Aggressive pheasant - Cornbury

Sun 9 Nov 2014, 11:31

Bring back the pheasant banner please !

Sat 8 Nov 2014, 23:46

Oh no..... This afternoon there were TWO pheasants patrolling the Cornbury meadow - one guarding the river and the other the footpath. Might they be working together at keeping peasants and sheep out of their patch. The flapping wings is obviously some kind of semaphore.

Fri 7 Nov 2014, 12:36 (last edited on Fri 7 Nov 2014, 13:11)

I love the Christmas advert from John Lewis, very moving. :)

Fri 7 Nov 2014, 10:22

Pheasants, like peasants, are SO yesterday. Penguins are the new pheasants, and possibly the new peasants too. www.theguardian.com/business/video/2014/nov/06/monty-penguin-john-lewis-christmas-advert-video

Fri 7 Nov 2014, 06:44 (last edited on Fri 7 Nov 2014, 21:26)

Wonderful banner. I love Charlbury, my home town. Please save the Pheasant!

Fri 7 Nov 2014, 00:23

The change of banner photo has made my day. I love Charlbury. Save the pheasant!

Thu 6 Nov 2014, 22:56 (last edited on Thu 6 Nov 2014, 22:57)

There is a shoot at Cornbury on Friday, his days may be numbered!!!! At least he has had the Town talking, makes a change from solar panel etc, long may he live. If not he will be nice slow roasted.

Thu 6 Nov 2014, 21:14

A stoned pheasant. I've heard it all now.

Thu 6 Nov 2014, 20:21

Good job we are not in the USA I believe they have the right to arm bears!

Thu 6 Nov 2014, 19:56

It was already very 'friendly' before the sheep were in the field - I first tweeted about it a few weeks ago.

(yes I know pheasants don't tweet).

Thu 6 Nov 2014, 19:23

That's it!!!!! The second from the left!! I'd recognise it anywhere .........

On a more serious note, am I right in thinking that this behaviour has more or less coincided with the sheep arriving in the field, or was it already standing up for its rights before then? It was busy investigating the sheeps' feed trough this afternoon, and I am wondering if it has been sharing with them whatever has been put in there. If it's some sort of nutrition supplement, it may be that the pheasant is - to use a quaint 1970s expression - stoned out of its mind. I mean, if you kept seeing psychodelic wellies walking past, wouldn't you behave a bit strangely?

Thu 6 Nov 2014, 18:55 (last edited on Thu 6 Nov 2014, 18:57)

What lovely pictures Frank, I feel really sad now to think it might come to harm.
Thank you for sharing them with us.

Thu 6 Nov 2014, 18:08

This is such a beautiful bird. I spent quite a while this afternoon with it. Not at all aggressive, just a bit territorial, like most of us. It allowed me to take a lot of photos from only a few inches away. Most of the time that I sat taking there it just wondered around me eating grass and checking out my camera. Some of the images can be seen on the following link:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/42kuwwh12bmdkai/AAABHKobsSWvR7pX0qXuSQeea?dl=0

Frank

Thu 6 Nov 2014, 18:03

You are right, Jon. This is obviously the beginning of the Pheasants' Revolt.

Thu 6 Nov 2014, 17:10

Do I detect some political parallels here? The pheasant encounters members of homo sapiens on its territory and decides to escort them off, as it perceives them to be a threat to its territorial integrity. The people then protest that it is the pheasant that is the threat, not them: they refuse to recognise the bird's land claim and decide to shoot and eat it.

I note, by the way, that the pheasant is unarmed.

Thu 6 Nov 2014, 09:11 (last edited on Thu 6 Nov 2014, 19:30)

Awww, that's really nice Wendy, thank you. Unfortunately I'm not allowed out after dark.

Enjoy your evenings at Pub.:)

Thu 6 Nov 2014, 08:27 (last edited on Thu 6 Nov 2014, 08:43)

We had great fun in the Three Horseshoes last evening with this, yes it was far more entertaining than T.V ! you could try it come and join us.

Thu 6 Nov 2014, 06:36

Exactly the response expected! haha :)

Wed 5 Nov 2014, 23:55

I know someone who intends to carry out a 'risk assessment' on this demon bird. I think it will soon be happily resting at 180C in a nice warm place - ah, bless!

Wed 5 Nov 2014, 21:24 (last edited on Wed 5 Nov 2014, 21:37)

This is more entertaining than what's on T.V.tonight. :)
Poor little thing out there in the freezing cold.

Wed 5 Nov 2014, 21:18

Good job we only live in the Cotswolds, I dread to think what the people on the Najibabad website would think!

Wed 5 Nov 2014, 21:14

I've just had roast pheasant for supper. Will be making some nice stock from the carcass later. Happy to deal with this one the same way, if necessary.

Wed 5 Nov 2014, 18:14

Please post me the video of human behaviour on finding a pheasant in a persons home and I am sure we would see similarities. As a matter of interest, I have just read the forum of the 'Charlbury Pheasants Collective' and they are having at right laugh about this thread. Funny old world.

