Pigeon Island is a small island located need the middle of the

Wallabi Group The Wallabi Group is the northernmost group of islands in the Houtman Abrolhos off the western coast of Western Australia. it is from the Australian mainland, and about from the Easter Group. The group consists of a numbe ...

of the

Houtman Abrolhos The Houtman Abrolhos (often called the Abrolhos Islands) is a chain of 122 islands and associated coral reefs, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia, about west of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the southernmost true coral ...

, an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

off the coast of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It is almost entirely given over to

western rock lobster Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

fishers' camps, and as a result is far more disturbed than most other islands in the archipelago. A nearby island also seasonally populated by fishers is named

Little Pigeon Island Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

, hence Pigeon Island is sometimes referred to as "Big Pigeon Island".

History

The geographic location of Pigeon Island suggests that it might have been visited by survivors of the 1629 ''

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

, but there is no surviving evidence of this, either documentary or archaeological. It was mined for

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

in the 20th century.

Geography

Pigeon Island is roughly triangular in shape, with a short side on the south west, and two long sides coming together at a point in the north east. The island is covered with infrastructure, with a high density of huts covering the entire island, right down to the water line; in total there are 54 camps, a school and a pub. There are also around 20 jetties, mainly along the northwest side, as this is the only direction from which the island may be approached by boat. The island is surrounded by reef to the south and east, but a passage known as Pigeon Island Anchorage runs along the northwest side.

Geology and physiography

The basement of Pigeon Island is the

Wallabi Limestone Wallabi Limestone is the name given to the dense calcretised, limestone platform that underlies the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, an archipelago off the coast of Western Australia. This platform, which arises abruptly from a flat shelf, i ...

, a dense calcretised,

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

platform that underlies the entire Wallabi Group. This platform, which arises abruptly from a flat shelf, is about 40 metres thick, and is of

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

origin. Reef that formed during the

Eemian interglacial The Eemian (also called the last interglacial, Sangamonian Stage, Ipswichian, Mikulin, Kaydaky, penultimate,NOAA - Penultimate Interglacial Period http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/global-warming/penultimate-interglacial-period Valdivia or Riss-Würm) wa ...

(about 125,000 years ago), when sea levels were higher than at present, are now emergent in places, and constitute the basement of the group's "central platform" islands, of which Pigeon Island is one.

Flora

71 species of plant have been recorded on Pigeon Island, of which 45 are native and 29 introduced. These are: * ''

Acanthocarpus preissii ''Acanthocarpus preissii'' is a rhizomatous perennial that occurs on coastal dunes in Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia exclu ...

'' * '' Actites megalocarpa'' (dune thistle) * ''

Anagallis arvensis ''Anagallis arvensis'' ( syn. ''Lysimachia arvensis''), commonly known as the scarlet pimpernel, red pimpernel, red chickweed, poor man's barometer, poor man's weather-glass, shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock, is a species of low-gr ...

'' (pimpernel) (naturalised) * ''

Atriplex cinerea ''Atriplex cinerea'', commonly known as grey saltbush, coast saltbush, barilla or ''truganini'', is a plant species in the family Amaranthaceae. It occurs in sheltered coastal areas and around salt lakes in the Australian states of Western Aust ...

'' (grey saltbush) * ''

Atriplex paludosa ''Atriplex paludosa'', commonly known as marsh saltbush, is a species of saltbush endemic to Australia. Description It grows as an erect shrub up to a metre high. Leaves are oval in shape, one to four centimetres long, and 2 to 15 millimetres w ...

'' (marsh saltbush) * ''

Atriplex ''Atriplex'' () is a plant genus of about 250 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache (; also spelled orach). It belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae ''s.l.''. The genus is quite variable and w ...

'' sp. * ''

Austrostipa elegantissima ''Austrostipa elegantissima'', commonly known as tall feather-grass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is native to southern Australia, from Western Australia to New South Wales. It grows as a decumbent perennial in a rhizomatous tu ...

'' * ''

Avena barbata ''Avena barbata'' is a species of wild oat known by the common name slender wild oat. It has edible seeds. It is a diploidized autotetraploid grass (2n=4x=28). Its diploid ancestors are ''A. hirtula'' Lag. and ''A. wiestii'' Steud (2n=2x=14), whi ...

