Image-of-the-Day by Subject

Image-of-the-Day by Subject

Birds - Pheasant & Partridge Page 19

Image Taken on 17 Jan 2025 at 12:37 Image of day on 25 Feb 2025

One of several male Pheasants picks his way over the Round Mound. The top of this one's head is rather flat and a dull grey.

Ref: 20250225_bu2_20250117_1237_175_sc7 pheasant male on round mound walking past sprouting daffodils(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 15 Aug 2011 at 18:00 Image of day on 28 Sep 2011

Pheasant are better flyers than we like to think. Here this male has just landed on the tree-stump top and gives us an edge-on view of the separate primary feathers streaking down against the underside of his wing.

Ref: 20110928_d35_20110815_1800_011_fb4 pheasant male on tree-stump top (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 11 Sep 2025 at 11:55 Image of day on 30 Oct 2025

Always something more to eat at the hedge bottom.

Ref: 20251030_e63_20250911_1155_016_fb1 pheasant male pecking over hedge bottom(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 13 Oct 2025 at 10:05 Image of day on 09 Dec 2025

No more sightings of other male Pheasants for the last few days. We suspect that this resplendent beauty wins all the battles - so far.

Ref: 20251209_e64_20251013_1005_038_fb2 pheasant male pecking over woodland site(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 05 Nov 2018 at 13:27 Image of day on 27 Dec 2018

The dominant Male Pheasant picking through the litter of leaves. Don't miss the iridescent feathers at the neck, inside the 'ear' tufts, over the back and above the legs.

Ref: 20181227_e64_20181105_1327_026_fb2 pheasant male pecking through leaf litter(r+mb id@1024).jpg

Image Taken on 29 Apr 2024 at 13:32 Image of day on 25 May 2024

Pheasant are really quite big birds - especially if you count the lovely tail!

Ref: 20240525_e64_20240429_1332_045_fb2 pheasant male picking over ground at woodland site(r+mb id@1024).jpg

Image Taken on 20 May 2008 at 18:38 Image of day on 31 May 2008

From a few days before, a head portrait of proud male pheasant lording it over a feeding female (out of focus on the left of the original).

Ref: 20080531_d3a_20080520_1838_021 fb2 pheasant male portrait (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 22 Aug 2025 at 16:12 Image of day on 14 Oct 2025

The new neck-ring deprived male Pheasant, here with head buried in the feathers as her preens, is a riot of colours.

Ref: 20251014_e63_20250822_1612_048_fb1 pheasant male preening(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 30 Nov 2025 at 14:46 Image of day on 13 Jan 2026

A 'compact' view of one of the male Pheasants preening his feathers.

Ref: 20260113_e63_20251130_1446_015_fb1 pheasant male preening at hedge bottom(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 11 Oct 2017 at 07:37 Image of day on 18 Nov 2017

In the morning the male pheasant has a preen at the site. There is nothing wrong with his eye - he is protecting it from damage with his nictitating membrane.

Ref: 20171118_e63_20171011_0737_174_fb1 pheasant male preening breast (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 15 May 2025 at 17:48 Image of day on 06 Jul 2025

This Trail-cam happened to catch a 3 frame sequence of the male Pheasant expanding the feathers over his whole body. It's difficult to show the subtle expansion in a sequence of stills, so this is a 3 frame animation at 2 second intervals.

Ref: 20250706_bu7_20250515_1748_079-081 pheasant male puffing up feathers 1-3 of 3 (animation).gif

Image Taken on 27 Oct 2025 at 08:06 Image of day on 16 Dec 2025

The dominant male Pheasant steps across the piece of Silver Birch branch but reaches back for some items of food just spotted. There is a good view of the bird's spurs on the leg behind the log.

Ref: 20251216_e64_20251027_0806_025_fb2 pheasant male reaching backwards with spurred legs splayed either side of log(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 08 Dec 2025 at 13:22 Image of day on 22 Jan 2026

At the hedge bottom this male Pheasant reaches down to pick up some tiny morsel of food.

