I think I saw it
From: John Layton
[
Sent: Friday, 4 January 2008 9:59 PM
To: Canberra Birds
Subject: [canberrabirds] White-headed Pigeon on Frith Road
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.
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