'' (bearded oat) (naturalised) * ''

Brachyscome ciliaris ''Brachyscome ciliaris'', commonly known as variable daisy, is a small bushy perennial herb with a prominent flower, which occurs throughout most of temperate Australia Description It grows as a bushy perennial herb up to 45 centimetre in heigh ...

'' * ''

Bromus arenarius ''Bromus arenarius'' is a species of brome grass known by the common name Australian brome. It is native to much of Australia, and it is known in New Zealand and parts of North America as an introduced species. It is an annual grass growing up t ...

'' (sand brome) * ''

Bromus diandrus ''Bromus diandrus'' is a species of grass known by the common names great brome and "ripgut brome". Description This is a brome grass which is native to the Mediterranean but has been introduced to much of the rest of the world. It does best i ...

'' (great brome) (naturalised) * ''

Bromus hordeaceus ''Bromus hordeaceus'', the soft brome, is an annual or biennial species of grass in the true grass family ( Poaceae). It is also known in North America as bull grass, soft cheat, and soft chess. It is the most common species of ''Bromus'' in Bri ...

'' (soft brome) (naturalised) * '' Bryophyllum delagoense'' (mother of millions) (naturalised) * ''

Bulbine semibarbata ''Bulbine semibarbata'', commonly known as leek lily, native leek or wild onion, is a species of annual herb native to Australia. Description It grows as an annual herb from 7 to 45 centimetres high, with yellow flowers. Taxonomy It was first ...

'' (leek lily) * ''

Capparis spinosa ''Capparis spinosa'', the caper bush, also called Flinders rose, is a perennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers. The plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), used as a seasoning ...

'' (coastal caper) * ''

Carpobrotus virescens ''Carpobrotus virescens'', commonly known as coastal pigface, is a prostrate coastal succulent shrub of the family Aizoaceae native to Western Australia. The Noongar peoples know the plant as Kolbogo or Metjarak. Description It is a prostrate pl ...

'' (coastal pigface) * ''

Conyza bonariensis ''Erigeron bonariensis'' is a species of ''Erigeron'', found throughout the tropics and subtropics as a pioneer plant; its precise origin is unknown, but most likely it stems from Central America or South America. It has become naturalized in man ...

'' (flaxleaf fleabane) (naturalised) * ''

Cotyledon orbiculata ''Cotyledon orbiculata'', commonly known as pig's ear or round-leafed navel-wort, is a South African succulent plant belonging to the genus ''Cotyledon''. Description ''Cotyledon orbiculata'' is an extremely variable species, one that grows to a ...

'' * ''

Cynodon dactylon ''Cynodon dactylon'', commonly known as Bermuda grass, is a grass found worldwide. It is native to Europe, Africa, Australia and much of Asia. It has been introduced to the Americas. Although it is not native to Bermuda, it is an abundant invasi ...

'' (couch) (naturalised) * ''

Daucus glochidiatus ''Daucus glochidiatus'', commonly known as Australian carrot, Austral carrot or native carrot, is a species of herb in the flowering plant family Apiaceae. It is native to Australia and New Zealand. Description It grows as an erect annual herb, ...

'' (Australian carrot) * ''

Dianella revoluta ''Dianella revoluta'', commonly known as blueberry lily, blue flax-lily, or black-anther flax-lily, a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae and is endemic to, and widespread in Australia. It is a tufted, perennial herb with gras ...

'' (blueberry lily) * ''

Diplolaena grandiflora ''Diplolaena grandiflora'', commonly known as wild rose or Tamala rose, is a shrub which is endemic to Western Australia. Description ''Diplolaena grandiflora'' grows to between 0.5 and 3 metres high and has an erect habit. In a period b ...

'' (wild rose) * ''Disphyma crassifolium'' subsp. ''clavellatum'' (round-leaved pigface) * ''

Ehrharta longiflora ''Ehrharta'' is a genus of plants in the grass family.Thunberg, Carl Peter. 1779. Kongliga Vetenskaps Academiens Handlingar 40: 217, pl. 8 Most of the species are native to Africa, with a few from Southeast Asia and from various islands in the A ...

