At about 6:00 pm yesterday evening I went down to the empty field where I’d spotted the pheasant before, figuring I might get another shot–and what do you know, but there he was. And this time I got some good shots. The last in this series is the best by far, with a great 1280×854-pixel blow-up when you click it.

The one above I got from the overpass, like I did last time. Then I went into the construction site itself, after the bird had hopped away up a hill towards an access road. Along the way, I got muddy feet, one foot submerged in wet mud ankle-deep, when I saw what looked like some sort of plover fly in–but was not able to get a shot in. But I did catch the pheasant, coming toward me this time:

As you can see, he’s crouched down. Like with the very first time I saw him, it’s a defense posture. This time, however, he was in plain sight on a hillside, so it allowed for a few nice shots. Eventually, he figured I was not a threat, and so got up again.

But this one was the best shot, as I was able to catch the bird at the hilltop, with a nice focus contrast of the hills in the background. Again, remember to click to see the full-sized shot.