How do doves protect themselves

In addition, pigeons can also warn other pigeons of dangers in the area by creating a sharp whistling like sound using their wings. The birds have special feathers on each wing that vibrate when the bird takes off.

The faster the bird takes off the more alarming the sound is. The fact that the sound is made when the bird takes flight is helpful because other birds may not hear it while in flight or they may hear it too late. In the animal kingdom, an injury can be life-threatening if the injury has punctured major organs or if the bird loses a lot of blood. Also, bites from dogs and cats can result in an infection which can be deadly.

If a pigeon is injured and feels as though it is about to die it will go somewhere secluded and dark to spend its last days. Going somewhere secluded will prevent them from getting attacked by predators. In addition, these dark and secluded places help them feel at peace. These places can include ventilation shafts, holes crevices and other openings.

In fact, in some cases, if the pigeon flock realizes that a pigeon is injured the flock may attack it themselves. The flock will peck at the injured pigeon and stomp on it until is dead, this is a survival tactic.

Sick and injured pigeons draw predators to the flock. These birds have been living side by side with humans for ages. I think this may have to do with their very fast and direct flight: to shoot them requires quick reflexes, but their trajectory is readily tracked, so they're relatively easy to bring down. They spend the spring and summer pairing up and procreating. In winter they join flocks and seek out large food supplies, like waste grain in farm fields.

The widespread destruction of forest has made the countryside generally more hospitable to this bird of open spaces and forest edges.

Bird feeders have also made it possible for them to live farther north in the winter. Although their numbers along with those of most wildlife in this country dwindled in the late 19th century because of a bedlam of hunting, there are now many more mourning doves than there were before European settlement. From where the idea arose that doves are symbols of peace is a mystery to me; they're actually quite aggressive. The other birds under the feeder know better than to get too close to them.

I doubt that the doves are sitting there like Norman Bates , thinking, "I'm so peaceful. I wouldn't hurt a fly," before they charge another dove or try to peck a finch. Dove chicks are as forthright about wanting their milk as their parents are about not wanting other birds close to them. They're not peaceful, but at least they're honest.

Because of the stay at home thing we have been watching it hourly, and one moment it was there with his cute little head poking out and the next hour it was gone. Mar 30, Foil that crow! I have been trying for years to get a pair of doves to return and have succeeded. Because of the pandemic, we are home, and the predator crow has showed himself. I tied a mylar balloon, still on the ceiling from Valentine's Day, to a paint can and set it on the patio.

Now I am going to string up strips of foil. Babies just few days old. Mar 17, Crow took dove baby by: Anonymous We lost a baby dove to a vicious crow this morning. It's the second year the doves made a nest in our hanging basket. I think there is still a baby left but it's hard to tell. It's quite upsetting to witness the whole thing. My 93 year old mother and I both watch the doves. It helped reading about your experiences. Thank you. Jul 21, Mourning doves on patio by: Anonymous My story is so much like yours.

The adult dove sacrificed itself. I had to take the babies to project wildlife. They would have froze. Crows are smart. Apr 29, moving eggs by: Gene They may push them out of the nest if they are no longer viable.

Most of the time they just move on. They do not move them to incubate in a safer environment. If eggs are suddenly missing, it's most likely a predator like raccoons, cats, crow and jays or snakes. I have had the same problem. I just want to do something about it. I Think I will try the strips first. Jul 21, crows by: Gene The raptors will prey on the young crows and the crows will prey on the dove squabs.

Jul 20, Crows and doves. There is a pair of doves that seem to nest in a pine next to my home. They call to each other each morning. There are also many crows that share those trees. I have seen no interaction between the species.

Also have eagles, hawks and owls. The crows harass the raptors, but seem to ignore the doves and smaller birds. I find this odd. Is it an odd or unusual behavior? Jul 04, Tin foil by: Anonymous Anonymous can you post photo of how you hung the tin foil? Up and down like an ornament, how long That doesn't make sense, because they have different units which supposedly target different birds.

I saw that even Target had it out of stock at this time. The other day we watched crows swoop in and carry off live dove hatchlings. We were horrified. But the doves are in tall trees on our street. Jun 08, Doves nesting on patio worried about crows by: Anonymous We had a crow attack the other day.

Fortunately I was home and able to scare him off. I have since hung strips of aluminum foil around the nest and even on the planter the doves are in. I watched a crow swoop down towards the nest and then fly away.

We are day three with no more attacks. May 15, Crows by: Gene Unfortunately, crows and other birds eat the eggs and young of birds. There isn't much you can do unless you can find a way to block the invaders out. May 15, 2 new baby doves We have a nest on our front porch in a hanging basket.

The doves return to it every year Apr 25, I'm a city girl but I love nature. This kept going on for a couple of days with another dove present. I didn't know much about birds but I thought it would be so cool if they were a pair of love birds looking for a place to start a family.

And this is what they were doing. Apr 15, Baby doves by: Coralie We are in England and have a dovecote in the garden.

