pheasants

[billyboyp]

first pheasant pouts today while out bunny bashing anybody Else seen Any.

[SOUTHWICKSLAYER]

I work on a game farm and at the moment we have over 35,000 of the little devils ranging from a week to 6 weeks old. Only got another 3 hatches coming out (about 12,000 or so chicks). On the shoot ive yet to see any poults but plenty of last years birds left

SouthwickSlayer

[Comus]

I was out shooting last week and was laying under a low branched apple tree with my netting over me. I was just waiting for the rabbits to make another appearance when I heard something coming through the bushes to my left. It was kinda spooky but then a full grown pheasent came out and stood 2 feet from my head.

It walked around my head looking curiously at the netting I was under, and walked around in front of my face then just turned his back on me and wondered off along the open terrain. It was so tempting to just line my sight's upon his bonuce but I resisted and just watched him wonder off into the long grass on the right.
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[GiZZeRR]

My brother showed me a nest in his horse field 3 weeks ago. Just in a nettle patchwas a hen sitting on eggs....she allowed him to lift her from the nest and see the eggs She would not move!

One week later he took the video camera down and she was really protective this time and had a good few pecks at his hand but again allowed him to ease her off the nest to show half a dozen chicks had already hatched and other eggs hatching.

I have never seen a bird allow contact like that before. They are all away now and can be seen regularly.

[Rapidnick]

My brother showed me a nest in his horse field 3 weeks ago. Just in a nettle patchwas a hen sitting on eggs....she allowed him to lift her from the nest and see the eggs She would not move!

One week later he took the video camera down and she was really protective this time and had a good few pecks at his hand but again allowed him to ease her off the nest to show half a dozen chicks had already hatched and other eggs hatching.

I have never seen a bird allow contact like that before. They are all away now and can be seen regularly.

If only she knew what was coming when the season starts!!

[JoeH]

pheasant pouts today

Have they been looking at you funny again BillyBoy?

Joe

[Bomag]

My brother showed me a nest in his horse field 3 weeks ago. Just in a nettle patchwas a hen sitting on eggs....she allowed him to lift her from the nest and see the eggs She would not move!

One week later he took the video camera down and she was really protective this time and had a good few pecks at his hand but again allowed him to ease her off the nest to show half a dozen chicks had already hatched and other eggs hatching.

I have never seen a bird allow contact like that before. They are all away now and can be seen regularly.

You are very lucky, most keepers say that pheasnats make bad mothers, and will not return to the nest if disturbed
Saw my first ones today, all 3500 of them, only 3 more deliveries to go and the pens will be full

[JJSTEALTH]

i disturbed 2 the other morning,
4 am and i was stalking, suddenly 2 of the buggers "took to flight" right in front of me i nearly shat myself with the noise they made,
but im not allowed to shoot them anytime,just got to stickin to the rabbits n rats,
JJ..

[Whippet.22]

If only she knew what was coming when the season starts!!

Pipe down hippy.

[M ROBSON]

Saw our first wild brood last week but most are still sitting. The ducks are doing well this year with a couple on their second brood already, we've got an albino duckling in amongst one lot, pink beak and all. Haven't seen any Partridge chicks yet.

Mark.

[Professor]

Walking up the side of a wood on my boundary a couple of weeks ago, I was startled by a hen pheasant blasting off in front of me, about five feet ahead. She took off out of a fine clutch of eggs, so I've kept away from there since in case I disturbed her too much. I'm not sure how many chicks she'll rear though, since there are buzzards wheeling about and screeching all over that area. I think they roost in the wood, because they're always there. Another thing, I've seen a lot of broken shells which I think were from pheasant eggs, quite large pale green - in fact just like the ones in the nest... Certainly no expert on that, but I think they've been robbed by something of the winged sort.

[jim_w]

I stumbled upon some woodcock chicks on sunday - just before the Great Rain started. First an adult woodcock shot up from just in front of me (they really do look bizzare in flight, don't they?), then I noticed why - there were three chicks scuttling away from me!

The black cygnets are bigger than the geese already, and the goslings are in their adult plumage. It seems that even our lonely wigeon may have had a brood. Not Becky's pet sparrow though - he still sits outside cheeping all day, looking for a mate

Ah, the joys of spring!