Aggressive collared doves!!

[merlin]

I'm sat at the table in the dining room with a glass of wine on the go (I know, life can be hard at times....), tappping away at the laptop, when through the patio doors I spot a woodpigeon hovering up the stuff that the smaller songbirds manage to chuck out of the feeders. Nowt unusual so far.....
(and the woodies are quite safe in the garden, even from the air-rifle....they're not doing any harm here, and I do try and instil in my son that you just don't shoot something simply because it's there. If that same pigeon swoops into my decoys on Sunday up at the farm over the peas, however, then that's a VERY different story!!)

But then - a collared dove, roughly a third the size of the well-fed woodie - swoops in and launches itself at the pigeon, really quite a vicious onslaught, and harries it right out of the garden.

Not seen this before, has anyone else? Or has this particular dove got a bit punchy early on after a few Friday beers too many????

 

[SC243]

Never seen an aggressive collared dove before, I have woodies and collared doves at the feders and they normally scare each other off when one flies in to feed!! Good point about the woodies in the garden, I also tend to leave them to feed, but I have looked at them from time to time and thought about how nice pan fried woodie breasts are!!!

Do you think it would be ethical to take the odd one from time to time???

 

[merlin]

Only within the terms of the general license..... and if they are s***ing all over your decking or garden furniture and you're worried that you/the wife/the kids may catch summat nasty, I reckon the 'protecting human health' piece would apply.....

 

[SC243]

I'll remember that one next time I fancy pigeon breast on toast.

 

[rabbitmaster]

I no this sounds abit odd but my mate has got a pet magpie and it gets hammered by the doves next door.

 

[Robdemanc]

They seem very aggressive. There are several that come to our garden and the two mating ones are very aggressive to other doves, pigeons and magpies too. Also they have become so used to me feeding them that they come and sit on the window ledge staring in at me until I go out and feed them. But they are very nice to look at and I am fond of them.

 

[limulus]

Invaders from far off shores......shoot 'em

 

[neil_r]

A month or so ago we were invaded by a few who were not so much aggressive but very randy and noisy. their 04:30 hrs orgies outside our bedroom window were just too much to put up with. Said doves are no more

 

[Bertie Dastard]

I posted this on another forum back in June.



About an hour ago a Magpie was giving some nesting Doves a hard time.

One of the Doves was going ape and mobbing it.

It (Magpie) flew into my garden and started trying to steal food from the call bird in Larsen trap.

Eventually it entered the trap and was caught.

I looked out ten minutes later to find the dove sat on top of the trap trying to attack it through the mesh.

It had it's feathers ruffled up and was arching it's wings like a hawk.

I have never seen this before.

Do I have "Killer Doves" nesting in my conifers?

 

[teyhan1]

Collared doves are well documented for being one of those birds that will have a full on fight with magpies in defense of it's nest/chicks