Monday, April 04, 2011

Spring Pheasants

I am currently in the middle of packing for very early departure tomorrow morning. I am heading south with the camera kit to Mallorca for a week of bird photography. So I thought I would put a post on the blog before I departed. The place where I am staying has a WIFI connection so hopefully I can give some updates on my progress with the Balearic birds either through Facebook or Twitter.

The subject of this particular post is pheasants. These are birds that I do not usually tend to go out for specifically but tend to be a by product of my brown hare photography as both share the same site. There is nothing better for lifting one out of the monochrome of winter than Pheasants in their full springtime technicolour glory.


I always think that these birds are a little overlooked by photographers which is a shame given the array of colours and variation, combined with some interesting call and dispute behaviour. The early morning sun hitting a spring pheasant in all its finery is an arresting sight.

These birds are great fun at this time of year with the males calling frequently and battles erupting between males if two should cross paths. I found these two birds in the middle of a dispute which went on for a full 10 minutes but unfortunately not in ideal light conditions. If you ever come across two male pheasants nose to nose, gently swaying, then prepare to watch the fireworks. The other interesting element of the behaviour is the explosive wing whirring call of the male. If you stay in the presence of a male long enough at this time of year it will at some point usually call. The more you watch, the easier it is to pick up on the subtle posture clues that indicate a call is about to take place. The main issue I find with photographing these birds is that the long tail can make for some awkward composing of the image. Often a bird coming towards the photographer at a slight angle is easier to accommodate in the viewfinder.

So next time you encounter a pheasant you may wish to pause and watch for a while and appreciate them for the beautiful and interesting birds that they are.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Richard, fabulous images!
The Pheasant is a beautiful bird. Somehow it's wings don't seem big enough for the body size.

TexWisGirl said...

Hi there! Robin sent me over here after finding your site. WOW! These are gorgeous photos! Their breast feathers are incredible! Lovely seriest on these most beautiful birds! I am looking forward to following you!

Bob Bushell said...

I love the Pheasants doing their things. Great photos.

Barbara said...

Lovely pictures of pheasants, and interesting notes on their behavior.

Talibra said...

Przepiękne ptaki, cudowne zdjęcia.
Pozdrawiam.

Unknown said...

Hi Richard,
Just found your blog. AMAZING pictures!!!
Will follow you for sure!
Feel free to take a peek at my blog too,
Cheers,
Dave

http://iow-birder.blogspot.com/

Miguel Ángel Madrid said...

They are spectacular images.
The colors are beautiful and unique moments captured.

Greetings
Miguel

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Stunning, absolutely amazing stills and action shots. I love their brilliant colouration and you really shared a beautiful series in this post, but then you always do~

Robin Robinson said...

ABSOLUTELY smashing pheasant shots! Most certainly the best I've ever seen. What are you shooting with or at least what did you shoot that series with? Magnificient. And the fight display, well, I can't find the adjective big enough to say! So glad to have found your blog. Great work.

Unknown said...

very nice Richard

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