More on birds from Woodcock Wood: Pheasants and Red Legged Partridge.
by Chris Saunders, 21 March, 2021, 2 comments
Nearly 60 Million Game Birds Released in the UK Each Year. We often see and hear Pheasants in Woodcock Wood during the winter, and occasionally hear the sound of guns that herald their likely demise. But it wasn’t until I saw the recent reports from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) that I recognised the real significance of this annual event. According to recent research it was estimated that in 2016 up to 47million Pheasants and 10 million Red Legged Partridge were released in the autumn. At the time of release the biomass of the game birds was more than twice the biomass of all native British breeding birds, and this number is increasing year on year. Neither the Pheasant nor the Red Legged Partridge are indigenous British birds. Admittedly, the Pheasant has been around a long time in Europe, having been introduced from Asia during Roman times. The Red Legged Partridge is a close neighbour from southern Europe, and a relative of our British Grey Partridge. Read more...
