Pheasant in the garden

It was a bit of an adventure last night going to the council meeting as snow started falling quite heavily early in the evening. I'm pleased that our new initiatives are bearing fruit as we look forwards to assess where we can help the parts of the community who are already struggling.

It was snowing still several hours later as I walked home up the hill and talking to the mayor about the big full council meeting next Monday. When she reached her house I still had half a mile to walk and I actually enjoyed getting my head down to look out for a safe route across the ice and snow covered roads and paths.

This morning it was still snowing although it hadn't deposited dee[ply, unlike the first snows last week. The birds were however particularly active and I expect they are beginning to run down on their reserves of fuel in their bodies to convert into energy. As I lay sipping a hot cup of tea in bed, I saw several blue tits examining the gutter outside, even perching upside down underneath the gutter to get at something unknown. Then they flew away then back and hovered for several seconds outside the window staring at the glass. I wished I'd had my camera to capture their outstretched wing movements.

I went back to try and film one of the bullfinches as they are so colourful with their red breasts, as robins are. But they were very elusive. I tried standing still beside the cabin for a long time and did see yesterday's nuthatch as well as the usual garden feeders. I wondered whether a jay would come, but when it did, I hadn't realised until it flew off hugging the top of the fence before climbing high up into the sycamore tree at the bottom of the garden.

I got several shots which I might have been happy with. But after Helena came home from work at mid-afternoon, I saw one of the bullfinches with several goldfinches and some longtailed tits all scrambling around the sunflower feeder. I tried to open the door quietly and did manage a few images but by now the light was going and my position was poor for clear line of sight.

Soon after I noticed this pheasant, which has been hanging about the rear gardens, getting access from the adjacent steep slopes that are covered in scrub and trees. Yesterday I saw it on a fallen tree trunk standing serenely above the snow and before that I have seen it right in the middle of our garden. There are no pheasant shoots organised near here and I think it must have become used to living in the wild, and I'm sure it is a very good area to have chosen. I don't think there are any guns nearby to threaten it, only foxes.

When I spotted it and took this picture, it was at least thirty feet up in the air on a small branch of the sycamore tree, which is part of our rear boundary and is very old. Soon after it fluttered down behind the sheds and this big green bush into the next door garden, where there is a chicken run. Perhaps it was eyeing up some other big birds and wanted some company. More likely it thought there might be some food for it there too.