Shh, Mrs Quist is incubating

A pair of woodpigeons (called quists where I come from) have set up home in the barn and after a noisy period of nest building have started sitting on the eggs (never more than two) high up close to the roof. They share the duty but Mrs Q. does the bulk of the task and this will continue for 18 days, all being well.

I found this vivid description of pigeons' nests:

"If you stumble upon a pigeon’s nest, it’s not a pretty sight. It looks like a mess of grass stems, pine needles, twigs, sticks, and other debris. It’s piled up with a small depression in the middle. A nest is used throughout the year, so it will start to accumulate more droppings and feathers. Many birds remove droppings from the nest, but pigeons do not. The droppings start to essentially glue together all of the nesting materials. After a brood is pushed out of the nest, the pair uses the same site for the next brood. They simply add new nesting material. These “new” nests may include mummies of pigeons that didn’t survive and unhatched eggs. A nest that is reused multiple years may grow up to eight inches tall and 20 inches wide. They may weigh almost five pounds."


I won't be investigating but I hope the nest and the young survive.  I wouldn't put it past one or two of our cats to attempt to reach it. Such are the risks of being a bird. Indeed, in sadder news, one of our hens became breakfast for a fox yesterday morning. No more 5 (eggs) a day.