anser2 Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 Well thats my pigeon shooting over until the harvest. Though the numbers of pigeons have picked up a little this winter/early spring they are still well below the levels of a decade ago and I am a strong belever in giving them a respite for at least part of the breeding season. For the third year running few pigeons touched the rape ( not enough to be worth while setting up for despite there being over 20 fields of rape scattered over 6 farms ) and all my shooting has come off drillings , clover , and maze strips , plus a few roost shoots. My ground has about 1,000 acres of woodland , and most of the farms are mixed arable wheat\barley\rape\sugar beet though one has a lot of livestock with clover rich meadows. Ended up with a couple of hundred pigeons , but thats a shadow of what I was getting 10 years ago when I would often shoot that over a couple of days and once in a single day. I do most of my pigeon shooting 10 miles inland of the mid N Norfolk coast and while the birds have been thin on my ground the coastal strip seems to be full of birds. Hopefully they will have a good breeding season and there will be a few more about next winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 Is it lack of pigeon numbers or changing pigeon habits that have reduced your bag? I'm finding the same and usually put it down to a combination of the above but this year there were lots of birds, which refused to play the game and get shot. I finally got past 300 for the November- February period but only with the help of a couple of good days on chopped maize. Sure they were feeding on rape but it was like trying to pick up mercury with chop-sticks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 Well thats my pigeon shooting over until the harvest. Though the numbers of pigeons have picked up a little this winter/early spring they are still well below the levels of a decade ago and I am a strong belever in giving them a respite for at least part of the breeding season. For the third year running few pigeons touched the rape ( not enough to be worth while setting up for despite there being over 20 fields of rape scattered over 6 farms ) and all my shooting has come off drillings , clover , and maze strips , plus a few roost shoots. My ground has about 1,000 acres of woodland , and most of the farms are mixed arable wheat\barley\rape\sugar beet though one has a lot of livestock with clover rich meadows. Ended up with a couple of hundred pigeons , but thats a shadow of what I was getting 10 years ago when I would often shoot that over a couple of days and once in a single day. I do most of my pigeon shooting 10 miles inland of the mid N Norfolk coast and while the birds have been thin on my ground the coastal strip seems to be full of birds. Hopefully they will have a good breeding season and there will be a few more about next winter. What I have noticed this year " anser2 " is the pigeons never really left the coast due to the mild winter , when we get a hard winter they normally get pushed inland where conditions are a little better and maybe the woods a little warmer . If I relied on this years drilling my gun would rarely leave its case , as on the land I shoot and no doubt a lot of other people are finding the same as myself very little grain , peas or beans are left behind the drill . The rape shooting got better as it started to germinate and Friday I got nearly 40 with over half the field in flower , where as yesterday a few miles away I never hardly saw a pigeon anywhere and that is on a 5000 acre estate , there peas and beans are now coming through so hopefully things will pick up when the peas are a few inches high , one thing about this time of the year , nothing stays the same for long . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted April 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 (edited) Kitchrat , its clearly numbers that are down though there has been a small improvment this year. The decline started 5 years ago during very cold weather and the pigeons have yet to recover their former numbers. Marshman I have been up on the North Coast today and no shortage there. However the farm I have been working today has a 5m collar of unearvested wheat around most of the fields , left for the game and of course ideal for the pigeons. Most of thebirds I have shot roosting have been full of maze or wheat out of pheasant feeders\strips. Only a few have had rape in their crop. The drilling in my area has been very clean with very little spilt corn in almost none on most fields. I guess the dry spring has produced the perfect seed bed . On a brighter note doing a wildfowl count this morning found 35 mallard but only 6 ducks all the rest being drakes so there are a lot of nesting ducks on the reserve. I have usually seen quite a few ducklings by now , but like most things this spring they look like being late. A few gadwall are also starting to sit but the shoveller , tufted and pochard are still swimming around in pairs. Almost all the wigeon have gone , but still 140 teal present. Edited April 12, 2015 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 Kitchrat , its clearly numbers that are down though there has been a small improvment this year. The decline started 5 years ago during very cold weather and the pigeons have yet to recover their former numbers. Marshman I have been up on the North Coast today and no shortage there. However the farm I have been working today has a 5m collar of unearvested wheat around most of the fields , left for the game and of course ideal for the pigeons. Most of thebirds I have shot roosting have been full of maze or wheat out of pheasant feeders\strips. Only a few have had rape in their crop. The drilling in my area has been very clean with very little spilt corn in almost none on most fields. I guess the dry spring has produced the perfect seed bed . On a brighter note doing a wildfowl count this morning found 35 mallard but only 6 ducks all the rest being drakes so there are a lot of nesting ducks on the reserve. I have usually seen quite a few ducklings by now , but like most things this spring they look like being late. A few gadwall are also starting to sit but the shoveller , tufted and pochard are still swimming around in pairs. Almost all the wigeon have gone , but still 140 teal present. Do you think the pigeons just moved on to pastures new, or perished? