A rare pheasant was spotted in the unlikely surroundings of the playground near Sainsbury’s on Clapham Road on Bedford yesterday (Friday).
18-year-old Sam Barnes was sitting on a bench in the playground with his friend at around 5pm on Friday evening when they spotted the bird pecking among the bushes.
“I’d never seen anything like it,” Sam told the Bedford Independent. “Compared to a normal pheasant, its tail was much longer and the colours were blue and green rather than red and brown.
“It was pecking around among the leaves and then just walked past the swings.”
The bird, a rare Lady Amherst’s pheasant, is classified as having a declining population in the wild and was thought to be extinct until recently.
The birds have a history in Bedfordshire, according to Wikipedia. “The species is native to southwestern China and far northern Myanmar, but has been introduced elsewhere.
“Previously, a self-supporting feral population was established in England, the stronghold of which was in West Bedfordshire.
“Lady Amherst first introduced the ornamental pheasant on her estates, near the Duke of Bedford’s Woburn Abbey, where the birds were also shot for game and interbred.”
Wild populations of the bird are believed to have been extinct since 2015, although one was photographed in Somerset in May 2020.
Unsure what to do about the sighting, and unable to get help from the RSPB and RSPCA, Sam and his friend contacted a bird sanctuary, which sent someone to try and capture the bird.
“Unfortunately, 10 minutes before the guy from the sanctuary arrived, the pheasant jumped over the fence and into the bushes. We searched for it, but the bushes are quite dense and we lost sight of it.
“Earlier in the day I didn’t expect to be spending my Friday night looking after a huge bird.”
A spokesperson for the sanctuary Sam called said that the bird had most likely escaped from a private collection as it was clearly tame and not easily startled.
Their last sighting of the pheasant was in the bushes along the side of Sainsbury’s car park, so residents of houses in Shakespeare Road and the Poets area are advised to keep a lookout in their gardens.
If you do spot it, please contact Graham on 07789 991923.
