Or how some birds are having an identity & gender crisis ..
SPRING might not have yet sprung but it is clear from the activity of the birds they sense it's just around the corner. However, there has been an array - and display - of confusing antics from some of the birds here in the Borders.
For instance Frank, my white pheasant, is obviously in need of a mate but his amorous intentions towards the hens, in particular Thumberlina, have caused quite a flap.
His little grunts, dance and wing display infront of the Scots Dumpys has caused Horatio, the cockerel, no end of alarm and despite his own wing-flapping and aggressive stance towards the romeo pheasant, Frank
appears to be undeterred. He is, without doubt, lonely and has been ever since a fox took his mate last year. However trying to get my hands on a white hen pheasant has proved challenging to say the least.
White pheasants are unusual and the reason why Frank has probably survived the local shooting season two years running is that veteran hunters do their best to avoid bringing down white pheasants as some shoots impose penalties (for fun) which can run into hundreds of pounds.
But loneliness is not just affecting Frank. The most recent to lose his companions - Ant my Bourbon Red turkey - has started to try and strut his stuff among a bevvy of new peahens who arrived last autumn. Fanning his feathers like the adult peacocks is just not impressing, or fooling, anyone and I'm having to decide if I should consign him to the cooking pot or get him some new turkey friends.
This one has gone all butch and started fanning her feathers out like her male counterparts. She's barely a year old but she looks so funny as she twirls around spreading out her meagre display of quills followed by the stamping of her feet.
Her three mates look on bemused and bewildered but she just started doing this, especially on a morning, in response to the peacocks doing exactly the same. However, as you can see from the photographs below, they actually have plumage worthy of spreading and showing off. Their displays can be quite stunning and impressive and yet their feathers are still not fully developed.
Ed, photographed in full display below, arrived unwanted from a posh place near Warwick where his loud, rooftop screeching was driving local folk mad. He is one of two Indian peacocks, the other being Albert who lost his 'Victoria' to the fox last year.
Joining Ed and Albert is Harry, above right, a bit of a dandy who has just started to get all of his white feathers back after going through a bit of a shabby stage. His partner Philomenia was one of two white peahens but her companion became yet another victim of the fox in 2014.
On an evening all of the peafowl roost in one of the tallest trees nearby and don't come down until they are sure the area is fox-free. I'm hopeful they will remain as alert throughout the coming year although, despite all the foxes taken by the local Jed Forest hunt, I saw one blighter just before dusk a few days ago. I swear he was grinning as he looked back towards me.
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PHEASANT SURPRISE: He's looking for a mate but Frank sits on the
fence when it comes to finding the right one
|
For instance Frank, my white pheasant, is obviously in need of a mate but his amorous intentions towards the hens, in particular Thumberlina, have caused quite a flap.
His little grunts, dance and wing display infront of the Scots Dumpys has caused Horatio, the cockerel, no end of alarm and despite his own wing-flapping and aggressive stance towards the romeo pheasant, Frank
 |
THUMBERLINA is not at all interested
in anyone but Horatio the cockerel
|
White pheasants are unusual and the reason why Frank has probably survived the local shooting season two years running is that veteran hunters do their best to avoid bringing down white pheasants as some shoots impose penalties (for fun) which can run into hundreds of pounds.
But loneliness is not just affecting Frank. The most recent to lose his companions - Ant my Bourbon Red turkey - has started to try and strut his stuff among a bevvy of new peahens who arrived last autumn. Fanning his feathers like the adult peacocks is just not impressing, or fooling, anyone and I'm having to decide if I should consign him to the cooking pot or get him some new turkey friends.
 |
| DOWN IN THE DUMPS: Poor Ant |
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| THIS WAY LADIES: I'm a peacock not a turkey, seriously! |
He either looks manically depressed (eyes left) or is trying to copy the Indian and white peacocks, and failing miserably which sends him into the utter depths of despair, (eyes right).
But perhaps the strangest sight of all is brought to you courtesy of one of four peahens I acquired from a place near Dundee towards the end of last year. The quartet are aged between eight and eighteen months old and were brought in after it became clear the peacocks were facing a severe shortage of companions from the opposite sex.
However, as the following photographs show, there's some confusion over the exact role the peahens will be playing when Spring is finally sprung. This one has gone all butch and started fanning her feathers out like her male counterparts. She's barely a year old but she looks so funny as she twirls around spreading out her meagre display of quills followed by the stamping of her feet.Her three mates look on bemused and bewildered but she just started doing this, especially on a morning, in response to the peacocks doing exactly the same. However, as you can see from the photographs below, they actually have plumage worthy of spreading and showing off. Their displays can be quite stunning and impressive and yet their feathers are still not fully developed.
 |
COPY ME: It seems some of the otherbirds
are copying Harry & his mates
|
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| INSPIRING: Ed shows of his new feathers |
On an evening all of the peafowl roost in one of the tallest trees nearby and don't come down until they are sure the area is fox-free. I'm hopeful they will remain as alert throughout the coming year although, despite all the foxes taken by the local Jed Forest hunt, I saw one blighter just before dusk a few days ago. I swear he was grinning as he looked back towards me.
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