Wood PIgeon grazing in Dulwich Park, London.

Back in the 18th Century the Wood Pigeon was heavily hunted in England.  Then Gilbert White reported seeing them only rarely and then in the deepest forests of his Wiltshire Hampshire neighborhood With hunting in serious decline, you now find the Wood Pigeon in any London neighborhood with plants, in Paris’s back gardens, in city parks all over northern Europe.

NUMBER 3

Today it was reported in the daily press (which covers things avian in London) that the Wood Pigeon has moved up to #3 in the ranking of most common garden birds in Britain. Here is the new official ranking according to British Trust for Ornithology:

1) Blackbird, a thrush very closely related to our American Robin.   2) Blue Tit, a colorful and vocal member of the chickadee family.  This tiny bird is now surviving winters in greater numbers because of the warmer climate.  3) Wood Pigeon.  Larger than a Band-tailed Pigeon.  4) European Robin.  Not closely related to the American Robin, though they share the orange chest.   5) Dunnock.  An accentor, a family of ground-dwelling omnivores not found in America.  6) Great Tit.  A larger chickadee family member with bright yellow front.  7) Collared-Dove. Recent arrival in Uk from southern Asia.  The same Collated-Dove that has spread across North America in less than four decades.  Chaffinch.  9) House Sparrow.   10) Greenfinch.   Please the absence of Starling which is largely a rural bird in England.

The rise of the urban-dwelling Wood Pigeon is laid to changed agricultural practices where less land is left fallow, less grain spilled.  That combines with ever-richer garden habitats and warmer winters plus bird-lovers abounding, all of which produce great WP fodder: flat bird feeders where these hefty gents can land, more bird seed in general.

The BTO survey found deliberately created grasslands have helped the once-threatened Northern Lapwing begin to rebuild its diminished numbers.  A good thing, as they are one of the most handsome of shorebirds with the swept-back cavalier plume above a brown, black and white dress outfit.

Magpies are a common sight and sound in south London.  Much easier to photogrsaph than the Eurasian Jay which is camera-shy…but I am pursuing them.

And nearly every clean pond has its resident Tufted Ducks:

 

and in profile:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other sightings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Common Coot looks likes his American cousin, but is much larger.  The Common Moorhen is the very same species:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have to admire those size 12 feet on the young Moorhen in the right-hand photo.  Let’s the bird tromp across floating vegetation, or slog through pond-bottom much with relative ease.

Little Grebe, once known as Dabchick in England.  Very like the American Pied-billed Grebe in size and habits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ring-necked Parakeet, now common across most of London afteryeard sof being confined south of the Thames.  Even more apparent and audible in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark.