Especially for Seaman...........

I too have a soft spot for collared doves - in fact at one point we had 14 in the (small) garden at once.  We have our regulars - the injured dove and a female dove with an upturned feather on its back that we call 'our lady' who comes with her fella.  Unfortunately they have a soft spot for one of our fence panels and it seems to be their 'making out zone' - as can be witnessed below - don't worry I've kept it clean................very cute though, they're obviously in love.............

awwww that is lovely!  Isn't it useful when our garden birds have bits of unusual feathering so we can identify them!

It's very useful - just worried that when she moults she'll just blend in with the rest.  Actually - she's pretty lovely in herself.  When the injured dove was feeding it was being 'bothered' by another dove who kept chasing it out of our garden.  Our Lady went after the bully, chased it away and stood by the injured dove whilst it fed (even though it was not her preferred spot) - looked like she was 'on guard'.....it was lovely to see.

Thanks for that Debz,a lot of "billing and cooing" going on there.One reason I have a soft spot fot them it was the first species I "twitched" back in the late '50's very early '60's.As a teenager I cycled about 15 miles to a farmyard near York to see this,what was then,rare bird.Hard to believe they were ever that rare,just cannot remember how we heard about the bird,no Birdline in those days.

Actually I remember reading that in pre-war films they shouldn't use doves and woodpigeons calling as background noises, as they wouldn't have been around then.  Does this mean that they aren't protected species if they're not technically native birds?

Debz

 Does this mean that they aren't protected species if they're not technically native birds?

Never thought of that but as they are "adopted" British birds I would have thought they have the same protection as are usual everyday birds

Debz,  They arrived here naturally so are regarded as 'native' and in the main have same protection as any other bird except that they are also on the list where if causing damage they can be shot by landowners.   Amazing to think they could go from a relatively recent invader to this level of population.

yes - I didn't realise that they hadn't been here forever.  They certainly don't scream out 'foreign' to these parts do they!

Debz

Actually I remember reading that in pre-war films they shouldn't use doves and woodpigeons calling as background noises, as they wouldn't have been around then.  Does this mean that they aren't protected species if they're not technically native birds?

It's only Collared Doves that shouldn't be appear at all in films set in the UK before the 1950's (or later, as it took a few years for them to spread), all of the other species of pigeon and dove that we currently have are OK (the first UK Collared Doves were recorded in 1954 I believe, and the first recorded breeding was in 1955).

Film producers don't tend to worry too much about the accuracy of background sounds though, they just use sounds that they think sound right - one example would be the "ribbit" frog calls often used in the background of films (these are from the Pacific Tree Frog, but get used in films set all over the world).

Bob is correct that Collared Doves are considered native, as is any other wildlife that reaches the UK 'under its own steam', and all birds in the wild in the UK are protected unless they are specifically mentioned as species which can be killed under specific conditions (the Collared Dove is one of these exceptions, and can currently be killed by landowners, or people they authorise, under the terms of 'the general licence'. 

That's interesting to know Roy.  Do you know if there is a list of birds that can be killed?  I ask because several years ago my Dad reported a local bakery for 'doping' seeds so that birds would become drowsy so that they could easily shoot them.  Not sure whether this would come under the terms of 'the general license'.  Also we had a plumber who, upon seeing the numbers of birds in my garden, said that he wished he'd brought his gun, and informed me that he goes shooting at the weekends in the local area.

Debz,  This can be a difficult one to understand.  There is no general 'list of birds that can be killed".  There is such a thing as a general licence that applies to me, you, all the people on this forum and anyone else.  If we can show that we can comply with the terms of that licence then we can kill birds listed on that licence (and those birds only).  The terms are quite strict and you can't kill for the sake of it.  The terms will include being a landowner or authorised by one killing only to protect crops, wildlife, public health etc from serious damage. (That is a simplified version of the law).

There is also the availability of a specific licence which is given to an individual who has to show that a certain bird or animal is causing a specific problem and it cant be dealt with in any other way.  The licence tells that one individual what he/she can do and exactly how.  This might include closing down a badger sett that is undermining houses (normally with a proviso that alternative setts are built first), excluding newts, shooting a number of cormorant to protect a fishery  etc.   This sort of licence is also given to people involved in scientific research or investigations.   I hope this helps explain things.

Nice simple explanation Bob it is often a very confused area just out of interest who polices the licence?is it on a trust basis? otherwise there will be a great deal of manpower required

Seaman,  Yes it is on trust basis and policed when commission of offences are detected.  Not an ideal way of doing it but probably the only logical way.  With specific licences there is a yearly return that has to be submitted.  Again policed mainly on trust but not so easy to breach legislation.

I think we have to accept that most people are honest and law abiding Bob,it is the only way these things would work'

Thank you Bob, that is indeed very interesting.  So if I understand correctly - the bakery may be within their rights to dope and shoot birds (public health), or at least some birds - although I believe that there was a real assortment of birds, but the plumber could be prosecuted for going 'shooting' for fun, with his mates at the weekend.