10:28am Wednesday 3rd February 2010
By Will Roberts
An unpleasant pheasant is ruffling feathers by terrorising residents in a County Durham village. Armed with a bag of seeds and a brolly, reporter Will Roberts attempts to track down the pesky bird.
IT’S already the thing of legend in Newsham. A fearless pheasant who considers itself a match for anyone or anything. For more than a month it has attacked men, women, children, prams, bikes, dogs and even cars.
The plucky cock is game for a fight. There’s tales of it drawing blood, trapping people in their homes and waiting for children to get off the school bus before chasing them screaming to the village green.
But two months ago to the day I was in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, I’m not scared of a bad-tempered bird.
That said, it’s not raining, but I carry my umbrella, to use as a weapon just in case we come to blows.
My search starts in the west of the village, near the market cross, where the pheasant has been seen patrolling in recent weeks.
It’s snowing, so I use my best Scout skills to look for prints. I see bike tracks, a dog’s paw print, but no pheasants.
I hear crows, pigeons, sheep, but no pheasant.
Come to think of it, I’m not even sure what angry pheasants sound like.
In Kate and Harry Collingwood’s frosty back garden, I come across the bird’s hareem of hens. They sit on fences and under bushes, but the infamous male is nowhere to be seen.
“It’s very often in our garden,” says Mrs Collingwood.
“Whereas most of them will fly away, this one comes right at you. It even tried to get in the house once.”
Then, I see large bird prints and at the end of them a rusty red pheasant.
But far from attacking me, this one hops onto a garage roof and into a neighbouring field – if this is the troublesome pheasant, it’s not feeling confrontational.
Bob De’Ath, chairman of Newsham Parish Council, says: “Although it seems humorous, there is a serious concern that it could injure young children if it goes for their face.
“You can push it away, but it continues going for you. It is terrorising the whole village.”
With the shooting season over on Sunday, people can’t even take action with a shotgun.
“We are now starting to get official complaints about it, so I have written to the RSPCA and the RSPB to ask for advice,” says Mr De’Ath.
Lyndsey Waddell, from Upper Teesdale, is chairman of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation.
He said: “You get a similar thing in a variety of other birds as spring approaches and the breeding season begins.
“All the bird is doing is protecting what it considers to be its territory.”
Mr Waddell suggested the best way to deal with the bid would be to humanely capture it and relocate it away from the village.
■ Have you spotted the pheasant or captured it on camera? If so, email will.roberts@nne.co.uk
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