Wed 5 Nov 2014, 15:02

A number of people have complained about the bird pecking and attacking them so that would suggest that they feel threatened. As you point out though, of course it is a wild animal and is behaving as a wild animal does in its own environment.

Wed 5 Nov 2014, 14:37

Sorry, did you say threat posed by the Bird? The pheasant is guarding it's territory surely.

Wed 5 Nov 2014, 13:21

And I have replied to Brigid that Cornbury Estate are going to investigate and assess the threat posed by the bird. In the meantime, please could walkers and runners take extra care around this particularly wild animal.

Wed 5 Nov 2014, 10:38

I have sent a message to Alison Wright explaining that the pheasant is specifically terrorizing the footpath. In my case it seemed to be guarding the area where the path from the Charlbury end enters woodland.

Wed 5 Nov 2014, 10:23

Cornbury Estate would like to remind walkers that the park and woodland are home to many wild animals including birds, badgers, foxes and deer. The deer are contained within the deer park. It is of course not possible to fence in the other animals, so humans are reminded to take extra care and be aware of the wildlife and grazing stock. Please keep dogs on leads at all times and stick to the designated footpaths.

Tue 4 Nov 2014, 17:05

When I was doing my law training (in Oxford) many years ago, my supervisor thought it would be a hoot (no pun intended) if I applied for the annual alcohol licence for a pub client of ours called - "The Pheasant Plucker". One could sense the anticipation of the inevitable Spoonerism in the Magistrates' Court (those days you had to get the licence there). Fortunately I made it through without a slip but it was a nerve-wracking experience for a fresh faced (and red faced) advocate. Apparently I wasn't the first or last to be put through this "rite of passage" ordeal.

Tue 4 Nov 2014, 15:42

If the Rose & Crown doesn't sell out of Pheasant Plucker after this then there's no justice.

Tue 4 Nov 2014, 14:46

You are so funny Jon, made me smile on a miserable day!

Tue 4 Nov 2014, 14:44

I was running along the path on Friday and it followed me all the way, but on the other side of the fence. At first I thought I was imagining things, but it definitely appeared to be chasing me off. Pretty fast, too - keeps you at a good pace!

Tue 4 Nov 2014, 14:31

I have tried to contact a local specialist to assist his response follows: I'm not a pheasant plucker, I'm a pheasant plucker's son, I'm only plucking pheasants 'till the pheasant plucker comes. Nice chap, pleasant even.

Tue 4 Nov 2014, 12:27

I'm glad the only problem so far is with pheasants. Next it will be peasants. They are less easy to catch, and if you break their necks and roast them, you can get into trouble.

Tue 4 Nov 2014, 10:24

My Wife was attacked by this monster about two weeks ago. It followed her across Cornbury Park pecking at her ankles. Fortunately she was wearing thick wellies!

Tue 4 Nov 2014, 10:00

I've met it too several times! And video'd it. I was cycling home from work and I noticed it running along near me. I thought it was trying to get away so I stopped, but it stopped too. Then when I started again, it started again, pat pat pat along next to me. It was quite funny until it started coming much closer and trying to peck me - I shooed it off loudly and that seemed to work.

I haven't seen it for a while so I assumed it had run up to someone who had a gun and met its demise... good to hear it is still going strong.

Tue 4 Nov 2014, 09:31

Perhaps we should indulge it? It won't be around for long.....

Mon 3 Nov 2014, 23:59

,Aint nature wonderfull!!!

Mon 3 Nov 2014, 20:13

I too have met this foul fowl! I was running in Cornbury this morning and it tried to peck my legs. I really couldn't get it to go away but luckily a kind walker with her dog changed direction to try and help deter it! She informed me that another runner had ended up with scratches on her arms when trying to fend the pheasant off. I googled pheasant attacks and apparently they do happen and pheasants are very territorial so maybe it is guarding the piece of woodland by the footpath?? Way too hitchcockesque for me liking!

Mon 3 Nov 2014, 18:26

It was being extremely vocal last Friday afternoon - lots of wing flapping and loud croaking. Maybe it doesn't like being surrounded by all the sheep that have been in the meadow.....

Mon 3 Nov 2014, 18:02

Last Monday two of us were out walking in Cornbury when we came a cross a loudly clucking, apparently agitated cock pheasant. We were standing at the Charlbury end of the badger set when the bird came towards us from out of the undergrowth. Thinking that it was trying to ward us off we changed direction and headed back to the footpath. It followed beside us still clucking from time to time, finally turning back as we reached the end of the trees.

Mon 3 Nov 2014, 17:52

Perhaps the pheasant noticed you weren't carrying a gun??

Mon 3 Nov 2014, 17:32

Walking on the footpath by the Cornbury Park fence this afternoon I was confronted, then followed by a cock pheasant which kept clucking and darting towards me, flapping its wings, as if to peck my legs. I managed to fend it off with some dried plant stalks, but this strange chase went on for five or ten minutes before it gave up. Has anyone else met this bird, or can anyone explain its behaviour?