Pheasants

Recently, every time I go to the farm I either hear or spot pheasants, sometimes very close to the house. They emit loud and rather unpleasant, low-pitched screams when calling each other but their looks more than compensate for the shrieky voice. Yesterday I nearly walked into one when I was examining the northern part of the farm, trying to determine which trees needed to meet my chainsaw before others. I was looking up when suddenly he emerged from the bushes a couple of yards away on my right, rising as he flew over the fence to hide in the tall meadow beyond.

The one I photographed is at someone else's field. I noticed him when passing there by car... got out and began taking pictures. At first he continued pecking at the ground but when I extended my arms pointing my camera at him he must have thought I was holding a gun because he rushed towards the nearby maze field to hide:

They like to keep their distance but if you meet one up close you will see that they are quite large - at least the size of two well-fed chickens. Sometimes you can find some of their long tail feathers in the grass.