Population Dynamics of the Feral Pigeon in the Central Business District of Butte, Montana

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gather information on the feral pigeon population living in the central business district (CBD) of Butte, MT. Pigeons in the CBD have historically been part of the urban landscape and have contributed to local biodiversity. We report on an aspect of a larger study that was initiated to address complaints from business owners concerning damage caused by pigeons. To better understand feral pigeon population dynamics, we used live trapping, marking with leg bands, and survey transects to study the pigeons' distribution, habitat selection, and dispersal. Our results thus far indicate minimal dispersal between colonies. Two individuals have shown dispersal movements of up to 6.1 km from the tagging site. Transect surveys revealed an average of 173.3 birds present, with a maximum count of 254 and minimum of 101.