Steve Davidson saw 16! on Tuesday (10/5) at the corner of Maddox St & Kororoit Ck Rd, Newport. They were on overhead wires.
DPI could not find any in the last two days and want to know about any further sightings.
Please report them on Birdline or Birding-Aus.
Michael Norris Bayside
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Comments
11 responses to “Barbary Doves in Melbourne – please report.”
“Drawn”?
I noticed this morning that there were a few vehicles at the north end of the large paddock opposite where the birds have been seen, working on the oil pipelines, I think. Maybe all that’s happened is that the birds have been disturbed. It would explain the fluctuating numbers.
The paddock is full of boxthorn. Would this species nest in those?
Peter Shute
True, that was my not necessarily logical suggestion. I suppose they might at least stick together, and not simply fly off in random directions, but I’m guessing that they wouldn’t form the tight flocks that Rock Doves do around their loft.
Is this the same species that has become common in Adelaide? What do they do over there? Do they form large flocks, or are they seen in ones and twos?
Peter Shute
Hi Phillip,
My point was just that either they are being released locally, or they are possibly breeding locally – but either way the source is in the same area they are being seen.
Homing pigeons go back to an exact loft whilst barbary Doves would just hang around the approximate area and not return to their aviary, and possibly move on a little depending on food, etc.
Cheers, Ed
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What’s curious and what’s odd about this discussion Philip. We have just explained that people do not “home” Barbary Doves, eg. they don’t return to the aviary each night after being let out for a fly around the neighbourhood. So they are therefore deliberately released because the owner doesn’t want them anymore or has bred too many, point being they are no longer owned by anyone. The fact that they stay together and remain local is not relevant, except that it does make it easier to get rid of them which is what should now happen now with this lot.
Jeff.
It is strange that they are often around Maddox St, which is just a collection of fishing “shacks” – looks like someone is keeping/releasing them from one of the shacks and should be easy to find out who is doing it?
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Barbary Doves do not “home” – hence they are kept as aviary birds and not in lofts like Rock Doves. They do however breed prolifically if well kept…
I guess if they are released birds unless they were locally released it would be odd that they kept ending up in the same place.
That said there are plenty of places round there that they could breed relatively unnoticed once released too…
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Someone I know has relations who regularly trap Spotted Doves and barbecue them them, once dead, plucked and drawn. Delicious, they say. I’m sure Barbary Doves would be just as good.
Anthea Fleming
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My stupid neighbor let some of his Barbary Doves out to “home” and they just flew away. I think he was just using it as an excuse to reduce the numbers in an overstocked aviary, a perennial problem for anyone who keeps them. Sounds like somebody in Newport is doing the same.
Cheers Jeff.
But do these birds home like Rock Doves? If not then they’ll simply disperse. If they do then it ought to be possible to find who’s responsible by following them.
But there are no houses nearby, other than the “fishing village”. It seems odd they’d hang around there if they’re returning home regularly.
Peter Shute
Many thanks Ed
I’ve passed this on to DPI.
It makes me wonder if an aviarist is letting them out to fly, as with homing pigeons (Rock Doves), as that could explain why sometimes there are lots, sometimes none.
Michael
Michael,
Driving past the same spot yesterday (Saturday) lunchtime I saw at least 11 Barbary Doves. There were a couple of pairs on the wires on Maddox Street the opposite side to the reserve and at least 7 on Kororoit Creek Road 50-100 yards further up. There could have been more in this flock as they were bunched and moving about and as I was driving I couldn’t count too accurately.
Cheers,
Ed Williams Seddon VIC
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