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Walking along Frith Road (at the rear of CSIRO Black Mountain Site) we
noticed a large, pale pigeon with dark back and wings in a nearby tree. As we
stopped, it moved from the centre of the tree to an outer branch. During the few
seconds I had the binos focused on it, I also discerned a prominent red
eye-ring.
"Topknot Pigeon!" rambunctious brat yelled suddenly, and the bird
promptly decamped in the direction of O'Connor. I've seen enough Topknot
Pigeons and White-headed Pigeons to up the ante on our bird being the latter,
and so has Linda. "Can't you ever keep quiet? Look what you did!Why did you call
Topknot Pigeon?" I fumed.
"Um, 'cause that's the only one I could think of at the spur of the
moment," the contrite brat muttered. Then she redeemed herself to some
extent by remarking that Frith Road seemed an appropriate place to see a rare
pigeon. "Nicely put," I said, "I'm pleased to hear you say that." Linda
grinned happily, and I felt much better, I'd thought for a horrible moment she
was going to weep when I rounded on her. Trouble with kids today, they're just
too darn sensitive.
That was 0930 today, and we'd just completed a 90-minute bird walk in the
Black Mountain Nature Park. Other highlights: 3 Gang-gang Cockatoos, 11 immature
Crimson Rosellas hanging out like untidy teenagers in gunge, a
White-throated Gerygone, 7 White-winged Choughs with 2 begging young, ~ 20 Tree
Martins, ~ 10 Welcome Swallows swirling around a metre above the long grass, at
times within two metres of where we stood. We could hear little
'plick-plick' noises they made and wondered if it was their wings, or their
bills. 3 Speckled Warblers, 4 Yellow Thornbills, 2 Grey Currawongs & a
White-throated Treecreeper plus 15 other of Black Mountain's common
birds.
John K. Layton
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