The Pheasant by Rafferty Antrobus Shaping our Country by Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Pages 17 & 26 -27

The Pheasant

Introduction by Rafferty Autrobus (age 9)

Although a common sight in the English countryside, pheasants are actually native to Asia and are thought to have been introduced into Britain by the Romans. The pheasant is one of the world’s most hunted birds and records show that over 20 million birds are reared and released by gamekeepers in England every year. This gives the pheasant a very poor average life expectancy of only a year.

Pheasants Fly fast for short distances but prefer to run. Much like the Archaeopteryx, which was the first pre-historic winged reptile to be discovered and experts believe that it shared similarities, it flew in short bursts of flight. Pheasants are thought of as a good luck symbol due to a Burmese Hunter once finding an emerald in a pheasant and then returning to the pheasant’s home he found an emerald mine.

If you are looking for ideas for your Christmas lunch, the Archbishop of York in 1465 once had a feast which consisted of at least 200 pheasants, 12 seals, 104 peacocks, 400 swans, 500 stags, 2000 geese, 4000 mallard and six boar. Imagine the washing up! Finally I would like to wish all my readers a wonderful and safe Christmas.

The pheasant is not native to Britain, but has a long history of residence here. There is some debate over the success of various possible introductions dating back to the Romans, but it is generally agreed that pheasants were common by the 15th century. The pheasant, although often thought to be a bird of woodlands, is really a species of woodland edge and agricultural land. In areas where woodlands are not common, shrubby wetlands provide suitable habitat. Despite its introduced status, the conservation of the pheasant is important because of its long history of naturalisation and importance as a symbol of our traditional countryside. During the 20th century the pheasant became an increasingly important gamebird.

The effect of game management on the conservation value of woodland

Open areas within woodland, such as rides or glades, are important habitat for a number of species including birds, butterflies, reptiles and plants. In the UK the availability of these open areas has declined due to changes in forestry management, including increases in plantation forestry and the suppression of natural disturbances like fire. these open areas may be maintained. For example, rides (linear opening or tracks) are managed to provide stands for guns, access for vehicles and habitat for pheasants. The maintenance of these habitats could provide wider wildlife benefits. Released pheasant management in woodlands is known to have both positive and negative environmental impacts, and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has researched these issues.

What effect can the release of pheasants have on the local environment?

Positive effects are seen in the surrounding woodland and farmland as a result of management measures undertaken for the pheasants and which tend to benefit other wildlife as well. In general, any negative effects are seen around the release pen, feed sites and wherever birds congregate in large numbers, because of direct effect of the birds being present. Some of the measured positive effects include: 22-32% more songbirds in woods managed for pheasants; many more songbirds in cover crops planted for game; twice as many butterflies and an increased number of flowering shrubs in woods managed for game. Woodland management for pheasants also benefits some small mammals, such as wood mice and bank voles. The provision of supplementary feed