Pheasant

[billtils]

Went for drive to see if I could find some obliging raptors to add to the D500 familiarisation, but nothing doing. I fired off a couple of bursts of this pheasant just to have something to make the day not a total wipe-out, but was pleasantly (or should that be 'pheasantly') surprised.





Also managed a few typical Spring shots including this one of a suspicious mother sheep keeping a watchful eye on me.






C&C welcome of course.

[Wavelength]

Lovely.... why that blue coloration on the sheep?

[davidedric]

It's how the farmer marks the sheep belonging to him (or her!)

[billtils]

It's how the farmer marks the sheep belonging to him (or her!)

👍

[Wavelength]

Thank you; are they grazing on common lands and not on fenced private areas?

[purplehaze]

Nice looking bird, that pheasant. I don't think I have ever seen one, but am going to be looking for what is in my area.

[davidedric]

Bill, sorry for jumping in again, but I wanted to comment on pheasants.

Pheasants are not native to the uk - they are from the Indian sub-continent

But, they are raised here in unbelievable numbers - to be shot

In fact, in the autumn, before the shooting season, the body mass of pheasants is estimated to be between one and a half to two times the total body mass of all other birds in the UK.

You might guess I'm not a fan! But some escape and they are regular visitors to our garden, and they look just as amazing as Bill's photograph

[billtils]

Bill, sorry for jumping in again, but I wanted to comment on pheasants.

Pheasants are not native to the uk - they are from the Indian sub-continent

But, they are raised here in unbelievable numbers - to be shot

In fact, in the autumn, before the shooting season, the body mass of pheasants is estimated to be between one and a half to two times the total body mass of all other birds in the UK.

You might guess I'm not a fan! But some escape and they are regular visitors to our garden, and they look just as amazing as Bill's photograph

Thanks for the background info Dave - I didn't know they were not native! Mind you I sometimes wonder if the difference between "native" and "introduced" is simply the time at which a species was introduced/migrated.

[purplehaze]

It seems we also have them in the southwestern part of my province (Manitoba), where they have, according to a local atlas, "posed problems, with negative population consequences in some areas, for native gallinaceous birds and other ground-nesting birds, especially the Greater Prairie-Chicken, by parasitizing their nests, aggressive behaviour, disease transmission, and competition for food and habitat".

[joebranko]

Nice capture.

[Manfred M]

Nice examples of rural life, Bill. The only issue I have with the shots is that they appear to be a bit on the "hot" side.

[billtils]

Thanks Manfred. Yes, I agree with the "hot" comment. I've been trying out fickr's in-built editor from my laptop and while it has many functions it's just not the same as proper editing + big screen.

[royent]

Re Pheasants. They don't taste bad either
Roy

[davidedric]

So long as you spit the lead shot out

Re Pheasants. They don't taste bad either
Roy