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 i rekon onto pastures new............if vast ammounts of birds were dying...the carcases would be seen........on the other side of the coin now...i have.....after 3-4 years of pathetic numbers of birds around here....a regular decent number of birds to shoot here.....not big bags but 20-30 at a time everytime im out...i used to shoot 3 times/week but i am down to once a fortnight now....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted April 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 I am not sure if they moved or died , but the big decline started after the very cold winter about 5 years ago. I remember the rape all turned purple and the birds just dissapeared. Every year I keep telling myself they will be back but 5 years on and it has not happened. I have gone from shooting 2-3,000 a year ( Jan-April ) to struggle to get a couple of hundred. Its also very noticeable the birds are not hitting the rape much , but that could be because numbers are so low that they have enough alternitive foods. Its true that a couple of my farmers went over the top on bird scaring , but others never seem to bother. I have always given the birds a respite in spring and early summer , partly because I dislike leaving young birds to starve in the nest if their parents are killed , but mainly because there are no spring early crops that they are likely to cause serious damage to ( no peas ). Its not that I am short of ground as i have 7,000 acres and on a lot of it I am the only gun allowed and the farms are scattered over 15 miles, its just the birds are just nolonger there though there has been a small improvment last winter. Its not just me as two local game dealers are crying out for pigeons , they tell me that they cant enough for their orders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 I am not sure if they moved or died , but the big decline started after the very cold winter about 5 years ago. I remember the rape all turned purple and the birds just dissapeared. Every year I keep telling myself they will be back but 5 years on and it has not happened. Yes, as I've said on numerous occasions on this forum, I've found exactly the same in my area, (South Herts), they cleared off during the cold snap, never to return in the same numbers. OK, there are days when there are a good few birds around, but overall, there definitely fewer than there was say 10 years ago. Also, in this area I haven't had a single good day on the drillings, even with the peas now chitting there's not a bird to be seen on the fields, they're still on the rape, and just now starting on the Ash and Beech buds. Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 I am not sure if they moved or died , but the big decline started after the very cold winter about 5 years ago. I remember the rape all turned purple and the birds just dissapeared. Every year I keep telling myself they will be back but 5 years on and it has not happened. I have gone from shooting 2-3,000 a year ( Jan-April ) to struggle to get a couple of hundred. Its also very noticeable the birds are not hitting the rape much , but that could be because numbers are so low that they have enough alternitive foods. Its true that a couple of my farmers went over the top on bird scaring , but others never seem to bother. I have always given the birds a respite in spring and early summer , partly because I dislike leaving young birds to starve in the nest if their parents are killed , but mainly because there are no spring early crops that they are likely to cause serious damage to ( no peas ). Its not that I am short of ground as i have 7,000 acres and on a lot of it I am the only gun allowed and the farms are scattered over 15 miles, its just the birds are just nolonger there though there has been a small improvment last winter. Its not just me as two local game dealers are crying out for pigeons , they tell me that they cant enough for their orders. 3000 in 16 weeks and mainly in winter? Jesus! You must have been one of the most prolific shots around! The game dealers around you must be paying top dollar if they can't fill their orders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 3000 in 16 weeks and mainly in winter? Jesus! You must have been one of the most prolific shots around! The game dealers around you must be paying top dollar if they can't fill their orders. Motty....Took my pigeons to Bambridge of Watton last Sunday and they were still paying 30p fresh and 25p frozen , and I must admit they did have a lot of pigeons that had been taken in during the morning . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 Motty....Took my pigeons to Bambridge of Watton last Sunday and they were still paying 30p fresh and 25p frozen , and I must admit they did have a lot of pigeons that had been taken in during the morning . Yeah, I took a load in last Sunday. One bloke had taken in a bag of 224 while I was there. If anyone knows of anywhere in Norfolk that pays better, I would be interested to hear of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 I've recently switched to Steel loads to get 50p a bird frozen and collected from the outfit that advertises on this forum. I've now found the perfect load for pigeons over decoys, which for me is the Gamebore Black Gold Steel 28g plaswad in 7.5's, they are a truly superb shell, and kill every bit as well as most lead loads. Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Yeah, I took a load in last Sunday. One bloke had taken in a bag of 224 while I was there. If anyone knows of anywhere in Norfolk that pays better, I would be interested to hear of it. I don't think there is anyone who pay more for frozen , you might get a few pence more for fresh but my bags are mainly between 20 and 40 with a few smaller and the odd one or two bigger and I find as the weather gets warmer you have got to take them on the day or first thing the next , so I find putting them in the freezer and having a day out when its full is the best way out , plus I have dealt with him for years and always found him a good guy to deal with . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 I get 40p frozen and collected which I think is reasonable , I do have to wait a month from collection for my money though . