Hannah's UEA Ecology blog

Pigeons may perhaps be the most commonly known bird in the UK. They are easily identified by their head shape being rounded and small with small slim bills. They also have very rounded bodies with a dense layer of soft feathers with neat, tapered wings. Their legs are scaled and short and they make a distinctive cooing call. The rock dove is the most common type of pigeon and is an ancestor of feral pigeons. Its scientific name is Columba livia and are in the pigeons and doves bird family. They come in many different shades including pale grey, dark blue, green, black, brick-red or cinnamon-brown. Their markings are chequered and darker than their main colour.  A wood pigeon,  Columba livia. Reproduction can occur for them at any time during the year but the peak times are during spring and summer. Once females reach 7 months they are able to reproduce and once mated all pigeons mate for life and once. They build nests from straw and sticks and put it on a ledge such...

Cormorants sitting on a pontoon on the lake at UEA campus. A double-crested cormorant.  Double-Crested Cormorant Cormorants are one of my favourite species of bird. They are larger waterbirds that have a reptilian look due to their long necks. They feed on fish and are normally seen with their wings held out stretched in order to let them dry. They have a wingspan of around 150 cm and weigh over 2 kg. The Uk has very important wintering numbers for global standings. There are 9,018 breeding pairs in the UK and in winter 41,000 individual birds. Cormorants have very powerful beaks which is one way they distinguish with shags. Their scientific name is Phalacrocorax carbo and they are in the bird family cormorants and shags. They are doing quite well under the protection of The Wildlife and Countryside Act which has allowed them to have a green UK conservation status meaning they are under least concern. Due to them being in the same family as shags, they are very similar bir...