I’ve always been intrigued by Feral Pigeons that breed in a few isolated locations on the Pembrokeshire cliffs, to my mind as close as you can get to the original Rock Doves that once graced our coastline before they were watered down by Feral Pigeons.  Even as far back as 1949 Lockley et al thought that they were extinct as a pure race (as quoted in the Birds of Pembrokeshire, Donovan & Rees 1994).

One of these coastal locations is Martin’s Haven, where they seemingly breed out of sight close to the jetty and also up on the Deer Park close to Wooltack Point.  Some of these birds look very close to, or indeed fit perfectly to, the classic Rock Dove appearance. A few photos from this evening below.

4 birds at Martin’s Haven – 2 looking good, 2 not

1 of the Martin’s Haven birds – looking good

2 of the Martin’s Haven birds – 1 looking good, 1 not

1 of the birds near Wooltack Point – not looking good!

1 of the birds near Wooltack Point – looking good