Backyard sightings

A hen pheasant:

See how well she blends in with her surroundings:

And even more so here:

Here's her mate (photo taken through a screen):

I see him around quite regularly. One morning he even woke me up crowing right outside the bedroom window. (I got ambitious and took the screen off for this next shot.)

And I often see this little guy(gal?), too. He's not too afraid. I got about 10 feet away from him before he decided to run after I took this picture:

He blends in pretty well, too... but not as well as he thinks he does. ;)

I've seen two of them now and then, too. Perhaps I'll see lots more soon. I think it'd be fun to find a nest of babies. What a photo shoot that'd be!

They didn't get 'em all!

The day after pheasant season closed, I saw these two roosters in our backyard.  I suspect they're enjoying the mild winter, too, after the last two rough ones!

A Fresno morning

In other words, it's foggy and dreary. I spotted this guy in our back yard. He didn't look like he was enjoying the weather very much. But hey, he survived the winter! It's very likely that a lot of them didn't, what with all the snow cover and cold temps.

Here's another photo, zoomed in a little closer and enhanced a bit:

(Click either photo to enlarge.)

He appears to be standing on just one leg. Do they really do that, Dale? He stood there not moving for quite a while, then disappeared when I wasn't looking.

'Tis the season

Pheasant hunting season, that is. Here's just a little teaser for any hunters that are looking so hard for the birds. He was right out there by my garden.

My apologies for the poor quality of the photos. I took them through a screen. Mark was giving me grief about washing my windows, so I didn't do those. (Or, maybe I just haven't gotten to them yet.)

Wildlife

All the snow makes finding food very difficult for wildlife. These hen pheasants were by the lilac bushes behind our house this afternoon.

A little while later I saw this little cottontail. He was munching on the bushes.

(Click any photo to enlarge.)

There have been lots of deer tracks around, too. No doubt it's not easy for them to even walk in the deep snow.

Oh, NO!!!

"I'm thinkin' about headin' back south!"

"I'm runnin' for cover!!!"

(Note the craters at the edge of the garden. Heifer prints.)

From the back yard

Hen Pheasants

Wish I could've gotten a pic of the one when it was sitting way up high in the evergreen tree!