You have probably noticed that most of the 40-50 million pheasants released every year into the British countryside spend a lot of time on roads.

They are released from rearing pens where they have been fed, and once the enclosure is opened food is still provided in the pen and elsewhere too. Why would these pheasants want to go anywhere else?

Some pheasants, maybe the more adventurous ones, find their way into gardens. This is a good option too.

If people are topping up their bird feeders regularly there will be plenty of spilt seed on the ground, and probably quite a lot of bushes where the birds can hide.

We often get calls about pheasants that are limping in a garden, but very few of them are caught. We suggest walking the bird into a corner and having someone on hand to help.

However pheasants are strong birds. They will flap and make every effort to escape.

A recent pheasant casualty was a particularly attractive bird. Feathers were perfect, legs and wings seemed ok, but we soon noticed that he didn’t pay any attention to his food dish.

We feed pheasants on wild bird seed, with a few mealworms on top. When mealworms move around a dish they make a scratching noise.

The pheasant noticed this and with additional mealworms we soon had him eating. Gradually we reduced the number of mealworms, and today he is looking good in an aviary - soon to be released.