Tuesday 17 May 2011

The Bird-Watching Has Begun

2011-05-17 Ringduva2

The bird-watching has begun! First thing I saw when I looked out of my window this morning was some big birds having breakfast on the lawn below. They behaved like pigeons but were much bigger than any pigeon I’m used to seeing here. 

So I grabbed my new camera and made my first daylight attempts to get acquainted with the new zoom… N.b. these shots were taken through the window (2nd floor) and the birds were probably 8-10 m from the house, and moving around. Well, at least I got a few shots good enough for identification, even if not super sharp. (These have been further cropped and edited in the computer.)  

2011-05-17 Ringduva 

Mystery solved: it must be the Common Wood Pigeon (Swedish: ringduva, Latin Columba Palumbus)…  It is however not so ‘common’ just here; it’s different from the pigeons we usually see in town (compare the ones in my recent post Pigeon Went A-Courting). The Common Wood Pigeon is larger (Wiki says 38-43 cm which fits my impression of these), grey with pinkish chest, white markings on neck and wing, and yellow beak.

Unfortunately we’re having a very wet day here today. In a little while I’m off to meet a friend for lunch and wondering how to dress to avoid getting soaked… Hmm.

3 comments:

  1. the photos will come out better when the sun is out and also it always takes me a while to adjust to how a new camera works, each one is a little different. stay dry and enjoy your lunch out

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  2. I don't get many Wood Pigeons here either but far far too many Rock Doves or Feral Pigeons by whatever name they are known now.

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  3. FWIW, I've yet to get a handle on my zoom lens. lol

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