What is the UK’s most unfairly ignored bird? Well according to you, and your votes, it is the Stock Dove (and I agree with you)!
This wasn’t the most popular poll on this blog, but nearly 150 of you responded and this was the result:
Stock Dove – 33%
Little Grebe – 21%
Reed Bunting – 20%
Gadwall – 14%
Rock Pipit – 12%
Stock Doves are gorgeous, a fact which was brought home to me when I saw two feeding in a Hampshire garden recently – they were so beautiful! And yet we hardly talk about them, or write about them or praise them. Let’s hear it for the Stock Dove!
On the other hand, since Rock Pipit was the lowest-scoring of the five options then that may be the most fairly ignored British bird – whatever that means!
I have a bit of a soft spot for Rock Pipits – but then all birds are brilliant! And all animals. And all plants. Except cultivated Daffodils in rows on the roadside. And Linnets.
Let’s hear support for the linnet – yeeaa!
Great little birds – love ’em!
A great stand off yesterday between my Kestrels and a pair of Stock Doves. A Grey Squirrel had decided to build a dray in the box and kestrels had not been back to claim it for 3 weeks. The squirrel was evicted and the Stock Doves came to claim the box. Now the kestrels are back on the scene and all 4 birds were observed in the scope from the computer room eye each other up. Still waiting for the final decision but I feel the Kestrels will win! At least 1 pair of Stock Doves nest in the barn where the Barn Owls have moved out once again due to disturbance. Hopefully moved to another box close by!
Mark – possibly a dim question but why the dislike of cultivated daffs by the roadside? Are they threatening their wild cousins? Shouldn’t I have planted any in the garden? PS I thought you said linnets were still brilliant even though they’re your least favourite bird?
MK – not a dim question at all. I have daffss in my garden – it’s when they are planted in neat rows in the countryside that they irritate me. It doesn’t have to irritate you – obviously!
Linnets – I saw some of the twittering horde today. yuk!
Phew! Interestingly on my walk to work there is a field planted full of daffs. Or rather was. The other day the field had been ploughed up, obliterating the lot. Someone else suffering from daff rage?