Yes Wood Pigeons are on a list but it’s “Amber” that would still not allow you to shoot a Magpie raiding its nest in your garden
Garden control
- Thread starter tolley
- Start date
Are you Sure ? Not sure that the GL mentions red list, or amber list, only birds on the list of conservation concern ?
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Here is the current Government list of Bird species of Conservation Concern appertaining to GL004, the Wood Pigeon is not on there
Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
The list isn’t a straight forward traffic light listing.
A bird can be amber listed because of the percentage of the population that is present in the country on a seasonal basis.
You have a large population of wood pigeons in the UK.
To change the subject, is there any evidence that the removal of magpies from the GL in Wales has had or is having any effect on bird numbers and breeding success?
This thread has been an interesting read, as someone who has removed large numbers of squirrels, wood pigeons and some magpies from my garden. I did not see a post describing how big or isolated the OP's garden is, and a lot depends on that.
I am asked to reduce wood pigeons numbers in neighbouring farms, and seeing wood pigeons eating the cherries in my garden (which are edible cherries, we pick for eating), is no different under the GL. My only lament is I am far off from having Tim's skills with them.
Anyone can remove Greys at any time, so long it is done safely and humanely. I found traps to be useless, so they are all shot: our Grey squirrels were removed in silly numbers, as we were overrun with them - after plugging away for several years, now there are none, and the bird life seems to be recovering. Regardless of what Youtube video is out there, a catapult with lead 8mm balls, does not kill a squirrel, and there was a guy prosecuted successfully two years ago for causing suffering after a squirrel took five airgun shots under the watchful eye of their neighbours. Squirrels are really tough animals. A .17 HMR deals with them in the most humane way. If it is a small garden, then a subsonic
.22LR + mod is the solution.
On Magpies: We have possibly the most northern nutcrackers in our garden, as well as woodpeckers, song thrushes and many varieties of tit. The magpies can be seen attacking them in their nests, on the bird table and even on the ground, so I have no problem reducing magpie numbers, and suggest that anyone else seeing similar behaviour could argue the same.
Farmers often ask me to remove Corvids, but I point out they are not eating the crop, just insects, so are actually doing good and by law have to be left alone. Surprising even a rookery next to wheat fields, the rooks don't seem to eat the crop other then the fallen grain left after harvesting.
So to the OP, if you have fruit trees then I suggest removing Woodies is not a problem, and if magpies are seriously pestering song birds on the conservation list, they can be removed as well. Greys should be removed everywhere it is safe to do so.
I am asked to reduce wood pigeons numbers in neighbouring farms, and seeing wood pigeons eating the cherries in my garden (which are edible cherries, we pick for eating), is no different under the GL. My only lament is I am far off from having Tim's skills with them.
Anyone can remove Greys at any time, so long it is done safely and humanely. I found traps to be useless, so they are all shot: our Grey squirrels were removed in silly numbers, as we were overrun with them - after plugging away for several years, now there are none, and the bird life seems to be recovering. Regardless of what Youtube video is out there, a catapult with lead 8mm balls, does not kill a squirrel, and there was a guy prosecuted successfully two years ago for causing suffering after a squirrel took five airgun shots under the watchful eye of their neighbours. Squirrels are really tough animals. A .17 HMR deals with them in the most humane way. If it is a small garden, then a subsonic
.22LR + mod is the solution.
On Magpies: We have possibly the most northern nutcrackers in our garden, as well as woodpeckers, song thrushes and many varieties of tit. The magpies can be seen attacking them in their nests, on the bird table and even on the ground, so I have no problem reducing magpie numbers, and suggest that anyone else seeing similar behaviour could argue the same.
Farmers often ask me to remove Corvids, but I point out they are not eating the crop, just insects, so are actually doing good and by law have to be left alone. Surprising even a rookery next to wheat fields, the rooks don't seem to eat the crop other then the fallen grain left after harvesting.
So to the OP, if you have fruit trees then I suggest removing Woodies is not a problem, and if magpies are seriously pestering song birds on the conservation list, they can be removed as well. Greys should be removed everywhere it is safe to do so.
You make a lot of good points.
Corvids - agree (mainly) with your point on rooks but carrions will cause massive crop damage and carrions and jackdaws eat a lot of feed around the yards and love poking holes in silage clamp sheeting and love maize silage - so saying that corvids generally dont do crop damage is not entirely accurate. I cant shoot rooks or magpies in Wales so have to confine myself to carrions and jackdaws..over the border is much easier
Yes, each farm is different. I accept that somewhere in the UK, every bird on the GL list causes sufficient nuisance as to warrant culling them.You make a lot of good points.
Corvids - agree (mainly) with your point on rooks but carrions will cause massive crop damage and carrions and jackdaws eat a lot of feed around the yards and love poking holes in silage clamp sheeting and love maize silage - so saying that corvids generally dont do crop damage is not entirely accurate. I cant shoot rooks or magpies in Wales so have to confine myself to carrions and jackdaws..over the border is much easier
Just up here near Edinburgh, on the permissions I manage, corvids seem not to be eating the crops of beans, wheat and barley, hence I leave them alone to go for the insects.
Pity corvids do not eat ticks. I have never know a year like this one, for ticks. They are orders of magnitude greater in number than I have experienced previously.
On one farm, the tick levels are so extreme this year, than I am contemplating culling all the deer, and anything else that carries ticks (other than people), and keeping the numbers at zero for a couple of years, to get the tick numbers back under control, as they have a two year cycle. I don't think they can survive as a population using birds, and rabbits here don't seem to have many ticks, but would remove them all at the same time to be sure, as they are not doing the farmer any favours.
Was going to post a new thread similar to above and found this one... I gather for 2026 the GL4 hasn't materially changed from previous years.
We are swamped with magpie, carion crow and wood pigeon. We've got an acre of woodland off our garden but living in a village with, er, Packham supporters, it's very difficult to even think about how I might be able to thin out the numbers. The pigeon are covering everything with droppings, eating our grass seed, chomping on cherries. The magpies seems to raiding nests of black birds etc the crows seen to mob everything they come into contact with... but what can be done about it?
Tried scaring with clapping, scarecrows and decoys - nothing works. Being in this part of the world, it seems it's only the posh folk who shoot pheasant or people paying lots of money for stalking. The birds in-between are fearless and very abundant!
If some of my neighbours ever found out I shoot anything, even the tree rats, I'd be risking a good verbal beating and possibly a thump off one individual...
We are swamped with magpie, carion crow and wood pigeon. We've got an acre of woodland off our garden but living in a village with, er, Packham supporters, it's very difficult to even think about how I might be able to thin out the numbers. The pigeon are covering everything with droppings, eating our grass seed, chomping on cherries. The magpies seems to raiding nests of black birds etc the crows seen to mob everything they come into contact with... but what can be done about it?
Tried scaring with clapping, scarecrows and decoys - nothing works. Being in this part of the world, it seems it's only the posh folk who shoot pheasant or people paying lots of money for stalking. The birds in-between are fearless and very abundant!
If some of my neighbours ever found out I shoot anything, even the tree rats, I'd be risking a good verbal beating and possibly a thump off one individual...
shakey jake
Well-Known Member
Get some chickens, then work under gl42
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