'' (annual veldt grass) (naturalised) * ''

Emex australis ''Rumex hypogaeus'' (Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Emex australis''), commonly known in English as southern threecornerjack, devil's thorn, or double gee (also doublegee, from the old Afrikaner name dubbeltge-doorn - 'double thorned'), is a herb ...

'' (doublegee) (naturalised) * ''

Enchylaena tomentosa ''Enchylaena tomentosa'', commonly known as barrier saltbush or ruby saltbush, is a small native shrub of Australia. Description ''Enchylaena tomentosa'' grows as a small perennial shrub, up to a meter in diameter. Leaves are slender and cylind ...

'' (barrier saltbush) * ''

Eragrostis dielsii ''Eragrostis dielsii'', commonly known as mallee lovegrass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae that is endemic to Australia. Description It grows as an annual or short-lived perennial tuft up to 40 centimetres high with erect, spread ...

'' (mallee lovegrass) * ''

Erodium cicutarium ''Erodium cicutarium'', also known as common stork's-bill, redstem filaree, redstem stork's bill or pinweed, is a herbaceous annual plant, annual – or in warm climates, biennial plant, biennial – member of the family Geraniaceae of flowering ...

'' (common storksbill) (naturalised) * ''

Erodium cygnorum ''Erodium cygnorum'' is a species of herb native to Australia. It is commonly known as blue heronsbill in Western Australia, and blue storksbill in South Australia., citing In the United States, where the species is cultivated as a garden plan ...

'' (blue heronsbill) * '' Euphorbia boophthona'' (Gascoyne spurge) * ''

Euphorbia tannensis ''Euphorbia tannensis'' is a species of herb or shrub native to Australia and some Pacific islands. Description It grows as an erect annual or perennial herb or shrub, from 10 centimetres to a metre in height, with green or yellow flowers. It ...

'' * '' Euphorbia terracina'' (Geraldton carnation weed) (naturalised) * ''

Exocarpos aphyllus ''Exocarpos aphyllus'' (common name leafless ballart) belongs to the sandalwood plant family (Santalaceae). Retrieved 21 August 2019. Noongar names are chuk, chukk, dtulya and merrin. It is a species endemic to Australia. Uses Noongar (south-w ...

'' (leafless ballart) * ''

Frankenia pauciflora ''Frankenia pauciflora'', the common sea-heath or southern sea-heath, is an evergreen shrub native to southern Australia. It is part of the Frankenia genus of the Frankeniaceae family. It can be prostrate or may grow up to 0.5 m in height. Pink ...

'' (seaheath) * '' Haloragis trigonocarpa'' * ''Hordeum murinum'' subsp. ''leporinum'' (barley grass) (naturalised) * ''

Juncus bufonius ''Juncus bufonius'', known commonly as toad rush, is a widespread flowering plant species complex in the rush family Juncaceae. Distribution Its native range is circumpolar throughout tropical, subtropical, subarctic, and temperate climate areas ...

'' (toad rush) (naturalised) * ''

Lactuca saligna ''Lactuca saligna'' is a species of wild lettuce known by the common name willowleaf lettuce, and least lettuce. It is native to Eurasia but it grows in many other places as an introduced species, including much of North America. It can be found ...

'' (wild lettuce) (naturalised) * ''

Malva parviflora ''Malva parviflora'' is an annual or perennial herb that is native to Northern Africa, Europe and Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subco ...

'' (marshmallow) (naturalised) * ''

Malva preissiana ''Malva preissiana'', the Australian hollyhock or native hollyhock, is a herbaceous perennial in the family Malvaceae, found in all Australian states.Medicago polymorpha ''Medicago polymorpha'' is a plant species of the genus ''Medicago''. It is native to the Mediterranean basin but is found throughout the world. It forms a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium ''Sinorhizobium medicae'', which is capable of n ...

'' (burr medic) (naturalised) * ''

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum ''Mesembryanthemum crystallinum'' is a prostrate succulent plant native to Africa, Sinai and southern Europe, and naturalized in the New World. The plant is covered with large, glistening bladder cells or water vesicles, reflected in its common n ...

