Urban pheasant

Up until recent years, I quite liked incl them on bird counts. Them and red legged partridges. Now though, I am more aware of just how many are released in this country and how much damage they're doing......and only yesterday, Packham was tweeting to Defra about huge numbers being brought into the country regardless of spreading bird flu.

In reply to ItisaRobbo:

Then there's the comparison of the estimated biomass of released gamebirds vs. the estimated biomass of wild birds.

Last year there were vagrant pheasants on my patch intent on eating the ovine supplementary feed. More of a 'pest' than any of the wild birds (and, yes, I look kindly on the corvids).

We tried to 'control' the wayward released gamebirds by shooting. But after the legal shooting season had come to an end the excess pheasants were still there.

Our hens haven't seen proper 'outside' for over a year. They do have access to an enclosed area outside (i.e. isolated from wild bird populations but not in a barn). This arrangement also stops them from killing amphibians. It also keeps them away from any fox (rare in these parts). Hens do really like a tug of war involving a frog, toad or newt. To them, it is just protein. To the average hen amphibians are much preferred to molluscs. To the average amphibian, a hen is pretty much off the menu.

Too many bluidy pheasants (and RLP).

Just my proverbial tuppence-worth.