UK Woodpigeon migration (1 Viewer)

JHDraytonbassettpits said:

Plenty of Woodpigeon coming in from the East at the moment 1000's and yet at Spurn not even double figure counts http://www.spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/sightings/

Can anyone explain why ?


Regards, John

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andy r said:

we don't get big movements of woodpigeons at Spurn, never have, it is thought that birds don't move en masse across the north sea. Most big movements are probably British birds moving south-west through the middle of the country and leaving to France via the south coast
Andy

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JHDraytonbassettpits said:

Thanks Andy, There are big counts at Norh Staffs area Black Bank http://www.trektellen.org/trektelling.asp?telpost=419&site=0&land=5&taal=2&datum=20131104 and Berry Hill fields details trektellen site.
Monday I had a minimum of 6405 viewed from Hartshill Hayes CP (Warks)
http://www.trektellen.org/trektelling.asp?telpost=1104
they were coming in from from the East from Coalville and also south of Leicester majority heading SW .
There's no chance then the birds are coming in overnight, however radar would then pick up any large movemnts of birds, so it would appear they are British Birds forming large pods some containing 1000 birds generally moving SW.

Regards, John

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andy r said:

you should speak to Clive McKay who coordinates the trektellen in the uk, he has very detailed theories. Large numbers certainly follow the pennines down the country but how far they have come is not certain, but not from the continent
Andy

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andy r said:

we don't get big movements of woodpigeons at Spurn, never have, it is thought that birds don't move en masse across the north sea. Most big movements are probably British birds moving south-west through the middle of the country and leaving to France via the south coast
Andy

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Clive A said:

I thought that the thinking was that they dispersed in the south of Britain and only crossed the channel in the hardest of conditions. Sure I read that somewhere.

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andy r said:

we don't get big movements of woodpigeons at Spurn, never have, it is thought that birds don't move en masse across the north sea. Most big movements are probably British birds moving south-west through the middle of the country and leaving to France via the south coast
Andy

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stonechat1 said:

And me surpises that this thread is still in the ID-subforum. Not really the proper place.

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Clive A said:

One of the Derbyshire birders had 76680 south west on 05/11/2013 during a 4 hour 20 minute watch. :eek!:

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Tideliner said:

I think we will never know how large the autumn migration of wood pigeons in the UK is until there is a serious ringing effort to mark as many as possible in mid winter. The majority of wood pigeons ringed in the UK are likely to be pulli and breeding adults caught in the summer ( The only time of year when they came be regulary caught in mist nets ) . I suspect a serious catching program rocket netting several thousand birds might provide some interesting returns from the eastern side of the North Sea. While I have not seen it regulary I have seen at times hundreds and once thousands of pigeons comming in off the North sea. I seem to remember a record of 10,000s comming in over Gt Yarmouth in the Norfolk Bird report back in the 1950s or 60s. I suspect wood pigeon migration into the UK does happen , though possibly not every year in to this country.

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