The collared dove - a Cromer speciality
The Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is not migratory, but is strongly dispersive. Over the last century, it has been one of the great colonisers of the bird world, travelling far beyond its native range (Turkey and the Balkans) to colonise many colder countries. Reaching Germany in 1945, Great Britain by 1953 , Ireland in 1959, and the Faroe Islands in the early 1970s, it has also reached Iceland as a vagrant (41 records up to 2006), but has not yet colonised successfully there. It has been accidentally introduced by humans to Japan, North America and islands in the Caribbean. I have seen this species in Morocco, the Cape Verde Islands, Florida, (Miami and Fort Lauderdale), Spain, Cuba and Dominica.
Collared doves can now be found all over the UK. Ornithologists agree that the collared dove first bred in the UK in 1955 on the North Norfolk coast (near Cromer). By 1966 it had bred in every English county. Numbers have since increased and the collared dove is now one of our commonest garden birds. Collared doves feed on seeds and grain on the ground and are usually seen singularly or in pairs, although small flocks may form where there is enough food.
