"Sacha" wrote in message
.uk...
On 29/11/05 23:40, in article
,
"Klara" wrote:

In message ,
Sacha
writes

snip

We had a pair of visiting pheasants, for the first time ever, for
about
8 months - they'd turn up every morning for the bird food, nearly
always
together, and became quite special to us. About a month ago I saw
the
sparrowhawk take the hen. I've only seen the cock once since then,
a few
days later ...


snip
I'm afraid our Jack Russells have driven off the pheasants but at
one time
we had one cock pheasant with five wives and it was the most
charming and
beguiling thing to watch. He would come onto the lawn to feed, all
the time
making this low, chucking call and his harem would emerge slowly and
shyly
onto the grass, feeding beside him. Sometimes, we would wake up in
the
morning and look out of our bedroom window to see the wives sitting
on a
garden table, waiting to be served their breakfast. I do miss them
very
much but the much loved but equally cursed dogs do not encourage
them.
OTOH, if I take some of the bird food down into the shrubbier areas
of the
garden, who knows......?
The only hopeful thing I can say is that a few days ago we drove
through a
farmyard very close to us and there was a cock pheasant with several
wives,
so I hope and pray the sparrowhawk doesn't spy them.

Yes, it's a cruel world out there. And it's us meddling humans that
make it easy for the sparrowhawks.
We put up these feeders, attract masses of small birds and the
sparrowhawks think that it is all for their benefit. We just give them
easy pickings.
'Doubt there is a solution unless we enclose the whole garden in 2
inch wire mesh.
Must say I'm surprised that the s'hawks are taking pheasants, tho'.
Our phessies just flatten on the ground when the s'hawks swoop through
and so far are unscathed.
The biggest victims around here are blackbirds. Their flight seems low
and straight and the hawks find them easy to take.

--
ned

http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk/birds.html#pheasants
last update 27.11.2005