THE question of the pigeon population in Trowbridge seems to have left the council in a cleft stick.

After having trained and raced pigeons for some 20-odd years, I feel qualified to make the prediction that the measures shortly to be undertaken will fail.

Building a five-star hotel out of town for them will compound the problem, not solve it. As it seems that no-one understands pigeon society or what it consists of I would like to contribute in that direction.

l All pigeons mate for life, unless one member is killed or goes missing

l Nesting and roosting sites are defended vigorously, almost to the point of death

l Pigeons are endowed with navigational skills, not yet fully understood, and in the search for food on a daily basis roam over wide areas, unerringly returning to their territory to feed young or to roost

l There is a pecking order within the flock whereby the strongest of them claim the best roosting and nesting sites

Their memory is such that, should one become lost for whatever reason, it will return to its roosting and nesting site, even when several years have elapsed.

Prior to the two ladies feeding the pigeons, they had to go to open farmland each day to forage for food. This left them open to being preyed on by natural predators, sparrow hawks mainly, thus a natural balance was maintained.

A single pair of these, with young, would require at least two kills a day in order to rear successfully, Being as the pigeons are fed in the security of the town explains the increase in numbers.

It should now be clear that trying to settle this flock elsewhere is almost impossible bearing in mind their strong homing instincts. After all, it is this which makes racing pigeons race home from as far as 600 miles.

From my own point of view I like to see the town pigeons around, they add character and colour, also remind me of an age when country people were just that, devoid of antis.

BE ASH

Holt