A flurry of bright green seeds with pink centres pours down, disturbed by a pair of wood pigeons who are gorging on them in the branches above. The wych elm comes into seed before any of the other trees nearby, so is an early-spring favourite of the local wood pigeons. I watch as they stretch their necks to access the seeds, looking as if, at any moment, they might overbalance and fall to the ground. Instead, they gracefully continue their feeding frenzy, reaching upwards, side to side, even hanging almost entirely upside down.
Despite being the largest UK pigeon species, wood pigeons’ bodies maintain impressive balance. The pair are almost identical, although the slate-grey female is slightly smaller and duller in colour than the male. Their breasts are a dusky rose…
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The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2022