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 I think we all accept that things vary from region to region across the country, which makes the comments on this thread (and others) most interesting. We have seen a lot of birds in my area this year, more than in previous years, but they have not been easy to decoy and shoot. Mainly due to the mild, wet weather, all the fields have been available to them and they have been spoiled for choice on food sources. The wet ground has also made moving round some of the farmland almost impossible, even on foot. Quite a bit of bird scaring, rather than bird shooting. In earlier years some snow falls , or at least some very hard frosts, did channel the birds to sheltered fields, which made shooting a decent bag easier. As things seem to be getting milder, winter snow seems a thing of the past round here. The other side of the mild weather is that some birds did seem to be performing courting rituals right through the winter and I seemed to be shooting the odd young birds all year. I get 40p for birds, fresh or frozen at the Dealer and our local Zoo is offering 50p for pigeons shot with steel (fresh or frozen). Neither of these outlets seem to be able to get enough. On a side issue, there seems to have been a corvid population explosion in recent years and they are almost overtaking pigeons as enemy No1 to the farmers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 you are right about the corvid population.............rooks are everywhere in big numbers around here.....and nobody shoots them .............i certainly wont...not unless someone pays me to do it......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pothunter Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 I don't really have anything to add, but wanted to say that this is a very interesting thread. Does anybody known if there's been any serious research done in the last few years on pigeon numbers? I seem to remember BASC quoting studies saying numbers were higher than ever, but I can't remember how recently, and can't remember whether they were serious studies or really just guesswork. My impression is certainly more down than up. nobody shoots them .............i certainly wont...not unless someone pays me to do it......... why, as a matter of interest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 I don't really have anything to add, but wanted to say that this is a very interesting thread. Does anybody known if there's been any serious research done in the last few years on pigeon numbers? I seem to remember BASC quoting studies saying numbers were higher than ever, but I can't remember how recently, and can't remember whether they were serious studies or really just guesswork. My impression is certainly more down than up. why, as a matter of interest? I have always shot quarry that will go into the food chain............i do not like to kill anything for just the sport and leave it to rot on the ground...........having said that i have NO objection to other people culling rooks or foxes when they need to be culled......if a farmer supplies me with cartridges and proves to me that the massive ammount of rooks are damaging his crop i will shoot them.....but having said that it goes against my nature to leave them in a pile at the end of the day to rot..................... got no problem with other people doing it ...just not my cup of tea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaunda Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Why leave shot crows sp in a pile to rot ? Lay them out on their backs,wings outspread,30 yards apart across the drill.This will effectively deter their brothers from the crop,at least for a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted April 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 As I am not shooting that many all my pigeons go to the estate farm shop near Holt. I get a slab of cartridges for every 100 pigeons I give them shot on the estate. So part of the value is for crop protection and part the shop price. I think most of them go to the resturant where they charge a fortune for a pigeon meal. In the past when I used to shoot a decent number the local game dealer was giving 30-35p. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 As I am not shooting that many all my pigeons go to the estate farm shop near Holt. I get a slab of cartridges for every 100 pigeons I give them shot on the estate. So part of the value is for crop protection and part the shop price. I think most of them go to the resturant where they charge a fortune for a pigeon meal. In the past when I used to shoot a decent number the local game dealer was giving 30-35p. Most of us who shoot any amount of pigeons either sell them to a dealer or in your case sell them to the estate for reselling into meals , what I often think about is , would we shoot the amount we do if there wasn't any market for the ones we shoot ? its alright saying we do it for crop protection but you know as well as I do only a percentage are shot over crops. In my case I hate wasting anything I shoot so I would not shoot big bags or small ones come to that if I couldn't find a outlet for the ones I shoot . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Most of us who shoot any amount of pigeons either sell them to a dealer or in your case sell them to the estate for reselling into meals , what I often think about is , would we shoot the amount we do if there wasn't any market for the ones we shoot ? its alright saying we do it for crop protection but you know as well as I do only a percentage are shot over crops. In my case I hate wasting anything I shoot so I would not shoot big bags or small ones come to that if I couldn't find a outlet for the ones I shoot . Me neither marsh man , I will shoot big bags of pigeon because I know I have a market for them and I will regain most of what I use on cartridges . If I had to shoot them to dump then my pigeon shooting days would be numbered . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted April 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 I agree and I would shoot few pigeons ( just enough for my own use ) unless I had a market for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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