Our feathered garden visitor

Earlier this year we had a regular visitor to our neighbourhood – a pheasant called Trevor.

Well, my neighbours have called him Trevor. I didn’t like to tell them that my dad is called Trevor, although I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing his name with a pheasant.

And he’s a very handsome pheasant. I first caught sight of him with his feathered friend strutting around my front garden. A few neighbours had gathered to watch the spectacle. We think the birds had travelled from the fields behind us and taken a liking to our quiet little cul de sac.

Although Flossie will chase pheasants when we are out on a walk, given the chance, she didn’t seem to feel the same when they were in our garden. In fact, she didn’t take too much notice of them. This was obviously good for Trevor.

I don’t like to think about what might have happened to his friend but since our first encounter, Trevor has always been on his own. He makes his way around the gardens cautiously and neighbours post pictures of him in our Facebook group whenever he is sighted.

Various neighbourhood dogs are photographed peering through windows at him as he wanders around. Flossie and I spotted him nestling in my lavender. He’s also taken to resting on top of someone’s shed. I presume he has a good view from up there. He’s certainly made himself at home.

We once saw him a little further afield. He’d ventured out of our street and onto the through road. Flossie was very eager to get closer to him. It took all my strength to hold her back.

I suppose I like to think it was Trevor, but in reality it could have been any pheasant. And, I’m not sure how you tell a male pheasant from a female one. Maybe he’s not a Trevor at all.

Whatever, I fear that he may have met his maker, because Trevor has not visited for a while.