Guinea Fowl

[GFM]

I see more and more of these about in the countryside. Most are obviously linked to a farm. However I am starting to see them in woods and hedgerows away form any obvious control. Are Guinea Fowl becoming a British wild bird?

[RKB]

No more than peafowl are. They are not breeding successfully, so are not self-sustaining. They are often linked to pheasant-rearing pens, which can be a long way from farms, and are often free to wander off, so you can see them in allsorts of places.

[The Woodman]

Keepers sometimes run Guinea Fowl to warn of ground predator presence hence the association with pheasant pens. Their cackle can be heard for some distance alerting the keeper if he/she's within earshot. Around farms they will cackle at human presence too and maybe deter the prospective quad bike thief.

From what I've seen of their egg laying habits I'm not suprised they don't breed successfully. They will lay an egg almost any where and never return to it laying the next in a completly different place. Being in the grasslands of Africa must improve their memory!

[aeshna5]

I saw 6 wandering around a couple of weeks back when I was leading an insect walk at Denbies, near Dorking. There was a farm with contained domestic geese not far away, but no sign of captive Guinea Fowl.

[topcol]

Returning from walking my 2 small dogs in Orlestone Forest near Ashford today, I videoed a group of 8 in a lane. They ran into a field a few yards further on so I supposed that's where they came from. There are only 2 properties in the lane, so I supposed they came from one of those. In the past, I've seen small groups of them on the road near between Wye and Stowting (Kent). I, too, wondered if they might be feral escapees but presumably not, given their egglaying problems.