Greetings birders,
Over the Easter break I did some extensive birding in the South East
regions of South Australia. Of particular interest was the distribution of
Crested Pigeons in the southern areas of SA.
They are very common around here in Murray Bridge and in the Murray Mallee
districts to the east. They are also very common in the northern areas of
this state, especially the farming areas.
The atlas maps and the various field guide maps show that their range does
not extend to coastal Victoria and the southern tip of South East SA. My
observations show that this range could be extending.
Here are my recent sightings of Crested Pigeons in the SE of SA:
14/4/96 Stoneleigh HS, 8km north of Lucindale, 1
17/4/96 Cockatoo Lake, 25km north of Naracoorte, 1
16/1/97 Stoneleigh HS, Lucindale,1
11/4/98 Lucindale, 1
11/4/98 Fairview CP, 20km north of Lucindale, 2
13/4/98 Big Heath CP, SW of Naracoorte, 1
14/4/98 Kongorong, SW of Mt Gambier, 1
16/4/98 Stoneleigh HS, Lucindale,1
16/4/98 Avenue, 10km west of Lucindale, 1
16/4/98 Old Coach Road, 15km nw of Lucindale, 5
The most interesting record, however, is of the single bird at Kongorong,
about halfway between Mt Gambier and Carpenter Rocks. This sighting is only
15km from the coast.
I would be interested in hearing from other birdwatchers who have records
of this species in southern SA.
As an interesting aside, during a 3 week holiday in southern Victoria last
December I did not see a single Crested Pigeon. Our route was as follows:
Murray Bridge - Bordertown - Horsham - Ballarat - Melbourne - Geelong -
Warrnambool - Portland - Hamilton - Nelson - Mt Gambier - Lucindale - Keith
- Murray Bridge.
Happy birding,
Trevor Hampel
Murray Bridge
South Australia
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