jmgoyder

wings and things

Mar 15

In search of a wife

by jmgoyder

Phoenix 1, our remaining golden pheasant, is in search of a wife – yes indeed. This morning I was amazed to see him flirting with Malay (one of our roosters which might be a hen). Here is Malay in front of one of the old sheds. Malay is the grown up chick belonging to the first Malay who was one of the many hens to disappear courtesy of the fox. S/he is twice the size of Phoenix 1.

Originally we had four pheasants – two brothers from one farm and two sisters from another. All was well until one of the females died and the brothers fought over the remaining female and Phoenix 1 banished Phoenix 2 to one of the neighbouring properties (I wrote about this in my first post). Subsequently, and unfortunately, the other female was also killed by the fox so, in a matter of days, we went from four pheasants to one very lonely male.

When there were four of them, Phoenix 1 and Phoenix 2 spent the bulk of their time flirting with the female pheasants. It was relentless and hilarious. What they did was to flit very fast around the females, do a kind of hoppy dance and then enlarge the striped feathers around their necks, one side at a time – left, then right, then left and so on. It resembled the opening of an old-fashioned fan and I was never able to get a photo of this because they move too quickly. Needless to say, the females (a grey-brown colour) were just as fast in their attempts to escape this constant attention.

So here is another person’s photo of another pheasant doing the fan thing.

Well,  I haven’t seen Phoenix 1 do this for months due to the absence of a female pheasant. So, this morning, as I was sitting on the back doorstep feeding bread to the peacocks, I heard the trilling noise that accompanies the pheasant flirting ritual and was amazed to see Phoenix 1 pursuing Malay, who was also amazed – and alarmed! The chase scenes were like something out of a Disney movie!

What next?

Wings

14 Comments »
Mar 9

Golden pheasant reflections

by jmgoyder

Phoenix 1 is getting more narcissistic by the day! This morning be began his ritual of trying to find his reflection in the veranda windows very early.

His view of himself was blocked, but he persevered and, eventually stopped his plaintive chirping when he saw a little bit of himself.

Finally, he saw the whole of himself. He stared admiringly for a moment, then trotted off (yes, he does trot!) to join the peacocks in eating some figs that had dropped onto the ground nearby.

So, by my calculations, this gorgeous but peculiar pheasant spent nearly 7 hours looking for a good reflection of himself, then, once he found it, he left his ‘mirror’ to have fun with the other birds.

I don’t get it and I really think Phoenix 2 should come back to give Phoenix 1 some perspective!

Wings

16 Comments »
Feb 28

Absence makes the heart grow furious

by jmgoyder

When our two male golden pheasants, Phoenix 1 and Phoenix 2, went to war over a female, and Phoenix 2 flew away, I was at first alarmed, then bereft, then relieved to find out that Phoenix 2 was happily living with neighbours.

Strangely, even though Phoenix 1 – picture below – banished his brother, he, too, has been bereft and rather reclusive and obviously very lonely.

For months now he has been coming to the back veranda window to stare forlornly at his reflection. He has also been really silent and moody and seems quite angry to be the only pheasant here now. He misses the females he and his brother fought over but like I said to him yesterday, ‘It’s your fault – you scared them all away!” Funnily enough, my harsh words drew him closer to me and he took the bit of cabbage in my hand. He doesn’t usually come so close, so that was lovely.

It was almost as if he knew that I knew that he knew we were both in similar predicaments of loss. I’m not sure.

Wings

8 Comments »
Feb 19

Don’t come any closer!

by jmgoyder

Tina Turner (Araucana rooster): Don’t come any closer, Phoenix.

Phoenix (Golden pheasant): It’s okay, I’m leaving!

Phoenix: Hi guys!

Peacocks: Hi Phoenix, ‘bye Phoenix.

Phoenix: No problems – I get it; I’ll just dance away on my own.

Phoenix: Don’t come any closer, Julie.

Me: I know what you mean, Phoenix.

Wings

10 Comments »
Jan 19

Birdplay

by jmgoyder

I love watching the birds at play. Even though they spend most of their time pecking around for food – grass, grubs and so on, each breed has its own version of fun:

The guinnea fowl love to dig themselves into any grassless patches and roll around in the dirt. They have also formed a choir and their performances are frequent (about once every hour or so). Their music is a bit of an acquired taste which visitors often refer to as ‘noise’ but we are used to its strange echoes.

