(Not the actual pheasant)
Pheasants can fly. I know they can, as I have seen them flying. Granted they tend not to fly very high, or for a long time, but fly they can.
Approaching Hoe Rough on the busy Fakenham Road earlier, I saw a brightly-plumaged cock pheasant (Identical to the one above) on the other side of the road, at the junction with Mill Lane. It seemed to be considering going across to the small car park in front of the entrance to Hoe Rough. Then it casually stepped out into the road. After a few steps, it stopped, seeming to be pondering something.
If a bird can be said to look deep in thought, then this one certainly was.
Seconds later, a small Fiat car appeared from the direction of Dereham. Fortunately for the thoughtful bird, the lady driver slowed her car, and carefully steered around it. With the road momentarily clear, the pheasant seemed to snap out of its reverie, and began crossing the second half of the road. But rather than take the obvious route, it made a diagonal approach, leaving it in the path of a fast-moving delivery van heading east from Beetley.
I winced as the van drove straight over it without hesitation, expecting to see the remains of a badly-squashed bird in its wake. Luckily, the height of the comercial vehicle had meant the bird had been unscathed. It did not even appear to be that concerned by its close encounter with potential oblivion.
A few steps more took Mr Pheasant into the car park, and under the gate of the nature reserve. Ollie and I followed seconds later, watching the bird saunter off into some dense undergrowth ahead of us.
Not unlike the pheasant, I was left pondering.
Why didn’t it just fly across the road?
A very nice experience. I’m glad he survived. Years ago, things weren’t so good for one of them. Maybe this one wanted to philosophize with our ca. In any case, only a few feathers remained of him – I had found these relics much later in the shed. ;-(
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A cat would make short work of such a lazy bird, Michael.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Our cat had done. ;-(
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Good point to ponder!
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I’m still pondering, Jennie. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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🙂
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Unlike you and I, I am not at all sure it quite understands the concept of a road and its hazards. the same can be said of all the animals that live around here, Warmest regards, Theo.
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I think he should realise he can actually fly, Theo. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Given the size of its brain, by the time it realizes, it is too late. Warmest regards, Theo
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Hmm. 1. No brains. 2. He’s arrogant and thinks everything should make wake for him. 3. He’s an adrenaline junkie.
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I’m voting for Option 1, Kim.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pheasants are beautiful…..but a little slow…..we cannot have them here because of the fire ants they tend to devour them and the young…..chuq
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Many are bred commercially around here, so they can be shot when the hunting season starts! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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They are tasty….chuq
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Yes, I often order them in restaurants.
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Wow pretty peasants 😍
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The male bird has attractive plumage indeed.
Best wishes, Pete.
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No doubt an adrenalin junky out for the trill, or did you check to see if the there was a pheasant camera crew knocking around?
I used to go pheasant beating in my teens and they most definitely wait until the last second to take to the air, evacuating there bowels at the same time, not much good verse a truck 🙂
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They do leave it late to fly. I have almost stepped on one before it decided to fly away. Maybe they have really bad eyesight?
Best wishes, Pete.
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He must have been so distressed by the events of you’re latest serial.
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Perhaps he recognised Ollie from my blog, and was hoping for a selfie with a famous dog?
Best wishes, Pete.
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Deep in thoughts, an Einstein of all birds, it was wondering why vehicles drive in one direction and not backwards or sideways like him. Or may be, it was testing the reaction time of the vehicle-kind! 😁
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If he was testing his own reaction time, he was certainly close to the limit, Shaily.
Best wishes, Pete.
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🤣🤣🤣
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lucky bird! 🙂
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He was that time, Wilma. I don’t fancy his chances in future though.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes, it makes you wonder….
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I can only conclude they must have very poor eyesight, Beth.
Best wishes, Pete.
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One lucky pheasant. My daughter, who used to share a house with bird enthusiasts, says many birds wait until the last moment to fly. It expends too much energy, so they walk when possible. Obviously doesn’t apply to birds of prey and seabirds that never land.
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That sounds sensible, Peggy. They are heavy birds, and must need to save energy.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I hope his luck holds out!
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Until October, when the shooting season begins. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Hi Pete, clearly this bird had no concept of danger at all. We have guinea fowl here that are similar and they are also a little ‘bird brained’.
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They must all belong to the least intelligent bird species, Robbie.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I came across 2 a few weeks ago squaring up to each other on my side of the road just as I cam round a sharp bend. Thankfully oncoming traffic was flashing before I went round the bend slower than usual and went round them . Not one care did they have about the traffic and my fiesta is definitely a lot lower than a van!
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I think they are stupid enough to never have learned about traffic. More fool them! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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We have a lot round here – most of them seem to be on a suicide mission.
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I almost titled the post ‘The Suicidal Pheasant’, but the way it stopped to ‘ponder’ fascinated me. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Not too smart. A beautiful bird, nonetheless.
–Pam
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Yes indeed, Pam. The male bird is very attractive. To attract a mate of course. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Looks like a beautiful but dumb bird. 😉
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The male has those lovely colours to attract females, but I am convinced they are very stupid birds, Pit.
Best wishes, Pete.
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It was possibly just that one bird that was (somewhat) stupid, or he thoight that his bright colours would deter even a lorry. 🙂
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Around here we don’t worry about pheasants but we do about deer. There are so many, I often count 20 or more roaming in a local herd. And it seems that deer will stand waiting to run across the road when a car is close.
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Yes, I killed one with my car in 2019.
It was very upsetting, but fortunately didn’t do any damage to my car, or injure us.
Best wishes, Pete.
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“If a bird can be said to look deep in thought, then this one certainly was.” It was, in fact, a philosophical pheasant unfazed by fast-moving physical phenomena.
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Perhaps it was playing ‘Traffic Roulette’? That might be a thing with male pheasants. To show how tough they are.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I often wonder why lots of creatures have no road sense – even if they had no sense they must surely have a fear of noisy giants.
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Chickens run away from cars, but deer and pheasants are killed in their hundreds every year around here. You would think ‘evolution’ would have taught them by now.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I’ve just been out on my bike and a pheasant ran ahead in front of me for ages. I was waiting until it flew away or disappeared into the hedgerow, but the silly bird just kept running, lol.
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They do seem to be rather dumb, I agree.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That pheasant’s days are definitely numbered!
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I just hope he wasn’t returning to Mill Lane later…Mind you, if he survives the road, he will likely be shot once the season starts in October!
Best wishes, Pete.
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It does seem odd, doesn’t it, because all creatures seem to have a concept of danger, such as the one presented by a ginormous juggernaut bearing down upon it at high speed! The pheasant you saw had a lucky escape, but I fear this won’t always be the case, unless it stays away from roads in future! 😀 Cheers, Jon.
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I see dozens of pheasants squashed on Norfolk’s roads, Jon. I think they are either very stupid birds, or they have no idea how dangerous a moving vehicle is.
Best wishes, Pete.
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It raises that old question, why did the pheasant cross the road? Oh sorry, it was a chicken.
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I think chickens have more sense. At least they run away from cars. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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