Collared Dove ( Streptopelia decaocto )

A bird I have a soft spot for.  I well remember seeing my first near Sand Eels Bay on Iona in the Early 60s.  As they only arrived in Britain in UK in to breed in 1955 that was rapid expansion.

Collared Doves are however famous for colonisation, at the early part of the 20th century they were found in Turkey and the Balkans.  Since then they have even reached America.  They are spreading rapidly across north America having arrived in Canada in 2002.

The blip is one on the bird bath.  They are less frequent in the garden than they were.  This could be because of the countrywide decline in the last 20 years.  It is thought the decline is down to the arrival of the disease Trichomonosis caused by microscopic parasites..