Runcorn Birder
Well-known member
On the balance of probabilities I would say an Ocean Sunfish nesting in the eaves of his house is more likely.
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Corncrake or Pheasant? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter oakwoodbank
- Start date
On the balance of probabilities I would say an Ocean Sunfish nesting in the eaves of his house is more likely.
Jumping in on something where I have little actual knowledge, it sounds to me like the original post asked an honest question and replies that just disparage it are of little value. Assuming the original poster would like some actual evidence rather than just reiterations of probabilities, let me ask the following: if the actual nest remains in the garden (even if the birds are gone) could the nest provide a clear identity of its builder? I do not know much about the nests of Pheasants or Corncrakes, but if Pheasants are five times the size of Corncrakes surely they have larger nests, possibly of different materials.
Rotherbirder
Well-known member
Corncrake interbreeding with Water Rail?! Water Rails are almost as difficult to prove breeding as Corncrake!! Methinks someone is having a larf - file under 'forget it'!!
RB
RB
Alexander Stöhr
Well-known member
I hope that I dont putting more gasoline into the fire, as my aim is to provide an alternative explanation.
When I read all the comments the following thoughts came to my mind:
I have never heard of a "wild" Pheasant to breed in a garden, but I know that Quail (-species) are often kept.
So, why not an escaped Quail (-species)? I believe a male "Pheasant", of whatever species, would have been recognized as such, even by a novice birder (no offense!)
Quail (Coturnix coturnix), exotic Quail-species or "hybrids" are regular kept as pets or for "own-family-home"-egg-production. I have heard, that its relative easy (dont have experience with it) and the eggs are supposed to be more healthy (less Cholesterin than "normal" eggs). I dont want to open a discussion about this (I dont have experience). I just want to argue, that it is regular, that someone in your neighborhood keeps them.
Please note, that "domestic" Quail can (often?) call differently to the ones we used to hear in the field. Let alone the exotic species and "variants". There are lots of videos on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe8dqS3x-dI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2luxOY8KTk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRbqqhNbokA
Colour variants are regular among those Quail-eggs. And while its possible to have a differently coloured egg in a nest from a "wild" species, I suspect this to happen more often in domestic Quails. As I have no own experience with this suggestion, but this came to my mind, I did a quick google-search:
https://www.vogelsberger-wachtelzucht.de/736/wachteleier-blue-selection-ssc?c=34
https://www.wissenschaft.de/umwelt-natur/kurios-wissende-wachteln-2/
I hope that I am not taking this thread away, as it might also, that Rotherbirder is right, but as others has said, it seems not fair to the OP to just take his question not seriuosly: I remember the story years ago when a farmer calling the staff at the bird observatory on the island of Hiddensee, that he has a vulture sitting on a carcass near his farm. Which provided everyone with breath taking vues of a (guess what?) Bearded Vulture!
See the record here: www.limicola.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Dateien_DSK/Dokumente/DSKBericht2001_2005.pdf
When I read all the comments the following thoughts came to my mind:
I have never heard of a "wild" Pheasant to breed in a garden, but I know that Quail (-species) are often kept.
So, why not an escaped Quail (-species)? I believe a male "Pheasant", of whatever species, would have been recognized as such, even by a novice birder (no offense!)
Quail (Coturnix coturnix), exotic Quail-species or "hybrids" are regular kept as pets or for "own-family-home"-egg-production. I have heard, that its relative easy (dont have experience with it) and the eggs are supposed to be more healthy (less Cholesterin than "normal" eggs). I dont want to open a discussion about this (I dont have experience). I just want to argue, that it is regular, that someone in your neighborhood keeps them.
Please note, that "domestic" Quail can (often?) call differently to the ones we used to hear in the field. Let alone the exotic species and "variants". There are lots of videos on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe8dqS3x-dI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2luxOY8KTk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRbqqhNbokA
Colour variants are regular among those Quail-eggs. And while its possible to have a differently coloured egg in a nest from a "wild" species, I suspect this to happen more often in domestic Quails. As I have no own experience with this suggestion, but this came to my mind, I did a quick google-search:
https://www.vogelsberger-wachtelzucht.de/736/wachteleier-blue-selection-ssc?c=34
https://www.wissenschaft.de/umwelt-natur/kurios-wissende-wachteln-2/
I hope that I am not taking this thread away, as it might also, that Rotherbirder is right, but as others has said, it seems not fair to the OP to just take his question not seriuosly: I remember the story years ago when a farmer calling the staff at the bird observatory on the island of Hiddensee, that he has a vulture sitting on a carcass near his farm. Which provided everyone with breath taking vues of a (guess what?) Bearded Vulture!
See the record here: www.limicola.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Dateien_DSK/Dokumente/DSKBericht2001_2005.pdf
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Someone we know in Russia, has just had a Pheasant lay eggs in her Greenhouse.
Richard Prior
Halfway up an Alp
No Corncrakes anybody?
Deb Burhinus
Used to be well known! 😎
No Corncrakes anybody?
