I am THRILLED! The Male Red Golden pheasant that escaped on Thursday was spotted under the trees in my neighbor's yard! I KNEW that's where I was gonna find him, as they don't fly far and that was the exact direction he flew in. I'm so glad I talked to my neighbors, cuz as we goot home from bbreakfast and the dog park yesterday, he came over and said "we think your/bird is in out backyard". I screamed "MY PHEASANT??!" As I ran through the house, all the way back to the coop for the net and took off with dh in tow to their house.
The wife said "we've been watching him for at least a half hour! He's beautiful!'' I said I KNEW we would find him here! (Their backyard has lots of low pine trees with lots of brush underneath to hide in). We all surrounded the trees, 2 kids, 3 neighbors and the dh and me... as he darted back and forth, flying and running from tree to tree. I got a hold of his tail for a moment, but he released his feathers and flew off again.
We were finally able to corral him on a relatively clean branch and my dh netted him! Yippeeeee! I gave each kid a tailfeather, and promised a dozen eggs asap to my neighbors and got him back home. He was STARVING and began eating immediately as his buddy ran around him chirping. I actually think he is happy to be back enclosed. The grass is, apparently, NOT always greener on the other side of the fence.
On a slightly different note... my dh has gotten very adept as re-capturing escaped birds (quail, chukers, pheasants and chickens, as well as rescuing them from roofs, under blackbberry bushed, behind sheds, as well as minor veterinary assisting, etc. I'm very proud of the guy who didn't want any birds in the first place!
The wife said "we've been watching him for at least a half hour! He's beautiful!'' I said I KNEW we would find him here! (Their backyard has lots of low pine trees with lots of brush underneath to hide in). We all surrounded the trees, 2 kids, 3 neighbors and the dh and me... as he darted back and forth, flying and running from tree to tree. I got a hold of his tail for a moment, but he released his feathers and flew off again.
We were finally able to corral him on a relatively clean branch and my dh netted him! Yippeeeee! I gave each kid a tailfeather, and promised a dozen eggs asap to my neighbors and got him back home. He was STARVING and began eating immediately as his buddy ran around him chirping. I actually think he is happy to be back enclosed. The grass is, apparently, NOT always greener on the other side of the fence.
On a slightly different note... my dh has gotten very adept as re-capturing escaped birds (quail, chukers, pheasants and chickens, as well as rescuing them from roofs, under blackbberry bushed, behind sheds, as well as minor veterinary assisting, etc. I'm very proud of the guy who didn't want any birds in the first place!