Ref: 20260122_e63_20251208_1322_064_fb1 pheasant male reaching down(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 17 Apr 2017 at 06:41 Image of day on 06 Jun 2017

The male Pheasant is often seen accompanying females as they feed. Here with his back to camera we see the magnificent tail spread out to show the multi-feather and tapered structure.

Ref: 20170606_e64_20170417_0641_147_fb2 pheasant male rear view showing multiple tail feathers(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 04 Dec 2019 at 16:14 Image of day on 04 Jan 2020

Usually the Grey Squirrels can simply shoo away male or female Pheasants, but here the Squirrel is getting faced-off by the male Pheasant who is standing his ground against the pesky not-so-little rodent.
These are at the same scale but different distances from the camera.

Ref: 20200104_e64_20191204_1614_153+1617_154_fb2 pheasant male resisting repeated attacks by grey squirrel 1+2 of 2 (montage)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 25 Jan 2012 at 08:54 Image of day on 16 Feb 2012

The dominant male pheasant photographed himself a couple of minutes apart with his body facing in opposite directions. The way his head is pointed at the camera suggest the caption "which profile is my best?"

Ref: 20120216_d5c_20120125_0854_112+0856_113_fb2 pheasant male right and left sides (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 04 Apr 2022 at 18:24 Image of day on 05 May 2022

The King is Dead. Long Live the King
The sad death of our dominant male Pheasant.
12 pics in 2 blocks of 6 document the event as the various mostly automatic camera caught the events. Bottom left of the first block was the first we knew of the event as we walked by our access to the main road.
Each photo is time stamped as xxx_yyyymmdd_hhmm_...

E6A_20220404_1824_113      01 of 14
     The new male Pheasant occasionally on the site for some days.
BU3_20220404_1835_138_SC6  02 of 14
     The dominant male Pheasant on the access track to main road.
BU8_20220405_1300_220      03 of 14
     The last sighting of the dominant male, here full of himself calling at Duck Pond.
DF3_20220405_1612_123      04 of 14
     The dominant male road-killed in the previous 3 hours.
BU3_20220405_1613_157_SC6  05 of 14
     Yours truly dodged the traffic to collect the body.
DF3_20220405_1615_124      06 of 14
     The sad remains left at the meadow site.

Ref: 20220505_e6a_20220404_1824_113-20220405_1615_124_fb5 pheasant male road killed left in meadow for fox is quickly replaced 01-06 of 14 (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg

Image Taken on 05 Apr 2022 at 17:04 Image of day on 05 May 2022

E6A_20220405_1704_180_FB5  08 of 14
     Rooks had a look at the remains.
E6A_20220405_1715_182_FB5  09 of 14
     The new male may have no idea that this was once his rival.
E6A_20220405_1816_204_FB5  10 of 14
     Several Magpies took away beakfuls.
E6A_20220405_2039_229_FB5  11 of 14
     We see a Fox - the remains now gone dragged off somewhere.
BUA_20220405_2330_166_SC8  13 of 14
     3 hours later this Fox is carrying part of the remains.
BUA_20220405_2348_169_SC8  14 of 14
     18 minutes later the head end of the dead bird is carried away.

Ref: 20220505_e6a_20220405_1704_180-2348_169_fb5 pheasant male road killed left in meadow for fox is quickly replaced 08-11+13-14 of 14 (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg

Image Taken on 05 Apr 2022 at 21:20 Image of day on 06 May 2022

The crafty Fox remembers the Road-kill Pheasant left at this site, and keeps coming back to see what else there may be!

Ref: 20220506_e6a_20220405_2120_230_fb5 pheasant male road killed left in meadow for fox is quickly replaced 12 of 14 (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 29 Oct 2015 at 08:36 Image of day on 22 Dec 2015

This Pheasant is obviously shaking out his feathers. We haven't heard any of the male's characteristic calls yet, but a couple of females also appear every day or so.

Ref: 20151222_e63_20151029_0836_017_fb1 pheasant male ruffling feathers (crop)(r+mb id@1024).jpg

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