'' (iceplant) (naturalised) * ''

Muellerolimon salicorniaceum ''Muellerolimon salicorniaceum'', the sole species in genus ''Muellerolimon'', is a succulent perennial herb or shrub that grows on salt mudflats in Western Australia. Description It grows as an erect or spreading succulent perennial herb or shr ...

'' * ''

Myoporum insulare ''Myoporum insulare'', commonly known as common boobialla, native juniper, is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to coastal areas of Australia. It is a shrub or small tree which grows on dunes and c ...

'' (blueberry tree) * ''

Nicotiana glauca ''Nicotiana glauca'' is a species of flowering plant in the tobacco genus Nicotiana of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is known by the common name tree tobacco. Its leaves are attached to the stalk by Petiole (botany), petioles (many other ' ...

'' (tree tobacco) (naturalised) * ''Nicotiana occidentalis'' subsp. ''hesperis'' (native tobacco) * ''

Nitraria billardierei ''Nitraria billardierei'', commonly known as nitre bush or dillon bush, is a perennial shrub native to Australia. It is often found in saline areas or other areas which have been disturbed. This species produces flowers predominantly in spring, ...

'' (bitre bush) * ''

Olearia axillaris ''Olearia axillaris'', commonly known as coastal daisy-bush, coast daisy-bush or coastal daisybush is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is endemic to coastal areas of Australia. It is an erect, bushy shrub with densely c ...

'' (coastal daisy bush) * ''

Phalaris minor ''Phalaris minor'' is a species of grass native to North Africa, Europe, and South Asia. The bunchgrass is widely naturalised elsewhere. Common names include little seed canary grass, small-seeded canary grass, small canary grass, lesser-canary ...

'' (lesser canary grass) (naturalised) * ''

Pimelea microcephala ''Pimelea microcephala'', commonly known as mallee rice-flower or shrubby rice-flower is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to mainland Australia. It is an erect shrub with compact heads of male or female, w ...

'' (shrubby riceflower) * ''

Pittosporum phillyreoides ''Pittosporum phillyreoides'', with the common names weeping pittosporum and willow pittosporum, is a shrub or small columnar tree in the Apiales order, endemic to Australia. Taxonomy This species is subject to some taxonomic confusion. It was ...

'' (weeping pittosporum) * ''

Plantago debilis ''Plantago debilis'' is a species of herb native to Australia. Common names include shade plantain and weak plantain. Description It grows as an annual or perennial herb up to 20 centimetres high, with green or white flowers and a slender taproo ...

'' * ''

Polycarpon tetraphyllum ''Polycarpon tetraphyllum'', commonly known as four-leaved allseed (also fourleaf allseed or fourleaf manyseed), is a plant of the family Caryophyllaceae. An annual herb growing to 15 cm in height, it is found on sandy soils, in coastal area ...

'' (fourleaf allseed) (naturalised) * ''

Polypogon tenellus ''Polypogon tenellus'' is a species of annual grass in the family Poaceae (true grasses), first described by Robert Brown in 1810. It is native to Western Australia and South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a sta ...

'' * '' Rhagodia baccata'' (berry saltbush) * '' Rhagodia latifolia'' * ''

Raphanus raphanistrum ''Raphanus raphanistrum'', also known as wild radish, white charlock or jointed charlock, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. One of its subspecies, ''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'', includes a diverse variety of cultiv ...

'' (wild radish) (naturalised) * '' Rostraria cristata'' (naturalised) * ''Sarcostemma viminale'' subsp. ''australe'' * ''

Schenkia australis ''Schenkia australis'' is a species of annual herb in the Gentianaceae family. It is endemic to Australia. Description ''Schenkia australis'' grows as an annual, or rarely biannual, herb, from 2 to 30 centimetres high. Flowers are pink, red or y ...

'' (naturalised) * ''

Senecio pinnatifolius ''Senecio pinnatifolius'' is a species of herb native to Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous ...

