HELP! There is a black-and-white pigeon outside our local pub. S/he's been there for 3 weeks apparently. She is ringed and quite tame. Locals have been trying to catch her to ring her neck which seems horrific.
What is the best course of action?
Catching it and taking it to a rescue centre would probably be the best option I think. Sadly the owner would have no desire to have the bird back. A homing pigeon that doesn't "home" would be destroyed.
My gallery here
Like everyone else I have theories and opinions on lots of things I know b*gger all about.
Not always. I've heard stories about lost homers being killed, but I've also reunited one with a grateful owner. If you can entice the bird into somewhere where it can be caught, you can report it with this site www.homingpigeons.co.uk/straypigeons.htm
A closed mouth gathers no foot.
Well said maisie, I once reported a pigeon, t he owner was so grateful. he sent me a very nice cheque, turned out the bird was worth a lot of money, besides they deserve every chance.
Less we forget
the best way is to catch the pigeon and find out on the web the homing pigeon clubs in your area as they will arrange a courier to come and collect plus the owner will be notified and you might get a phone call from them. yes some of these birds can be worth thousands pounds worth of money and some are even owned by the royal family. DONT kill it as these are worth a lot of money and have great bloodlines which can be traced back a long way its a very complicated sport and these birds are worth a lot of money and might even have young to look after. you wont have to wait long as they are very quick in picking the bird up and yes you might even be rewarded but dont count on it. the identification numbers are also on the wing so when catch it gently open the wing up and there should be a telephone number on the flight feather so you can call the owner up and they can either come collect from you or arrange to a courier to come and collect.
Always keep your eyes and ears open for what is around you you wont be disappointed
I would suggest trying to read the number on the ring. This can then be googled and any reports of missing pigeons/local pigeon clubs contacted if the number found does not show a report.
We used to have a show pigeon breeder living a block away where we used to live - so we knew that any unringed specimens were releases and any ringed birds came from 'round the block'.
My Aussie and British birds blog - www.birdstory.com
If it can be caught there could be several items on the legs,
One its official ID number which will start with the codeof the area where the bird is registered
Two it may carry a telephone number of its owner
Three there mayalso be a rubber band with a number on it. This relates to race information and is I understand of no account.
If we make a world unfit for the birds to live in we will make a world unfit for ourselves.