Clodhopper

That.field of poor rape.is certainly providing you with some sport. Nice report.

We are really struggling to get our first crow this year, the magpies are going nicely. We have tried all the usual methods of regular movement, siting under favourite trees/ nest building sites etc but they are not yet playing ball. All the traps are traditional wooden types with a mixture of side and top entry. On your evidence it sounds like a round one may be worth a go.

The point is that it is a service provided by the police which we already pay for through our taxes. Yes we make an extra contribution to this which I doubt many license holders have any problem with but we should not be made to cover the whole cost in the same vein as a householder should not foot the bill for a police response to a buglary.

👍 Best get some overtime in then.

My wife has been irritated by me checking my phone every 5 minutes whilst we watched a film together. Your weekly report is far more interesting. Well done again.

We have done similar to SS with regards to brambles. It has been divided into blocks( this is the hardest part) and now just requires a dose of glyphosate along the rides late spring/ early summer to keep them clear. What ever you decide it will be good fun doing it and the rewards will be all the more enjoyable. Good luck, keep us posted.

I think I may have said Sandwich. 😋

All of the above is sound advice but I would not get too hung up on bringing in things to plant. As this growing season gets underway there will be a whole host of plants/trees/shrubs that will have been lying dormant and will now shoot up. I find it amazing how quickly nature fills in a void. It may pay to see what comes naturally and then fill in spaces/ add to it over the next couple of years.

Nice report of a good outing. Keep em coming.👍

With you guys being a little bit more senior than myself I guess you have been there and seen it all when it comes to pigeon shooting. I still probably get a little too excited when I see those numbers on a drilling. I suppose I should not be too negative as I had some nice birds (which my young lad helped me pluck) for tea and a new bit of land to chase pigeons on.

The spring season has not been a sporting one in this part of the world. We have seen a lot of birds but have not managed to get to grips with them. I hoped this would change on Monday afternoon as I had seen a nice number of birds dropping into a corner of a rape field, this was on a well used line to a large roosting wood holding a good number of birds. I invited JDog to join me but we would have to meet at 2 pm as I was working an early shift. We duly met up but the birds I had recently seen were not playing ball. We walked the field and only put about 30 birds off with none returning. With only a short window of time we set off to see where the birds were feeding. My wife had reported seeing a few on some drillings of neighbouring farm so we had a quick look there and there they most certainly were. At least 500 down and others coming in from the village. A quick trip to the farmer got the go ahead and we set up with around 10 dead birds with 2 on the magnet. A cold easterly wind on our backs and the sun in our face was not the most comfortable but we were hopeful the birds would return and keep us occupied. This,however, did not materialise, in fact only around 20 pigeons returned in the 2 1/2 hours we were there, we shot around half a dozen. Well JDog did, I just scared them. To finish things off a very cold sea mist came rolling in off the coast and over the hills which put a stop to anything flighting. As a result I cannot contribute anything more than a few photos of some nice scenery as the fret came in. Thanks for reading.

Great report Motty. A lie in aswell as 100 pigeons, how much better can Sunday’s get.

I have just got back in the house after checking Larsen traps. On my rounds I noticed a few dropping into the corner of some well established rape if enough brownie points are accrued today then tomorrow afternoon may find tucked in the nearby hedgerow.

As MM said, I thought it was going to be a report of failure but you pulled it off again. In our area drillings have been frustrating, rape still has some birds and an increasing number seem to be in the hedgerows looking for, I asssume, hawthorn buds.

Tidy bag there. As already said, those unexpected days are often the best.