Slightly odd behaviour

SteveL
SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,300 ✭✭✭
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edited September 2016 in Wildlife, Nature & the Great Outdoors #1

looking for some input from all you ornithologists out there. 

We often get birds landing on the roof of our van, particularly pigeons, but today's was really odd.

It landed on the roof and proceeded to march up and down for several minutes, pausing to peer through the skylight or over the edge. It didnt fly away when we moved around or when other people walked past as usually happens. Eventually it disappeared, only to return and repeat the performance a little while later.

never had a bird stay on the roof so long, as I said, odd.

Could it be a territorial thing? 

(We haven't got feeders up to encourage birds, keep them for our garden )

Comments

  • Rocky 2 buckets
    Rocky 2 buckets Forum Participant Posts: 7,101
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    edited September 2016 #2

    SL, it may be used to being fed by folk & has got in the habit of doing a set routine that then brings food from the inhabitants of the LV. Similar to birds sat around MT feeders that don't fly off whilst you top them up. They may be bird brained but they
    can learn by habitHappy

  • Fysherman
    Fysherman Forum Participant Posts: 1,570
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    edited September 2016 #3

    Might have been a racing pigeon looking through the skylight hoping you had a map out. Happy

    They are used to humans so will behave differently to wild ones 

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,135 ✭✭✭
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    edited September 2016 #4

    We had a similar experience recently. The pigeon came back 2 or 3 times and kept peering through the Heki. I guess he was taking advantage of the viewing pane while trying to work out why humans were sat in a white box.

    They're clearly used to vans and know there may be food on offer. 

  • huskydog
    huskydog Club Member Posts: 5,460 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited September 2016 #5

    could have been the previous occupants of the pitch had put food out for them ,and they soon catch on.....

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,300 ✭✭✭
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    edited September 2016 #6

    SL, it may be used to being fed by folk & has got in the habit of doing a set routine that then brings food from the inhabitants of the LV. Similar to birds sat around MT feeders that don't fly off whilst you top them up. They may be bird brained but they
    can learn by habitHappy

    They are certainly brighter than they are given credit for. A couple at home have learnt how to get peanuts out of the feeder, which is minus its top, by balancing precariously and just about standing on their heads. 

  • Pliers
    Pliers Forum Participant Posts: 1,864
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    edited September 2016 #7

    looking for some input from all you ornithologists out there. 

    We often get birds landing on the roof of our van, particularly pigeons, but today's was really odd.

    It landed on the roof and proceeded to march up and down for several minutes, pausing to peer through the skylight or over the edge. It didnt fly away when we moved around or when other people walked past as usually happens. Eventually it disappeared, only to return and repeat the performance a little while later.

    never had a bird stay on the roof so long, as I said, odd.

     

    Was it at the Club's Sandringham site, Steve? The wood pigeons there are incredible tame.

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,300 ✭✭✭
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    edited September 2016 #8

    No, Cirencester. In general they don't seem particularly tame here and normally fly off if you go anywhere near.

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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    edited September 2016 #9

    We've had a similar experience but it our case it was a stray racing pigeon which stayed around for a couple of days doing similar. Hate to think what happened to it if it ever made it back to its loft, mind!

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