Crested Pigeon up close
No Comments »19th February, 2013; Category: Bird baths, Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Pigeons and Doves
Crested Pigeon
The Crested Pigeon is a common species in our garden and on our 5 acre block of land in Murray Bridge, South Australia. We see them every day and they seem to be breeding throughout the year. I have found numerous nests over the time we have lived here. They are one of our many resident breeding species.
Individual birds like that shown in today’s photos frequently come to one of our bird baths to drink. Sometimes two or three will come together. During the hot weather of summer, when the temperatures can soar to 35C or above – as high as 46C – many birds come to the water throughout the day, some bathing, some drinking and many doing both.
I managed to get a series of about a dozen good close-up photos of one bird recently. It is times like this that I really appreciate having a 20x zoom facility on my camera.
Crested Pigeon
Crested Pigeon
Crested Pigeon
Crested Pigeon in the morning sun
No Comments »14th December, 2012; Category: Bush birds, Garden birds, Murray Bridge, Pigeons and Doves
Crested Pigeon
Earlier this week I was out in the garden taking photographs of some young Grey Currawongs being fed by their parents. After getting several good shots I went for a wander of The Estate; we live on a five acre (2 hectare) block. My attention was attracted to this Crested Pigeon perched in the sun on an exposed dead branch of a bush. (Note to self: tidy up that part of the garden and plant something alive.)
Crested Pigeons are very common around Murray Bridge. I have observed loose flocks of 20 – 50 perched on power lines in many parts of the district. They are a resident breeding species on our block of land, and seem to nest most months of the year. (Perhaps that is why they are so common.)
I must say that they are very obliging photographic subjects.
Crested Pigeon
Crested Pigeon
Crested Pigeon
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
1 Comment »17th January, 2011; Category: Pigeons and Doves
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