April 2022 - Sitting Pigeon

I’ve shown photos of pigeons before in these articles – I think they are much maligned creatures. The ones who live in our neighbourhood of southwest London are nothing like as predatory as those who have to live by their wits in central London. 

And their colours are nice too. That subtle hint of blue on their chests is not what I think of when I think of pigeons: much more the distorted feet, the scabby looking feathers … This one was waiting for me at the Raynes Park Sports and Social Club when I was walking my dog one morning. Poppy (my dog) usually scares them off – just by being there – but this one felt safe because it was 3 metres up a wall and sitting in a place it could fly from instantly. But it wasn’t going to assume its safety was guaranteed. It kept a beady eye on us as we walked towards it and then underneath (not literally underneath – that’s always a bit dangerous with birds). Even when I took my iPhone out to take a picture, it stayed. In my experience, doing something like that usually scares them off. But this bird seemed pretty full of confidence. It sat there just long enough for me to get a couple of pictures. 

I like this one because of the composition. The pigeon is on the left hand third of the picture, and its stand and the window protection lie along the bottom third. And there is nothing to distract you from admiring the bird. Again, I’m not sure that a judge in a competition would go along with liking of this picture – but I do!