In past decades, Collared Doves took to nesting behind domestic satellite dishes as they seemed to provide just what they were looking for in terms of structure and security. However, with households turning to cable for TV streaming, this habit may end.
Summer 2021 may have seen a new trend begin locally, when a Feral Pigeon began calling from the edge of a solar panel on a roof by Mariners Way. It would seem that the way the panel was installed, there was enough space behind it for the pigeon to consider it could raise a family. Over the course of the autumn, it attracted a female and, in early 2022, it has been calling again and there have been two birds around. I might have dismissed this as a one-off occurrence had I not also encountered one calling by a solar panel from a house that I passed on my way to the park. Has anyone else come across this phenomenon?
2022 UPDATE:
Yes this is certainly ‘a thing’. A quick Google search delivers pages of sites offering advice as to how to prevent pigeons nesting under solar panels!
Twice this year within Maldon, by Beaumont Way and within the Poets Estate, I heard calling Feral Pigeons and on looking up, saw pigeons perched on the edge of solar panels.
JB
Hi John,
I may have told you about the issues we had with our solar panels. Herring gulls regularly nest by the chimney breasts but when we added solar panels, the babies would end up sliding down and crashing onto the conservatory roof. If that didn’t get them they’d end up sliding again to the ground where the fox would get them. So we added spikes to deter the nesting which solved that problem until the pigeons moved in. At first it was cute but two years on two had multiplied to about 15. So we had to get a chemical flush and add mesh. The following day we went to Bletchley park. One of the more interesting exhibits told the story of pigeons during the war. Came back to find them all lined up on the roof with a collective where’s our home look. Felt somewhat guilty!