Now here’s a common sight in Australia
Grain silos at Lameroo, South Australia
Sydney Trip Report June 2011
Grain storage silos are a common sight throughout the cereal growing areas of Australia. Almost every small town has some and they make up a prominent feature of the landscape. On our trip to Sydney earlier this year we passed many such structures along the way. They become so commonplace one almost forgets that they are there.
Not me.
I usually give silos more than a quick glance as they flash by, checking out each one for any interesting birds perching on the building or flying nearby. Sadly I’m usually disappointed because the most common inhabitant of these artificial “cliffs” are Rock Doves (feral pigeons), usually in their hundreds. Quite often they are in the company of just as many House Sparrows.
On the odd occasion, however, I have seen Nankeen Kestrels, Black-shouldered Kites, flocks of Galahs and Corellas and even cockatoos. At Lameroo I only managed to see some Rock Doves (see photo below). It’s not a brilliant photo, but considering the silos were some 200 or more metres away, the zoom on my camera is impressive.
Sometimes one has to be content with the common, ordinary species and a not so wonderful photo.
Rock Doves (Feral Pigeons) at Lameroo, South Australia
A wonderful welcome home
Peaceful Dove, Cleland Wildlife Park
We’ve been away visiting family in Sydney for the last few weeks. It was lovely to play with my 2.5 year old grandson. Over the coming few weeks I’ll be writing more about the birds I saw there and on the drive over and back. We covered 2910km by car over 5 days, so I’ve lots to share. Stay tuned.
On the morning after arriving home I took out a basket of washing to hang on the clothes line. Quite close to our back veranda I disturbed a Peaceful Dove feeding on the ground. This was the closest to the house I’ve observed this species. It was a wonderful – and peaceful – welcome home. The bird flew off a short distance and landed in a nearby tree. It sat there for a few moments, giving its soft peaceful “doodle-doo” call. Love that.
While this species is widespread in our district we don’t always have it present in our garden. At best it is an occasional visitor. Pity about that; I’d love to have it here all the time.
Good birding.
Crested Pigeon close up
Crested Pigeon
We love having the Crested Pigeons in our garden and on our two hectare (5 acre) block. They are a resident breeding species here and we see them every day. I’ve never really done a census count on how many there are around here, but we always seem to have at least a a half dozen or more. On a few occasions I have counted up to about 40 perching on the power lines running along the road side.
Crested Pigeons make a flimsy nest of a few sticks and it always surprises me how the eggs can possibly stay in the nest. An even greater mystery is how the chicks remain in the nest. They must be able to cope because they are very successful birds, breeding frequently.
Our local resident pigeons regularly visit our bird baths. This gives me many opportunities to do photographic studies of this species. Yesterday the bird in this set of photos posed nicely for me, first in the shade (see below) and then closer to me in the sunlight.
Crested Pigeon
Crested Pigeon
Bar-shouldered Dove, Adelaide Zoo aviary
Bar-shouldered Dove, Adelaide Zoo walk-through aviary
The Bar-shouldered Dove is found in eastern and northern Australia. It’s preferred habitats include vegetation near to water, scrubland in sub-topical areas, woodlands, well-treed parks and gardens, along creeks and waterways, gullies, mangroves, swamps and plantations.
Like many doves and pigeons, its nest is a flimsy platform of a few sticks, twigs and grass. It breeds in the months of February to April in the northern parts of its range, and from September to January in the southern parts. It usually lays two eggs.
I’ve only had the delight of seeing this species on one occasion in its natural habitat, and that was many years ago. I was therefore delighted to be able to see it and photograph it in a walk-through aviary at the Adelaide Zoo recently.
Bar-shouldered Dove, Adelaide Zoo, South Australia
Pied Imperial-Pigeon
Pied Imperial-pigeon in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
The beautiful Pied Imperial-pigeon is found in the mangroves, rainforests and woodlands of coastal northern Australia. I haven’t been birding in that part of Australia yet, so I was pleased to get these good photos of the species in one of the walk-through aviaries at Adelaide Zoo recently.
These pigeons are commuters. They nest and roost on the islands of northern Australia and daily commute to the mainland to feed on fruit in the rainforests and mangroves. They nest in the mangrove trees of the islands. They are also present in PNG and Indonesia. Many populations of these pigeons are also migratory, moving between Australia, PNG and Indonesia.
Further reading:
- Adelaide zoo website
- Pigeons and doves – archived articles about pigeons and doves
- Pizzey, G, The field guide to the birds of Australia.
Pied Imperial-pigeon in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo