Ring-necked Pheasant in west end. And a Cuckoo bird!

[Rob'in'To]

An extra day off after the Victoria Day weekend, and all my friends are working.  So I take the opportunity of some alone time with me and nature, go for a walk, see what I see.  Passing Baltimore Orioles, Yellow Warblers, RWBBs, Robins and Grackles had me thinking this was going to be a regular ol' day when suddenly I noticed this Ring-necked Pheasant.  I never knew they visited Ontario.  I got to watch him from a distance for a number of minutes until a dog walker with dog off leash came and chased him away.   :x



Soon after, I heard a very strange sound coming from a tree near me.  I stood quiet and still, scanning the branches and soon discovered a Black-billed Cuckoo.  I saw a pair of these about 5 years ago for maybe 3 seconds as they flew off.  So I can now put him on my life list.  A great long watch of him, hearing his funny sounds (notice the puffed up throat area) until a male Baltimore Oriole came along, having heard enough from this guy, shooed him deeper in the trees.  



To me anyways, a couple really cool sightings.  And both are lifers for me!  

[gary yankech]

hi Robin,

Wow...where were you? I have yet to see either of these. Great story as well.

Gary Yankech

[Rob'in'To]

Hey Gary!  Thanks man.  Looking at some maps, I believe it's called Humberwoods.

Curious if anyone has seen Ring-neck Pheasants in the GTA?  My books/guides make this seem like the very tip of their range.

Rob

[Bluffs Birder]

Hi Rob,

Both are excellent sightings, congratulations.  The Black-billed I've yet to see and only 1 sighting of a female Ring-necked out near Thickson's Woods in Whitby a couple of years ago.

Walter

[MEGHAN]

Fantastic Rob,

You are very lucky to have found one of these.
Wild Pheasants in the GTA are almost entirely gone.
There are a couple pockets in Ontario where they still reside but they are few and far between.   Habitat loss is squeezing them out, and with Coyote numbers exploding predation will get the few that have found what little suitable habitat there is. So sadly, it may not be long before the last are gone.
You have found and photographed what I think is one of the most beautiful birds to see.
So congratulations Rob, you really found and was able to photograph something really special, IMHO.

Meghan

[BillSimpson]

I saw one a couple of years ago by the river behind Humber College, but have not seen or heard him since.

[Rob'in'To]

Thanks again.  Now with Meghan's bits of info I feel this moment is even more special.  I do hope to see him again.  But in the same area just last week I ran into a Coyote.  He startled me as we crossed paths; me going north, him going west but he didn't even stop to look or say sorry for nearly running over my toes it was that close (or seemed so).

[Len Manning]

That's really great. I've only seen one Pheasant in the wild.

As others have already mentioned, they are tough to come by. Very few pockets remain, with the stronghold being a couple areas along Lake Erie's north shore in Norfolk county.
Most birds seen in Southern Ontario are escapes from hunting programs.

[angieinto]

Wow, I've really taken this bird for granted. I see one all the time when I go home to see my parents in Nova Scotia. He's usually found in the yard most mornings.  :shock:

Next time I see him, I know I will think of this post.

[BillSimpson]

I know them well from England. My grandfather used to encourage their presence in his garden in Sussex, and periodically cull them for the table. I can still remember the fun of seeing him shoot them from his bedroom window. When I heard the pheasant calling by the Humber river, it was very familiar but also very strange in the circumstance, so much so that I could not recognize it at all to begin with.   A very beautiful bird, but my first association for this bird will also be of food!

[birdstitcher]

Nice GTA sighting! My other half was bike training out of Kelso today. He said there was a bird that he thought was a pheasant running along the road beside him then flew up when a truck went by. I showed him your picture Rob, and some other photos and he is sure it was a ring-necked pheasant. Lucky him, I have only ever seen one in Hawaii, not Ontario. He reports seeing an egret and great blue heron. He also says there is a big nest on a platform at Watson Rd and Wellington Rd 36, ouside of Moffat, that he thinks is an osprey nest. He has seen it twice and is pretty sure there are young. He said it is near a baseball diamond/soccer field. Not bad for a non birder!

Kerri

[Rob'in'To]

Playing around on Google and word of some other interesting birds to check out not far out of the city led me to Tiny Marsh in Elmvale.  They have reports of 3 Ring-necks in the area; all of which they figure are survivors from hunting season.

[beresford]

Great finds and nice pics to boot!

Cheers
Tim

[Rob'in'To]

A much delayed thank you to Tim.  

[faltorvos]

There is a small hamlet just north of Georgetown called Bellnafad (sp) , along the 6th line in that area, we have breading pairs of RNP. Had a female check us out on the gravel shoulder for about 5 mins.