Most birders are aware that the Eurasian Collared Dove is expanding its range, but this bird has really outdone its peers. This photo is from Maclaren River Bridge on the central Denali Highway. The altitude is about 3,000 feet - at tree line in these latitudes - and probably 400-450 miles (and three large mountain ranges) from the previous northerly sighting in Gustavus, outside Glacier Bay National Park.
The bird is foraging on seeds that were in the straw used by dog mushers to bed their dogs during a dog mushing race. It was too skittish to be a domesticated bird, and it was not banded. The state records committee will have to decide, but it looks to me like a wild bird.
Olympus E-3, 300mm x 1.4TC, bean bag on the window.
f6.3, 1/320, ISO500.
Taken in light drizzle at 42 degrees. Not a great photo but intended as documentation, not art...
Impressive jump in range. I know the species is expanding quickly in town here. Three years ago, they could only be found in one small part of town, and now they are everywhere.
Posted by Luke Ormand on June 24, 2009 at 12:15 AM
Two years ago they were a note-worthy sighting in western South Dakota. Now they are common. Maybe nature found a way to fill the niche left by the passenger pigeon!?
The species didn't appear here in Britain until the 1950s, and they are now one of our commonest birds. You have been warned!
Did they colonize North America naturally, or were they introduced?
They showed up in NE AZ in one small town and a few twitchers made a long drive to add them to their AZ lists. Within two years they had reached most of the state. Talk about explosive!
Welcome to the 21st century passenger pigeon. They're ok really, not been a problem here in the UK as far as I am aware, nice cooing in the morning, happy garden bird and perfect meals for the sparrowhawks.
Discussion
7 repliesThe bird is foraging on seeds that were in the straw used by dog mushers to bed their dogs during a dog mushing race. It was too skittish to be a domesticated bird, and it was not banded. The state records committee will have to decide, but it looks to me like a wild bird.
Olympus E-3, 300mm x 1.4TC, bean bag on the window.
f6.3, 1/320, ISO500.
Taken in light drizzle at 42 degrees. Not a great photo but intended as documentation, not art...
Did they colonize North America naturally, or were they introduced?