I am having the usual numbers of Band-tailed Pigeons (8-10 at a time)
in my backyard near downtown Portland. They are regular fall visitors
to a tree that produces small, dark purple berries (nobody has been
able to tell me yet what the tree is -- it is not an elderberry,
though). I have a nice closeup photo I took yesterday, and can put it
up on my website if anyone is interested.

David

At 2:02 AM -0700 9/16/02, Mark Egger wrote:

>Hello Tweets,
>
>I've been wondering if anyone else has noticed the lack of
>Band-tailed Pigeons this spring and summer. I've had them in my back
>yard and elsewhere around the Matthews Beach area every year, nearly
>year round, for well over a decade, but they seem to be locally
>extirpated or else gone elsewhere,,. all within the last year! Has
>anyone in this area seen them? Pigeons are such cool birds (possibly
>excepting urban rock doves, I hate to loose a species like that,
>especially when it's held on for so long against all urban
>odds...I've always associated these forest pigeons with the pine-oak
>of the SW and the Sierras of W Mexico, and to have them in the
>Seattle backyard was a real treat! I was never sure where this group
>found its salt -- can anyone on the list shed some light on that? I
>know the Band-tails of Matthews Beach long pre-date MY arrival on
>the scene (moved to neighborhood in 1986), so their disappearance,
>if that is what it is, should be an "environmental consequence"
>worthy of some further note and analysis...
>
>Mark


--

David Lyles
Portland OR
http://www.davidlyles.net

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Just say "No" to Negativity
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