Country diary: Wood pigeon courtship rituals are straight out of Bridgerton | Kate Blincoe

Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: I can’t tell which birds are male and which are female and, it turns out, neither can they. There is a system, though The flock of 50 or so pigeons lifts from the barn roof as one. The loud clapping of wings makes the horses jump, even though this happens several times a day. I scan the sky for a peregrine but can’t see signs of danger. They swirl once, then settle back on to the corrugated metal roof. These farmyard pigeons are a mix of feral and wood pigeons that...

By Kate Blincoe