I was about to say ‘yes I had a bowl for breakfast’, then realised you really were asking about Corncrakes in a garden and it wasn’t a typo
Richard Prior
Halfway up an Alp
I was about to say ‘yes I had a bowl for breakfast’, then realised you really were asking about Corncrakes in a garden and it wasn’t a typo
Ha, funnily enough the first Corncrake I ever heard was at breakfast time at a B and B on Skye, I remember saying to the man of the house “You’re so lucky having Corncrakes around the garden”. His grumpy reply “ You’d not think yourself lucky if they woke YOU up at 4am every morning” had me thinking “What a nasty thing to say”, but he redeemed himself by quietly whispering ( so my wife couldn’t hear I think) “ Would you like a drop of the Macallan in your porridge?:t::t::t:
MJB
Well-known member
Oddly the first Corncrakd I ever saw was also in a garden, of a,house right beside the hostel on Tory Island, Donegal. I could heat it calling even before I got off the ferry at the pier!
So you really ate Corncrake for breakfast? Wow :king:
:-O. Trying to touch-type on a tablet...I've posted the sorry saga of my first Corncrake sighting on Ruffled Feathers, under 'Stupid things you've done while birding'. It cost me two trips to Donegal (one by plane), and a very ruffled ego....
oakwoodbank
New member
'Duck eggs'?
The call I heard was like the recordings of corncrake online.
There is no chance of the blue egg being a duck egg because it wasn't duck egg size but the same size as the other eight. Also the water is 300 yards away and separated by fields and hedges/trees. There is no water pool in my garden that is of interest to duck.
Finally, there have not been any pheasants seen in neighbouring fields and certainly not in my garden. All the characteristics of this bird that were observable describe a corncrake.
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The call I heard was like the recordings of corncrake online.
There is no chance of the blue egg being a duck egg because it wasn't duck egg size but the same size as the other eight. Also the water is 300 yards away and separated by fields and hedges/trees. There is no water pool in my garden that is of interest to duck.
Finally, there have not been any pheasants seen in neighbouring fields and certainly not in my garden. All the characteristics of this bird that were observable describe a corncrake.
oakwoodbank
New member
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This hen was nocturnal and during daylight it sat on eggs/with chicks. It was in very long grass and although I did try to photograph it, the result was not worth uploading. Also I did not want to disturb the hen whilst it was sitting.
My main preoccupations was to photograph the chicks if possible but unfortunatley the crow disturbed things too much and as soon as the chicks were htached the hen moved them elsewhere - outside of my property.
dantheman
Bah humbug
What size were the eggs? What were they like (presume the blue one was the same size - or was it different?)
I also noted you said the female was pestered by a crow in your garden. Were you able to get a rough size comparison?
(Mallard and other ducks can and often nest fairly far from water btw)
I also noted you said the female was pestered by a crow in your garden. Were you able to get a rough size comparison?
(Mallard and other ducks can and often nest fairly far from water btw)
BobbitWorm45
Well-known member
Alexander Stöhr
Well-known member
Thank you all (espacially aeshna5) for mentioning the (regular?) nesting of Pheasants, at least in Britain (and Russia?). That was new to me, but I must admit that I dont massve experience with this topic.
In Germany, Pheasants are generally believed to rely on released birds to sustain a stable population over a longer period (even in "good" habitats with a mild, snowfree winter climate).
Some of those released birds show an unusual behaviour. I have heard of several occassions, when Pheasants laid their eggs somewhere at more or less unsuitable places (at least once in a small garden), maybe beggining to sit on them. I have allways linked this behaviour to such birds (is this right?)
I want to seperate this behaviour from "real" breeding, when like in this case, two breeds were reared.
One reason, why I wrote a comment was to provide a not yet mentionend alternative, that had come to my mind:
at least in Germany, Quails (of different species) are regular kept, even "free for a time" in gardens. I know from those, that they utter calls that I would not attribute to a "wild" Quail.
But I also know, that ducks sometimes lay their eggs in other nests.So this might explain the different coloured egg. But I know that those "domesic" Quails sometimes lay different coloured eggs (more often than "wild" species?)
When this is the right answer, someone in your near neighborhood must keep Quails. So this theory is easy to be checked.
In Germany, Pheasants are generally believed to rely on released birds to sustain a stable population over a longer period (even in "good" habitats with a mild, snowfree winter climate).
Some of those released birds show an unusual behaviour. I have heard of several occassions, when Pheasants laid their eggs somewhere at more or less unsuitable places (at least once in a small garden), maybe beggining to sit on them. I have allways linked this behaviour to such birds (is this right?)
I want to seperate this behaviour from "real" breeding, when like in this case, two breeds were reared.
One reason, why I wrote a comment was to provide a not yet mentionend alternative, that had come to my mind:
at least in Germany, Quails (of different species) are regular kept, even "free for a time" in gardens. I know from those, that they utter calls that I would not attribute to a "wild" Quail.
But I also know, that ducks sometimes lay their eggs in other nests.So this might explain the different coloured egg. But I know that those "domesic" Quails sometimes lay different coloured eggs (more often than "wild" species?)
When this is the right answer, someone in your near neighborhood must keep Quails. So this theory is easy to be checked.
johnallcock
Well-known member
A question that I don't see asked anywhere yet. What colour were the eggs? Because the eggs of Pheasant and Corncrake do not look the same.
Also, are there other species in the area that could cause confusion? Maybe Red-legged Partridge or escaped Guineafowl.
Without more information I don't think it's possible to identify which species is involved here.
Also, are there other species in the area that could cause confusion? Maybe Red-legged Partridge or escaped Guineafowl.
Without more information I don't think it's possible to identify which species is involved here.
