pigeons in a flock (1 Viewer)

in 6 months here i have only seen wood pigeons and collared doves, no ferals or townies ever seen here at all as i am on edge of country

yesterday i saw a flock of about 20 pigeons flying hard about 30 or 40 metres up across park in a line pretty much, got binos on them but too fast so no id. just silhouettes. i assumed racers. no standout different colours.

today i saw them again going in other direction! so not racers as i dont think they do laps.

the woodies are still in trees around park, courting and doing usual daily stuff

what would the flock have been?

I occasionally see flocks of wood pigeons in the area - they often gather in trees and then fly off together. I think they are unpaired so stick together?

We get flocks of wood pigeons round here.

Sounds like pigeon races to me. Two different pigeon racing groups holding events on consecutive days during the easter holidays with routes crossing over your area isn't too huge a coincidence. Races happen quite frequently, and many can be quite long distance (hundreds of km).

thanks. i have not heard of that behaviour of spare males flocking, good to know. i have not seen woodies flocking in this way even over open paddocks. not driving hard like that so may well have been two different races in different directions, i hadnt even considered that. i will try and get outside next time for a better view and should ve able to recognise woodies if i can get a better direction of light.