Does anyone know about the current situation regarding the Golden Pheasants on Brownsea Island?
Hunting elsewhere on BirdForum I came across this snippet though it was posted more than four years ago:
"The birds in Poole Harbour have been on Furzey Island since the 1950s and Brownsea since the early 60s. Small numbers are still on Furzey, and presumably breeding. On Brownsea, an ongoing program to clear all the Rhododendron means that this population is probably in terminal decline. My highest count in the last couple of years has been 9 birds (including 2 females and a 1W male) in December 2008, although these were in a National Trust area with no public access and heavily surrounded by Rhododendron (a large swathe of this was also cut down during 2009)."
I would be keen to know any up to date information such as whether they're still around and if so what the best areas to look for them are.
TIA
Adam
Hunting elsewhere on BirdForum I came across this snippet though it was posted more than four years ago:
"The birds in Poole Harbour have been on Furzey Island since the 1950s and Brownsea since the early 60s. Small numbers are still on Furzey, and presumably breeding. On Brownsea, an ongoing program to clear all the Rhododendron means that this population is probably in terminal decline. My highest count in the last couple of years has been 9 birds (including 2 females and a 1W male) in December 2008, although these were in a National Trust area with no public access and heavily surrounded by Rhododendron (a large swathe of this was also cut down during 2009)."
I would be keen to know any up to date information such as whether they're still around and if so what the best areas to look for them are.
TIA
Adam
