Garden residents

For the past week I have watched a beautiful male pheasant feeding on the decking outside the kitchen window. He would stand underneath the feeders and seemed to eat quite well from what they spilled.

Sadly he had been injured in one of his legs and could only place his toes down and not take any weight through his leg. Hopping around did not seem to worry him unduly and he could fly as well as any other bird. Sadly when I went out the back gate this morning he was lying on the ground and had died, probably overnight as he was very cold. Now I know he was a wild bird and in the country there are shoots all the time, but I have to say I felt sad.

Nothing stops this chap though and all through the year he is either collecting walnuts from the big tree we have in the garden, burying them in the lawn or digging them up. They may be rats with tails but I still enjoy watching their antics.