Everything You Wanted to Know About Wood Pigeons

This is a photo of a Wood Pigeon…not that interesting you might think.  However, this is (I believe) a juvenile pigeon, which I don’t recall ever seeing until recently.  Here are some facts about Wood Pigeons:
 
Though they have been recorded breeding in every month of the year, the peak month for fledging is August.
A female woody never lays more than two eggs in a clutch, but she may lay as many as six repeat clutches in a year if she loses her eggs.
Squabs are fed by both parents on a liquid known as crop or pigeon milk. (I’ve seen this take place in our garden for the first time this year)
In winter the pecking rate when feeding increases from around 70 pecks a minute in the morning to over 100 before going to roost.
Oilseed rape is a favourite winter food, and partly explains why these birds are thriving in the modern countryside.
The capacity of the crop is remarkable: it can hold as many as 150 acorns, 1,000 grains of wheat or 200 beans.
It takes a young woody16 weeks to acquire its distinctive white neck ring.
This bird is considered to be a major agricultural pest, causing at least £3 million worth of damage to crops annually in the UK.
It’s by far the most numerous large wild bird in Britain, with a population estimated at around 2.5 million pairs.

So.....so now you know!

You have to accept the fact that sometimes you are the pigeon, and sometimes you are the statue.
Claude Chabrol