the hawk (but I haven't seen it recently).
There are a few magpies too.
I seem to remember the screeches (screams?) began a few years ago when the hawk first showed up.
I assumed the screeches were some sort of a bird sounding off the alarm.
As I said , when I saw them (the pigeons) today there were 2 sounds .First a high pitched screech and then a kind of a series of rapid clucks.
So could the 2 sounds come from 2 different birds?
Do pigeons make that clucking sound ( a bit like a football rattle) ?
I thought they kind of cooed like a dove.

it sounds a bit funny tbh, and the only thing i can think of now is a hawk screeching and a magpie going mad as he knows the hawk or predator is around. But still, i have never seen a hawk stay over one garden all day, screeching. Maybe if its nest is nearby, but birdnuts will answer that one.

ClarkyTrd

Could be a red kite if its screeching, I came across two the other day in the wood while out walking the dog and they make a horrible screeching sound!

Birdnuts

Dusty87 wrote: »

.

Yes - they will make a racket near the nest all day if their own youngsters are about. However the bird our friend describes is also taking an interest in his cabbages so that would rule of any type of raptor.

PS: I think only a photo is going to settle this one;)

geordief

Birdnuts wrote: »

Yes - they will make a racket near the nest all day if their own youngsters are about. However the bird our friend describes is also taking an interest in his cabbages so that would rule of any type of raptor.

PS: I think only a photo is going to settle this one;)

it would need to be a photo taken at the time the sound was being made.

I know for a certainty that there were (wood?) pigeons flying about when the noises were being made but I can't say if it was actually them making the sound.

So I suppose the question is if there is another bird nearby that I haven't seen.
But if it was a hawk you'd think I would have noticed it.

Maybe it's a magpie I think they are quite aggressive to other birds (they are around)

I'll go down again if the sound continues and maybe I'll be able to associate the bird(s) with the particular sound.

But it is a pain in the neck as the tree tops are high up and you hear the sounds (from 3 or 4 birds) but have to wait an age before a bird becomes visible.

Dusty87

Birdnuts wrote: »

Yes - they will make a racket near the nest all day if their own youngsters are about. However the bird our friend describes is also taking an interest in his cabbages so that would rule of any type of raptor.

PS: I think only a photo is going to settle this one;)

i didn mean the BOP was eating the cabbages:) id love to know what it is.

geordief

Dusty87 wrote: »

i didn mean the BOP was eating the cabbages:) id love to know what it is.

well I suppose I could try to get up fairly close ,record the sound on my smartphone and upload a clip.
I haven't done it before so it's fingers cossed.
I did an internet search for sound clips of magpies but ,although it sounds a bit familiar it is different (there are loads of different kinds of magpies all over the world so they wouldn't be expected to be identical).
Also , since magpies are supposed to be great talkers (imitators?) maybe they would be putting out more than just continuous screeches

geordief

I did go down and stared at the birds thgrough the branches .And I also tried to record the sound on my phone but couldn't save it to the disk or upload it.

Anyway I posted this question on the Nature & Bird Watching forum (still boards.ie - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056338025 ) So maybe one of the cognoscenti there will understand what might be going on .

I think I may have seen magpies, pigeons and also a kestrel.
Maybe the magpies and the kestrel have similar (confusing) sounds?

It might explain why the cabbages haven't been hit so far this year if the magpies are scaring the pigeons(they are still there mind you) .
Also the kestrel could be alarming the magpies