This pair of Pheasants were strolling across the runway at our model flying field. I was struck by the disparity in size between the male and female but I think this is somewhat illusory - the male seems to be puffing himself up in order to impress someone or something. Well, I was at least sufficiently impressed to get the camera out, even if the female seemed pretty indifferent to his display.

Photograph (above) - May 2003

In October 2003 this female turned up in the garden. For five days it seemed to make the garden its own, foraging around the edges of the flower beds and on the grass below the bird feeders. Then it disappeared for a few days before making a few more visits during the month.

These pictures will enlarge.

Photographs - October 2003

We have since had a few more brief visits from solitary pheasants, but none has stayed around in the same way as the above female.

The male on the left appeared in February 2005. He strode across the lawn, flew up onto the boundary wall and surveyed the scene for a few minutes before moving on.

Photograph (left) - February 2005

Interestingly the male below was spotted taking a similar route the following December.

Photographs (below) - December 2005

Eleven years on and new heights in the spectacular pigeon stakes were reached with a brief visit from the character below. Whilst totally different in plumage from the birds above, I believe this is a selectively bred variant of the same species, known as a Black Pheasant. It did seem rather timid, hiding from the local squirrels, so whether it was newly escaped from a breeder's pen, I don't know. Although taken through glass, the photos will enlarge reasonably.

Photographs below - November 2016

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