This week we have had crows trying to get the chicks. Not seen them doing this in the past and they are coming back every 30 minutes or so. Mar 19, protecting squabs by: Gene When it comes to protecting the nest and young there are no clear answers. Test and see what works. Thank you for caring about our birds. Mar 19, Protecting Baby Doves by: Anonymous We had two baby doves in a hanging planter in our courtyard that were thriving well. As they got older I started to notice that the parents were not on the nest as much.

This morning I saw a big ol' black crow flying away from our courtyard. Sure enough, when I looked in the nest, both babies were gone. Absolutely heartbroken. We are thinking about building a round cover made out of chicken wire to secure to the planter with a wide enough opening for the parents, but not large enough for crows. Any thoughts on this? We are very new at this bird stuff! About two weeks ago we had spotted doves come and build a nest outside our kitchen window under the balcony.

It's covered, and they built it so that you can see it from inside the house, but not when you're out in the yard. Oct 26, Oh my heart! I was so honoured they had chosen our place!

A Crow came for the eggs and one day it ate one. Another day it scared the mother and the egg was out of the nest. Jul 05, doves attacked by: Gene The cover was the factor in the doves choice for a nesting site.

The flags may help if they choose to nest again and only then, does preventing crow attacks matter. Jul 03, Baby Doves Gone Parents Devastated by: CA Bird Lover We have hosted several nests over the past two years as we have a deeply covered overhang with flower baskets on our back patio. The fledglings had hatched and were making good progress.

Late last week the ficus trees were cut back by the association which provided shade and a screen to the back area. Last night I noticed the mom was not on the nest and when I looked further the babies were gone.

Both parents have been circling around, checking and checking the nest and are just staring into space. I now believe it was crows. They move fast and are stealth.

So I have these flags I picked up in Saulita last month and I'm going to string them on my patio. Will this help? Jun 18, it happens; it's awful by: Anonymous One of the hanging baskets outside our kitchen door has no plant in it, just for the doves, who come back every year and put up with us walking back and forth right next to them.

May 07, Doves return after nest disaster by: Anonymous A pair of doves made a nest in our hanging fuchsia, but when the eggs hatched, a raven attacked and killed the two fledglings. The nest was empty for days, but now the dove parents have returned.

Is this common? I just noticed one nestled down in the plant this morning. Apr 28, Shiny scarecrow by: Anonymous Lots of shiny mylar balloons and Pinwheel's. The balloons don't have to be inflated.

Just hang them from string and they blow in the wind. I hang them all around the perimeter of my patio. Somewhat close to the ground because the crows walk in to where they think there is a nest. Apr 15, Shiny moving objects by: Anonymous I put Mylar balloons around my deck and added a few more sparkly things that move in the wind. I saw info that said crows don't like shiny things that move! My dove has hatched one of her eggs today so I'm hoping for the best with my crow deterrent!

Apr 06, Damn Crows! I knew little about the crow predators until they stole the 2 eggs almost in front of me. Crows are extremely smart, bold and aggressive compared to most local birds. Sadly, doves seems so innocent and not very smart. The first clue is the rather sloppy and effortless nests they build compared to most birds.

Regardless, we love them! This year, they returned and made their nest in basically the same place, but even more concealed than last year.

Apr 05, Baby doves by: Anonymous Thank you for sharing your post. We also had two fledglings and just this morning they were attacked and killed. This is the second year the doves came back, last year their eggs were taken. It is sad and you want to protect them, but there is nothing you can do. We live in a patio home and the nest was right next to the stucco wall of our neighbor's home and only about 4 feet from the ground and still, they got attacked. Jul 02, doves return by: Gene If they felt the site was no longer secure they will move on.

Crows do eat the eggs and young of other birds. So do many other birds. Jul 01, Crows and an empty Nest by: Nicole I'm so sad We had doves nest, have hatchings and somehow I managed to see them off the day they flew the coup. It was awesome. Jun 14, Doves and wildlife. This AM I found dove feathers, under the nest on the ground! At first, I thought it was the female, but she was sitting on the nest!

I believe it was her mate and I remember them flying back and forth every 60 seconds building the nest. There are also crows that frequent my yard, but I don't know what actually killed the dove and there was no body! Also, a baby deer disappeared several days prior! It was the size of one of my large cats, who are strictly indoors.

I thought of intervening, since the fawn was only a day ot two old, but I didn't and. I was hoping the mother would find him. There isn't anybody out there who helps the deer, except poachers and animal control with a bullet to the head! Society has become as calloused as mother nature! I have rescued a lot of cats and will rescue other animals as needed.

It's nice to hear other people giving animals a chance. May 05, Thank you for letting me know im not crazy by: Barbara. Apr 03, I hope it wasn't a crow They are about one week old. This morning around 7am, one of the faithful parents was there with the babies.

When we left for school at 8am the nest was empty! Yesterday morning, the parent left for about 30 minutes, but the babies were in the nest. I think they are too young to fly!