'' * ''

Setaria dielsii ''Setaria dielsii'', commonly known as Diels' pigeon grass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae native to Australia. Description It is an annual grass that grows in tufts from 20 to 130 centimetres high. It has green flowers that occur ...

'' (Diels' pigeon grass) * ''

Solanum nigrum ''Solanum nigrum'', the European black nightshade or simply black nightshade or blackberry nightshade, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Solanum'', native to Eurasia and introduced in the Americas, Australasia, and South Africa. Ripe ...

'' (black berry nightshade) * ''

Sonchus oleraceus ''Sonchus oleraceus'' is a species of flowering plant in the tribe Cichorieae of the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and Western Asia. It has many common names including common sowthistle, sow thistle, smooth sow thistle, annual sow thistle, ...

'' (common sow thistle) (naturalised) * ''

Spergularia rubra ''Spergularia rubra'', the red sandspurry or red sand-spurrey, is a plant species in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia and North Africa, and it is present on other continents, including North and South America and Australia ...

'' (sand spurry) (naturalised) * ''

Sporobolus virginicus ''Sporobolus virginicus'', known by numerous common names including seashore dropseed, marine couch, sand couch, salt couch grass, saltwater couch, coastal rat-tail grass, and nioaka, is a species of grass with a wide distribution. Description ...

'' (marine couch) * ''

Tamarix aphylla ''Tamarix aphylla'' is the largest known species of ''Tamarix'', with heights up to . The species has a variety of common names, including Athel tamarisk, Athel tree, and Athel pine. It is an evergreen tree, native across North, East, and Centra ...

'' (athel tree) (naturalised) * ''

Tecticornia arbuscula ''Tecticornia arbuscula'', the shrubby glasswort or scrubby samphire, is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae, native to Australia. It is a shrub that grows to 2 metres in height, with a spreading habit. It has succulent swollen bran ...

'' * ''

Tecticornia halocnemoides ''Tecticornia halocnemoides'', commonly known as shrubby samphire or grey glasswort,* is a species of succulent, salt tolerant plant endemic to Australia. It grows as a spreading or erect shrub up to fifty centimetres high. It was first publis ...

'' (shrubby samphire) * ''

Threlkeldia diffusa ''Threlkeldia diffusa'', also known as coast bonefruit, is a perennial herb which occurs in coastal areas and saline flats in Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country compr ...

'' (coast bonefruit) * ''

Thysanotis patersonii ''Thysanotus patersonii'', the twining fringe-lily, is a climbing perennial herb which is endemic to Australia. Description Tuberous and leafless, growing to between 0.15 and 0.5 metres in height. They produce purple flowers between July a ...

'' * '' Triglochin centrocarpa'' * ''

Vulpia myuros ''Vulpia myuros'', the annual fescue, or rat's-tail fescue, is an annual grass species of the genus ''Vulpia''. It was probably originally native to Eurasia, but it can now be found nearly worldwide as a naturalized species. In the United Kingdo ...

'' (rat's tail fescue) (naturalised)

Fauna

The island's fauna includes the rare spiny-tailed skink, the

Abrolhos painted button-quail The Abrolhos painted buttonquail (''Turnix varius scintillans'') is a subspecies of the painted buttonquail endemic to the Houtman Abrolhos. It is common on North Island (Houtman Abrolhos), North Island, and also occurs on other islands of th ...

and the

brush bronzewing The brush bronzewing (''Phaps elegans'') is a species of bird in the pigeon family, Columbidae. It is endemic to Australia, with two biogeographically distinct subspecies. Taxonomy The brush bronzewing is one of around 310 species in the famil ...

. The

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

(''Rattus rattus'') was previously present but has been eradicated.

Human uses

The Houtman Abrolhos is wholly vested in Western Australia's Minister for Fisheries for purposes of "Conservation of Flora and Fauna, Tourism, and for Purposes Associated with the Fishing Industry". Pigeon Island is one of a small number of islands given over almost entirely to the last of these. As a result of guano mining in the 19th century, and the development of fishing infrastructure in the 20th century, the island has very little conservation value.

References

{{reflist Wallabi Group

History

Geography

Geology and physiography

Flora

Fauna

Human uses

See also

References