I have always associated feral pigeons with city centres and had assumed we were a little too far away from the city for them to be interested in our garden. However, what started as infrequent visits to the area, then eventually our garden, by one bird (the speckled one at the front), soon became two birds, then four, then five. It seemed this one had 'told' all of its 'friends' about the free food on offer. They can now regularly be seen queuing on the surrounding roofs either for us to put food out, or for us to go back inside so they can feed in peace. They have also now learnt how to balance on the hanging feeders.
Feral pigeons are derived from rock doves, the ancestor of all domestic pigeons. The wild rock dove is now only found on islands, the north and west coasts of Scotland and on Northern Ireland coasts. However, feral pigeons breed almost everywhere.
I wasn't sure how I felt about these visitors turning up originally, but have come to accept them as part of our garden wildlife, and think they are just as deserving of a free meal as all the other birds are.
References:
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/rock-dove/ (accessed 22/04/2020)
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