Masked Lapwings and Shoalhaven Wonga pigeons

["Philip Veerman" <>]

I'm a little curious about your "ML 2" and what time scale it happened over. I'll make a big guess at that the school gardener believed that he had a victory in his predations, discouraging the birds to breed. But I suspect it doesn't work like that. I wonder whether this action actually did stop the birds from defending the site, which was presumably the intent, or did it just extend the time period. An equally big guess that in the heads of the birds it may have just reached the point in the year when their urge (or ability) to lay again had passed. I wouldn't be at all surprised if exactly the same thing happens next year (or late in 2014). If it can be shown that removing the eggs just extends the period of the problem, well that just may be a helpful development.

 

Philip

 

-----Original Message-----
From: jude hopwood [
Sent: Thursday, 23 January 2014 4:32 AM
To: COG
Subject: [canberrabirds] Masked Lapwings and Shoalhaven Wonga pigeons

ML 1. Two and a half weeks ago when cruising through Shoalhaven, Lake Burrell was the centre of Masked Lapwing breeding on footpaths outside many homes along the lake's shore. A wonderful thing although nerve-wracking to see DY running around playing in the grasses with people walking past with dogs on leashes and no attacks from the parent birds! 

ML 2. Further to reports I'd made last year of the desperate and repeated efforts of a pair to breed in an enclosed courtyard at a school where I worked. At least 4 lots of eggs from the same pair were removed by the school gardener before they gave up. Pleas for clemency remained unheard.

Yesterday at Fisherman's Paradise, a pair of Wonga pigeons booming away in the conservation reserve at the boat ramp. Interestingly, the local authorities have developed a formal BMX bike circuit in a small space right next to this dense piece of (weed-infested) forest.

Jude