Woodpigeons Again

Remember the woodpigeons I introduced you to in this post? The babies - teenagers now, I suppose - still pass through our garden occasionally.

Well, about a week ago I spotted Mrs Woodpigeon inspecting the old nest, pulling a twig here, prodding a twig there. Then Mr Woodpigeon arrived with a new twig... Could they be nesting again? In September?

Since then, when I looked, more often than not Mrs W was sitting on the nest. Final confirmation came today. I was in the middle of cleaning the bathroom - the nest can best be seen from the bathroom window - when I spotted Mrs W "fussing" with something in the nest. She had her back to me and I couldn't see much but I waited. Finally she shuffled around the other way and I could clearly she her rolling a bright, white egg into position.

More babies on the way! I just hope the weather holds for them.

Update 30/9/08: Sad news. After checking several times over the last few days I have come to the conclusion that the nest has been abandoned. No sign of Mr or Mrs W. Perhaps the eggs were infertile. Or perhaps the magpies paid a visit. All the to'ing and fro'ing with the previous brood stripped many of the leaves from the surrounding branches making the nest much more visible. Our weather has now turned wet and chilly - not ideal naked chick* raising weather - so maybe it's just as well.

*I wonder how many hits I'm gonna get from that word combination!