Wind and Then No Wind

[pigeon controller]

As It was forecast to be snow showers on Friday I was not going to shoot but go out mid afternoon to look for birds for Saturday as I have tried to decoy in snow in the past and all you do is keep dusting the snow off the decoys and the birds tend to be decoy shy due to snow blindness. So at 10.15 I had a call" loads of birds on the rape", The wife had just returned from the stables so my babysitting duties had finished so I loaded the Disco. I had no decoys thawed so I grabbed six out of the freezer and stuck them in the passenger footwell with the heater full blast and drove for twenty minutes to the farm. Drove down to the field and found no birds feeding. A gas gun went off on the next farm and approx twentyfive birds came over and settled in an Oak tree at the far end of the field. So I walked down the field and set up under the oak in a ditch, the wind was from my left and very strong , I had to double brace the hide to stop it coming in on me( Picture) The six decoys had thawed enough so I could move the heads on the bodies and put them out on spikes in the tram tracks. Another banger went off in the distance and a flock of birds came to the tree, two more down and straight on the magnet. The base of the hide became very sticky with the soft mud and made the shooting difficult so I lined the floor with Oak logs ( Picture) I had a steady line of birds being disturbed by gas guns around and my tree was a resting point . The week before in the fog they had used this tree to sit in before dropping to the field so I new they would return. I was set up and shooting for 12.00 and shot till 15.30 and picked up fiftynine pigeon. We had two previous weekends of fog and it was nice to shoot some very testing birds in the wind.

 

Saturday picked up DB at 08.00 and drove down the motorway to a farm that had called DB in the week arrived at the farm at 08.30 and met the farmer. We have a shoot on today can you shoot at the far end of the field. The birds were all at the other end of the field and in a small wood. Now we always shoot where the birds want to be not where the farmer wants us to be, so we asked if we could shoot the rape at the far end of the farm and hopefully the shoot would disturb the birds to us. It was a yes so we drove down and pushed a good number off the field and set up with twelve birds from the day before ten on cradles in the tall rape and two on the magnet. It then started to rain, we had been set up for an hour when the shoot started the main flock of birds just spiralled up and away. So we decided to pack up as we did two high birds came over I had one and DB had the other.

We drove back up the Motorway and started to look for birds, we had a number of shoots on and this stopped us looking at normal venues.We passed a farm we had asked at two weeks previous and found some birds down on two fields. Went to see the farmer and he gave us the OK so we walked down from the gate and set up, two on the magnet and twelve on spikes. It was now mid day and we had not seen a bird return , we put up a couple of shots and it lifted birds out of the surrounding fields and trees and they tended to go behind us up wind and during the following three hours dribbled back to the decoys. We finished the day at 15.30 and picked up seventyfour birds, so it was a good day in the end. You may be able to see the bird in the front row with two white featers in its tail, I have another picture but for some reason it will not load.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[E.w.]

That was a very good write up,well done you good sir, thanks for sharing.

[oowee]

I am almost there when you do such a great write up. Another two great trips out. Very impressive craft and skills. Thanks for making the effort to post. Its good to know its possible to get some and one day they might just come here and I will be ready

[yickdaz]

that first pic of you reminds me of someone

2 cracking days there pc nice one

[pigeon controller]

I am almost there when you do such a great write up. Another two great trips out. Very impressive craft and skills. Thanks for making the effort to post. Its good to know its possible to get some and one day they might just come here and I will be ready

Thanks, I continue to post to encourage others to be confident with the set up and remember what works.

that first pic of you reminds me of someone

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2 cracking days there pc nice one

Yes it's my Dad?? And my ears were very warm . Edited January 14, 2017 by pigeon controller

[sako751sg]

Cracking couple of winter bags again PC.

[mrpip]

Another great report,

[JDog]

Mr Pastry strikes again. Well done PC.

 

You look happy in the first picture of you but distinctly furtive in the second.

 

In the second picture, two rows up from the bottom on the extreme left one small pigeon is out of line.

[pigeon controller]

Mr Pastry strikes again. Well done PC.

 

You look happy in the first picture of you but distinctly furtive in the second.

 

In the second picture, two rows up from the bottom on the extreme left one small pigeon is out of line.

Thanks for your comments, the second picture we were trying to control George who wanted to go looking for more birds, with respect to the pigeon out of line this is my attempt to cure my OCD, but it's very difficult .

In you vast expirence of the natural world have you seen a bird with the tail feather marking as the example in the centre of the front row?

[JDog]

No PC I haven't seen a pigeon thus marked.

[7daysinaweek]

Cracking write up as usual pc, looks like the bird with the two white feathers is a genetic abberration. Never have I seen a pigeon like that.

 

atb

7diaw

[aga man]

Great bags for this time of year. Well shot

[Cranfield]

More rewards for your hard work, well done.

I have seen various white markings on wood pigeons, but not what seems to be one feather either side of the tail, very unusual.