Brownsea Golden Pheasants (1 Viewer)

Just wanted to know peoples thoughts on the island population of these birds!

I'll be down this way in late July, and was hoping to find the time to try and see Golden Pheasant among a few other Sp we don't get up here very often. The questions I was wondering were;

Are they easy to see?

I know lists are very personal etc...but would you count these birds on your life list?

I hear the Norfolk birds at Wolferton are hybrids! so does anyone count them either?

Cheers

Hi Dougie,

Judging by the number of cars going dizzy round the Wolferton triangle every Jan 1, despite repeated talk of hybridisation pretty much everyone (over the years I've seen pretty much everyone there) ticks them off.

I personally wouldn't count either Brownsea or Tresco Golden Pheasants: Tresco ones are boosted whenever they start to run out, don't know about Brownsea but given the ownership I suspect....

A good system at Wolferton is: don't go on Jan 1! When you do go, take a flask of tea and sit still and wait instead of orbiting the triangle non-stop. Also remember to check your mirrors as the sneaky little fellers sometimes walk behind your car instead of in front of it.

John

Cheers for that John.

Going by the amount of people who have read this thread but stayed quiet (88 so far), I can't help but wonder how many folk are embarrassed by these birds. Not only are they a bit of a 'plastic' tick but also possibly hybrid to boot!!!

Is there anywhere we can count 'non-hybrid' Goldie's without a moral dilemma?

Dougie Preston said:

Is there anywhere we can count 'non-hybrid' Goldie's without a moral dilemma?

Click to expand...

There are still some at Lyndford, try the rear access road PM for precise directions.

There are some even more dodgy ones at Sculthorpe Moor

Mark

We used to go to Wolferton in the late 80s/early 90s. I don't remember any issues with hybrids then but that was probably because we always got crap views. Later in the 90s we started going to Wayland Wood and that was really good for a while but I think it's gone downhill since.

There's some even more dodgy ones in Kew Gardens...

Mayday Farm used to be a decent site as well, I remember bending down to peer along lines of "trees on parade" for a glimpse of a technicolour blast crossing from one file to another.

I don't know if they are still there. The overall story does seem to raise questions about the long-term viability of the British population (and therefore cat C status) - hurriedly ducks behind parapet....

John

Are there any left in Sussex?

No reliable reports from West Dean in the past 7 years at least, must be as long or longer from Kingley Vale....
At least the Brownsea ones are easy to see and are no more plastic than any others so tick away I say!

I think Golden Pheasant is rapidly heading to join LAP on C6. Given the apparent hybrid ancestory of the Wolferton birds, I suspect many will have been glad to have seen them elsewhere in the 80s & 90s. I saw them at East Wretham but I think they have gone from there (and Mayday farm) although I think they may still be on the MOD area around Thompson Common?

The Tresco & Brownsea birds are supplemented by ongoing releases and are duffers.

cheers, a

lewis20126 said:

The Tresco & Brownsea birds are supplemented by ongoing releases and are duffers.

cheers, a

Click to expand...

Intrigued by the above comment about the Brownsea birds. Apart from a single, tame male that was released on the island a good few years back, I haven't heard of any other releases in recent years. Nothing mentioned in either The Birds of Dorset or any recent Dorset Bird Reports either. Would be useful to hear if you know any different? Personally, I haven't seen the tame bird for a couple of years either.

I guess ticking them depends on how long you believe they have to be self-supporting before they are 'naturalised'. 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).

Locally, the Poole Harbour birds aren't thought of as "duffers" (at least as much as you can think like that about any introduced sp!). They're certainly on the Dorset list, and on many a local's county list!

Cheers,

Kevin
Dorset CR

Kevin Lane said:

... Apart from a single, tame male that was released on the island a good few years back, I haven't heard of any other releases in recent years.

Click to expand...

Kevin - but haven't you just proved my point? Anyway, I don't have any more conclusive information on further releases so your helpful comments and summary will be the most reliable on their status.

Cheers, alan

I thought that I'd resurrect this thread as I'm interested in having a go to see the Brownsea Island GP's. Given that all the above posts were over four years ago I was wondering if anyone had any up to date information as to whether they're still on the island and if so what time of year and what areas on the island are best to look for them.

TIA


Adam