Tag Archives: Wood pigeon

Unusual dinner guests

Bjargdúfa – Rock Dove – Columba livia

This is the first year that we have had pigeons in the garden, both Rock Doves and Wood Pigeons.  We have no idea why this is happening now but with cereal farming on the increase Iceland is probably becoming more attractive to them.

At first they were quite shy but now they have got used to us and are not afraid to come to the feeding trays just outside our living room window, as can be seen on the pictures.

Hringdúfa – Wood pigeon – Columba palumbus

Rock Pigeons have breed in cliffs in a few places in East Iceland for some time but breeding pairs are believed to be about 300 – 500. The Wood Pigeon is mainly a vagrant but breeding has been recorded in a few places in recent years. Many years ago Domestic Pigeons used to come by the garden but they are not as common as they used to be.

A big garden bird

Hringdúfa – Wood pigeon – Columba palumbus

A Wood Pigeon can now be added to the list of birds in our garden. For about 10 days this bird has taken a great liking to our garden, and sometimes we have seen two of them. These two seem to be males and are not at all fond of each other’s company.  Our Wood Pigeon is getting to like us more every day and becoming tamer and more relaxed.

The Wood Pigeon is a vagrant in Iceland but its numbers have been increasing in recent years. Confirmation of successful breeding has been recorded a few times.

In many countries the Wood Pigeon is not so well liked. In agriculture they can cause damage to crops and in some places it is legal to shoot them. Wood Pigeons are common in parks and gardens in Europe and western Asia and their numbers are growing in  cities.