Pea Hen, Backyard, Northern Virginia

Here is something we don’t see very often in this area.  A pair of these pea hens started visiting us last weekend.  We don’t know where they came from, but suspect that they might have been someone’s pet.  We think they were either left behind by someone who moved and were tired of them, or maybe they escaped from their pen.  We’ll keep an eye out for missing posters.

One day they woke us up around 5:45AM with their squawking.  We went outside and saw them silhouetted on our rooftop.

After two days we bought some crushed corn from a pet store.  The sales clerk expressed doubts that we really had pea hens in the back yard.  We printed out pictures for our next trip for more crushed corn.

They now show up for breakfast and dinner.  I think they have us trained, they have gotten to the point where they will peck on our sliding glass door if we do not have their meals ready.  Once we open the door they move away until we put out the bowl.  I am able to leave the sliding door open about six inches and stick out my lens to take all the pictures I want.  Talk about a convenient blind for nature photography!