Pigeons by the dozens (almost)
Crested Pigeon, Mildura
I had a doctor’s appointment this morning. Nothing major; just a check up.
As I was driving out of the driveway I noticed that one of the bushes in our garden had suddenly “sprouted” some extra colour. (Confession: the bush is actually dead – I just haven’t got around to removing it yet, or replacing it with something living.)
Eleven crested pigeons were sitting there all fluffed up against the chilly morning and enjoying the early morning sunshine. It wasn’t a very big bush, so it looked really great.
Crested Pigeons are very common in our area. I frequently see loose flocks of a dozen or more – sometimes as many as 30 or 40 – perched on power lines or fences. Once I even counted about 60 all in close proximity to one another. It was quite a sight.
Crested Pigeon, Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, South Australia
Crested Pigeon and early morning grooming, Mildura
Crested Pigeon, Mildura
Just before we left the caravan park in Mildura earlier this year, I saw this Crested Pigeon sitting on a power line attending to its early morning grooming. It totally ignored me snapping away below it. After a frosty night it was probably enjoying the first rays of sunshine. So was I.
Finally it consented to pose properly for me (see photos below).
Crested Pigeon, Mildura
Crested Pigeon, Mildura
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
Crested Pigeons at rest
Crested Pigeon, Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, South Australia
On a recent visit to the Laratinga Wetlands in Mt Barker in the Adelaide Hills I came across this Crested Pigeon having a little rest on a wooden fence rail. It was quite unconcerned about my presence a few metres away and posed nicely for my camera. In fact, it went straight back to sleep, closing its eyes and enjoying the warm summer’s afternoon sunshine (see photo below). There was another Crested Pigeon just to the right of the photo, but that one was a little more wary of me and my camera.
You can learn more about this beautiful pigeon here: Great Birding Moments: Crested Pigeon
Crested Pigeon, Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, South Australia
Crested Pigeon resting
Crested Pigeon, Murray Bridge, South Australia
A few days ago I took a series of photos of one of the Crested Pigeons resident in our garden. This bird was sitting in one of our bird baths. Normally they just sit on the edge and take a short drink, but this one must have felt the need to sit in the water. I don’t think there was much water in it, but it still looked rather comical.
Subsequent photos show the bird in various poses before it decided to fly off.
Crested Pigeon, Murray Bridge, South Australia
Crested Pigeon, Murray Bridge, South Australia
Crested Pigeon, Murray Bridge, South Australia
Crested Pigeon, Murray Bridge, South Australia