I had a thrill this morning when a male pheasant and his wife visited my garden. I have heard the male calling, in the surrounding fields, over the last few years but never seen any. I was busy making plans for when chicks hatched then had a panic as I have a hunter cat and my new neigbour currently moving in next door has 2 cats which will be arriving shortly. I had noticed several flattened areas in the rough grass near the bank on one side of my garden. I dismissed them as cat sunbathing spots but am now wondering if the hen is deciding exactly where to lay her eggs. I had a very quiet explore this afternoon but no pheasants in residence, yet. The female is so difficult to spot in the rough grass. She is exactly same colour and markings as dead grass.
Somewhere from the depths of my aged addled brain comes the thought that pheasants can be very destructive in a garden. Have I made that up or is it true?
Now, do I really want the pheasants to move into my garden or do I discourage them for the safety of the chicks, or will I have no say in the matter? It is going to be fun waiting and watching. I will probably never see them again.
@steephill : Your blackbird photo reminds me of a very 'close encounter' I had a few summers ago when an immature blackbird was ' anting' with splayed out feathers on a very sunny bare patch in my lawn (- right beside my deckchair). He rested there for several minutes and was attended by myriad ants crawling through the feathers. I believe that the birds do this to rid themselves of parasites.
A thrush in the same trance state on top of our garden table. It stayed like this for several minutes.
A robin near the same spot as the blackbird but a few years ago. There have been ant nests around there over the years but I haven't managed to capture any photos yet of the ants doing their cleaner duties.
We get the odd pheasant through but I don't think they are any worse than the hordes of woodpigeons who visit.
Woodpecker, blurry great tit, pheasant, chaffinch and woodpigeon. I must have filled the feeder
I think a wren has just started nesting in a rambling rose next door. So amazing to hear the deafening song filling the morning. But I don't think it will be happy, with all the party people, bbqs and army of cats. It's up against a DJ's studio shed. I'm really hoping the thorns will put off the cats and the hunters won't scare off the bird from the nest. I've never seen or heard wrens in the garden before. Everything is crossed that she stays. Robins and wrens can nest so low down it's a bit heart stopping. For them and me.
I had a Wren build in ivy, actually on the top of the fence, the most accessible place to any wandering cat! They still managed to fledge ( not that I saw them) but now that male uses the blue tit box just above that area, it's yet to be accepted by a female 🙄
I've seen a wren/s about in the garden over the last few weeks for the first time since moving in. The wren is making loud and long songs and alarm calls when I go outside, so s/he does seem territorial. I'll put out some meal worms and see if I can get some good pictures. It's so glorious a song to wake up to - infinitely better than the ever-buzz of power tools.
Have just been for walkies with Possum and the 2 canines and saw my first ever orange tip butterflies flitting about on some proper bluebells in the hedgerow. Gorgeous.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
For the last two years have seen the male Wren filling the box with bedding and then singing above it @BobTheGardener , but not this year, it seems to prefer the bushes nearer the house.😁
I have them flitting about, but have never managed to track down a nest. For some reason I've also never been able to fathom, I see them a lot around a patch of Euphorbia amygdaloides which invaded from next-door. They obviously like to keep us guessing!
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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Somewhere from the depths of my aged addled brain comes the thought that pheasants can be very destructive in a garden. Have I made that up or is it true?
Now, do I really want the pheasants to move into my garden or do I discourage them for the safety of the chicks, or will I have no say in the matter? It is going to be fun waiting and watching. I will probably never see them again.