tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post5198826680537873676..comments2023-11-29T07:39:34.401+00:00Comments on Carla Nayland Historical Fiction: Not just pretty feathersCarlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-5868276428173129072010-02-21T19:27:58.890+00:002010-02-21T19:27:58.890+00:00Gabriele - Good point :-)
Doug - Good question. ...Gabriele - Good point :-)<br /><br />Doug - Good question. Alas, I can't tell you what was going on the pheasant's mind :-) He's taken to flapping up to the bird table regularly now, even though there isn't always much food up there (I put extra out during the snow), and then sitting on the edge of the table looking miffed. So evidently flying up there isn't too much of a problem, though pheasants look such ungainly birds that they surely can't fly very easily. A bit of both, perhaps, first working out that there was food and then deciding if it was worth the effort to get it.<br /><br />I suspect they survive in the numbers they do nowadays because gamekeepers feed them. A few years ago we had a pheasant (possibly the ancestor of this one) that was evidently so used to being fed by people that if we went out in the garden it would run towards us, for all the world like a free-range chicken.<br /><br />Elizabeth - glad you enjoyed it. I <i>suppose</i> that could be altruism - sounding an alarm call to give warning to the rest of the flock at some risk to itself - but I wouldn't count on it :-)Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-74988910585747148362010-02-20T21:23:26.404+00:002010-02-20T21:23:26.404+00:00loved the post Carla.
Agree with everyone else re ...loved the post Carla.<br />Agree with everyone else re pheasants mostly being numbskulls. Yours must be a genius of the species! One of the other things they do is give their loud 'gurk-lurk' calls alerting you to the fact that they're actually in a certain thicket, whereas if they'd keep their beaks shut, you'd never know they were there!Elizabeth Chadwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16911841862257909703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-30130955953722877872010-02-20T11:32:12.808+00:002010-02-20T11:32:12.808+00:00But did the pheasant need a week just to realise t...But did the pheasant need a week just to realise that other birds eating showed that there was food up there, or was it to some extent a need to gather the will to get its weight up there? There must be a reason they don't fly much, maybe it exhausts them. However, Gabriele C's suggestion does support a considerable degree of stupidity! How do they manage to survive?Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02204909202506240971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-65307490506951441812010-02-19T16:25:17.231+00:002010-02-19T16:25:17.231+00:00Why pheasants panic just _after_ you've passed...<i>Why pheasants panic just _after_ you've passed them by is beyond me :-)</i><br /><br />It takes their brain that long to decide they should be scared. :PGabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-76774174821189229562010-02-19T10:03:05.737+00:002010-02-19T10:03:05.737+00:00Meghan - Glad you liked it! Pheasants are very ha...Meghan - Glad you liked it! Pheasants are very handsome birds.<br /><br />Gabriele - the snowdrops are at least a fortnight later than usual here, maybe the same applies in Germany? Why pheasants panic just <i>after</i> you've passed them by is beyond me :-)<br /><br />Nicola - That must have been a scary experience! Especially on the paths on the Yorkshire coast, with the crumbly cliffs and a big drop...<br /><br />Tenthmedieval - Only nearly? There's good eating on a pheasant, you know :-)Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-47947881602309396912010-02-19T09:06:25.181+00:002010-02-19T09:06:25.181+00:00Carla: very nearly! The pheasant Green Cross Code ...Carla: very nearly! The pheasant Green Cross Code is still in draft, it would seem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-34910932283202354072010-02-19T01:19:23.777+00:002010-02-19T01:19:23.777+00:00Nice post. Makes me miss England, again.
A pheas...Nice post. Makes me miss England, again.<br /><br />A pheasant very nearly gave me a heart-attack on the cliffs near Whitby a few years ago--it just exploded out of the gorse as a scrambled up a narrow path. I'd just got over that when I got surprised by...a goat. No idea where it came from (or where it went) but that day probably took six months off my life.Nicola Griffithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00401940329164370169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-71055483489043984772010-02-18T21:50:59.930+00:002010-02-18T21:50:59.930+00:00Still no snowdrops here.
Heh, one of them did th...Still no snowdrops here. <br /><br />Heh, one of them did the Scare Unsuspecting Hikers trick on me once. Too bad I didn't have a gun. ;)Gabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-14329282194191472212010-02-18T19:38:31.414+00:002010-02-18T19:38:31.414+00:00Wonderful pictures! Such a pretty bird. I enjoyed ...Wonderful pictures! Such a pretty bird. I enjoyed this post a lot.Meghanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03375626649089998707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-87106400849289877012010-02-18T19:30:21.476+00:002010-02-18T19:30:21.476+00:00Hello Nanina, and welcome! Well, it did take him ...Hello Nanina, and welcome! Well, it did take him at least a week to figure it out, which is not exactly fast :-) <br /><br />Tenthmedieval - is that from personal experience? :-)Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-72591412126399660002010-02-18T10:18:51.288+00:002010-02-18T10:18:51.288+00:00That is pretty advanced for a pheasant! They are, ...That is pretty advanced for a pheasant! They are, I think, the only bird it might be possible to hunt and kill armed only with a bicycle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-71909615374102834662010-02-17T21:31:37.755+00:002010-02-17T21:31:37.755+00:00This is lovely. I was one of those who thought it ...This is lovely. I was one of those who thought it was on account of the pheasant the the term 'feather-head' came into existence! I consider myself informed to the contrary. One of these days, when 18 more inches of snow melt, I might spy a few clumps of snowdrops in my garden. Until then I'll enjoy yours. Thank you.naninahttp://gardengroans.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.com