The peacocks, of course, love to dance the ‘fantail’. Now, even though it’s only the males who do this, the females find it enormously entertaining (occasionally!) They also play a game called ‘scare-the-hell-out-of-Julie’ which consists of blood-curdling screams which never fail to stop me in my tracks, as they are so piercing.

The chooks love to play hide and seek in amongst the bits and pieces of farm debris. The hens are particularly good at hiding which is probably because they don’t like the roosters’ idea of play which I think is better left undescribed here.

The turkeys love a game called ‘peck-the-duck-until-it-wakes-up’. Even though the following picture is of one of the Bubbles (turkey) and Tapper (duck) when they were young, they still play this game with varying degrees of success.

The golden pheasants used to play a war game that turned out to be not a game at all but a war, with the loser banished to an adjacent property and the winner remaining here, victorious and splendid. And lonely. War games are no longer encouraged here.

The Indian runner ducks love to run around, pretending to be fast and, yes, before they met the emus, they thought they were fast. Unfortunately for the Indian runners, most of the timed races have been won by the Emerys, but the ducks are very dignified losers. The Emerys do concede, however, that they have the distinct advantage of loooooooooooooonger legs!

The best game of all here is waterplay and, since the following photo was taken, we have added a pond so that it isn’t just Godfrey who gets to play.

Oh, I nearly forgot – Buttons, the weiro, likes to boogie on my shoulder. He seems to be able to turn his head all the way around, then does this nodding thing really fast, then he shakes himself, then the whole dance move repeats itself. Since he is on my shoulder more than he is off my shoulder lately, this means that I am constantly covered in a sprinkling of tiny feathers that look like dandruff, as well as, you know, weiro waste (the excitement of the boogie seems to affect his little bowel – oh well!)

The following youtube of a crow snowboarding is accompanied by a rather serious little article about whether birds like to play in the same way humans do. I don’t think it matters.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/2012/01/16/snowboarding-crows-the-plot-thickens/

Wings

12 Comments »
Jan 12

The waterbabies!

by jmgoyder

Emu 1: So this is her idea of a pond is it?

Emu 2: Stop complaining – apparently we need to talk to that Godfrey guy, you know, the big gander. Oh, this chopped cabbage is like heaven; she really does that well.

Pearl: Mr God, sir, those emus want to talk to you.

Godfrey: What now? Can’t you see I’m busy? This water is filthy!

Seli: Sorry, sir, but I think they want to form a working party to sort out the pond situation.

Godfrey: This is getting ridiculous. Since when do emus like to swim? Woody, go and tell them that they may use the kiddy pool for the time being, but no splashing, no pooping and one at a time only.

Woodroffe: Yes sir.

Godfrey: Stop swanning about, gang! This is serious.

Emu 1 to other emus: C’mon, Emerys – this is lovely!


Emu 2: The Godfather said only one at a time.

Emu 1: Okay, just give me a moment. Oh, wow!

Godfrey (honking from a slight distance): Tomorrow’s meeting will commence at 6am sharp. We will form a working party consisting of three geese, one duck, one turkey and one – I repeat, one – emu. In the meantime the emus may continue to use the kiddy pool but not the pond. Agenda items:

  • bigger ponds
  • more ponds
  • cleaner ponds
  • separate ponds for different species

Phoenix 2: Have you guys heard about this meeting?

Peacock: Don’t worry about it, Goldilocks, it’s just a poultry thing.

Phoenix 2: Oh.

Whitey: You know little Tapper, the duck? He told me that the Godfather wants to have regular meetings from now on. Can you believe it?

Phoenix 2: But why?

Whitey: Well, Tapper thinks it might be all Zaruma’s fault because he keeps secretly pooping in the pond.

Bubble: Godfrey said he only wants one turkey in the working party, so do you want to do it? It would be a good experience for you.

New turkey: I would be honoured.

Bubble: Good boy.

New turkey: I’ve only been here a little while but I really love it.

Bubble: Mmmm.

New turkey: There’s never a dull moment!

