Carolyn we had the same thing happen with a tame male pheasant. He showed up in the fall and would eat the sunflower seeds I put out under a tree in the front yard. He never approached us when we were outside. But get in your car and start driving out the driveway and there he was. He would follow the car running along side of it. We live on a dead end road and he would do the same thing to any car that drove down the road. On several occasions he actually flew along side the car when he couldn't keep up with it. One time he actually stood in the middle of our driveway to block us from leaving. I suppose he figured that if he did that we would get the message and feed him. We named him Fezz. It was so fun watching him. But your bird sounds even more fun to have around. Then one morning we saw a bunch of feathers along side the road. No body just feathers. So we figured that maybe one of our resident Great Horned Owls had him as a late night snack. It was a sad day.
awww. I haven't seen him for a few days now. .. sad. I think I might have to get a few chicks come Spring just for the fun of it.
They are wild in Pennsylvania, but here in Missouri they are only in captivity. I miss seeing them. I saw one once down here and was quite surprised. Someone told me that it escaped from someone's farm. We don't have enough grain to support wild ones.
Well,, our "pal" if you want to call it that was a sharp shinned hawk a few feet from my kitchen window ! They are commonly called sparrow hawks or chicken hawks here for their love of baby chicks and the small birds they get ! I walked outside and he flew back cross the street ! He came back a few days later and I had to clap my hands to get him to leave ! He was watching the area where I feed the birds ! I know they have to eat too but we have enough gophers and moles as well as field mice to keep him fat and healthy ! He was just looking for an easy meal !
Carolyn it would be fun to raise some pheasants. Several years ago we had a really tame wild male grouse. When we would go for a walk in the woods all of a sudden there he would be following right behind us. He wasn't even afraid of our small dog. When you would stop he would walk up to you and be clucking away like he was talking to us. I was told that the males will do that because you are in their territory. We also have a Coopers Hawk that terrorizes our birds at our feeders. I tell him to go eat the neighbors birds and leave mine alone. Sadly it doesn't help.
