Bird control in Perth

We found this unconcerned bird nesting in Perth on a roof this week; it’s a collared dove, Streptopelia decaocto. 

A customer had been having problems with pigeons nesting in their chimneys and had asked us to do a bird control survey of the problem. When we got up onto the roof we found this collared dove nesting in the gutter; our customer said that they always nested there. It’s a bit of an odd spot for a nest, you’d think it would get too wet for comfort, but the doves seem to like it.

The collared dove is a lovely pinky-grey colour with striking black wing tips. It gets its name from the black collar that’s round the back of its neck. They appeared in the south east of the UK in the 1950s after spreading across Europe. It was thought that they’d breed rapidly and become a major nuisance but, although they are established all over the UK now, they haven’t reached the high numbers that were first feared. However, they do form flocks where there is lots of grain around for food and they are adapted well to living on buildings, so they are classed as pest birds for the purposes of protecting crops and public health.

Our customer didn’t want this collared dove’s nest moving though; she said it was only a little bit of a nuisance and she loved to see the pair of doves in her garden. She was a lot more concerned about the mess from the pigeons; feathers in the fireplace, and flies and insect infestations in the house from dead birds and nesting material in the chimneys. We’ve dealt with all the insect problems and nesting material and installed bird proofing on the chimneys. The pigeons won’t be causing a nuisance there again and the collared doves will have the roof to themselves from now on.