Pearl: Woody, would you mind representing me at the meeting today? I have a headache.

Woodroffe: Of course, Pearly, you’re my favourite sister in the world.

Pearl: You do have Diamond.

Woodroffe: Diamond’s a boy – remember? So she’s my brother.

Pearl: Oh, my head is pounding.

Ola: Woody, where’s the meeting?

Woodroffe: The greenhouse.

Ola: Is the woman coming?

Woodroffe: Hell, no – Godfrey would never allow that!

Ola: Well, I think she should be involved.

Woodroffe: I agree but I’m not going to bring it up.

Ola: In that case, I will. I adore her.

Woodroffe: I do too, but please don’t tell Godfrey.

Zaruma: Will you guys shut up. Let’s get this over with.

Ola (whispering to Woody): Little does Zaruma know he’s in big trouble.

Woodroffe: Well it’s his fault for pooping in the pond all the time.

Emu 1: So much fuss about nothing!

Emu 2: I dare you to get into the kiddy pool while they’re in the meeting.

Emu 1: You are on!

Emu 2: No, no – I was just joking. It’s too risky!

Emu 1: I’ll show you how I dunk my head in the water – it’s amazing!

Wings

6 Comments »
Dec 5

WWE for pheasants

by jmgoyder

From the age of nine to the age of thirteen, Son was absolutely crazy about wrestling. We even flew across the country to Adelaide to see a match once (which he reckons was one of the highlights of his childhood!)

As you may recall, I began this blog with a story about my two golden pheasant males, Phoenix 1 and Phoenix 2, fighting over a female, with Phoenix 2 being exiled and our 80-year-old neighbour ringing up to say he was there.

Well, the saga has continued. First of all, the neighbour arranged, via a wildlife officer, for Phoenix 2 to be returned to us, but Phoenix 1 immediately banished him again and he was back at the neighbour’s house before she even got home (a 2-kilometre flight I might add). So she and I decided that she may as well keep him and she was rather thrilled, so everyone was happy.

Then, a couple of weeks later, she rang to say he seemed to have disappeared which was upsetting for both of us until another neighbour informed us that he was at their place and had attached himself to their mulberry tree. So they, too, caught him and brought him back here but, even though the female pheasant had long since disappeared (can you blame her?), Phoenix 1 once again chased his brother away.

The irony is that Phoenix 1 is now a very lonely pheasant and whimpers outside the back door constantly, whereas Phoenix 2 is happily gorging on mulberries less than a kilometre away. I really miss Phoenix 2 but what can I do? I refuse to aviary the birds, because I want them to have the freedom of choice, but I do hope he goes back to the 80-year-old neighbour’s place because she really loved him.

One thing for sure: I am not getting any more female pheasants! I’m sure you will understand if you look at these pictures of the battle below; it was terrible, it was awesome and it was a hell of a lot more dramatic than any WWE match I’ve seen.

The peace-loving peacocks tried to intervene; well, we all did, but to no avail.

Wings

16 Comments »
Nov 8

Phoenix 1 versus Phoenix 2

by jmgoyder

This picture is of my golden pheasant brothers launching into a fight that lasted a good 20 minutes. They were fighting over a female and it was both awful and awesome to watch. We had visitors that day and my niece, Jane, was taking cute, fluffy pictures of some cute, fluffy children interacting with some cute, fluffy goslings. Then, whammo, the pheasants, both named Phoenix, launched into a war and Phoenix 2 has now been banished by Phoenix 1. I was broken-hearted until my 80-year old neighbour rang up and said, “Are you missing a strange-looking bird?”

Wings

4 Comments »
Nov 7

Welcome to a blog about wings….

by jmgoyder

Hi

This blog is for anyone who has ever dreamed of having wings. Over the last year I have discovered the weird and wonderful world of birds. It started with guinnea fowl and peacocks, then it was poultry, then it was pheasants and now I have around ten varieties of winged creatures, most of whom will eat out of my hand. There have been some mishaps, and a fair amount of mayhem, but mostly it has been hilarious fun.

Each blog post will include at least one photo and an anecdote. The one above is of two golden pheasant brothers having an argument. What happened after this photo was taken was alarming and will be divulged in the next post!

Julie

Wings

5 Comments »
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