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It is hard to believe that a week ago there was scarcely a spring grain seed in the ground aro0und these parts. Gone are the days whebn a succession of little grey tractors, or red ones or blue ones followed one and other up and down a field creating a suitable seed bed for a grain crop. Now its something of a wham bam thank ee maam ,a dinasour of a track laying tractor and fifty acres is sown in an afternoon. Yesterday Thursday seemed a time to have a scout around the few farms I have access. Bingo first field over a hundred birds feeding mid-field beside the North Wood. Call the keeper , no reply land line or mobile, visit the house no reply. Goodness gracious me. Leave a message on the answer phone and off few miles to another venue, seeing on the way on the same estate a good 200 pigeon feeding in the lee of a wood strip beside the A1. At the second farm a field is newly sown, right on a flight line beside the Cushat Wood, which speaks for itself . But the southerly gale is atrocious and as yet the pigeons do not seem to have found the new cafe. Phone call incoming from the first keeper , help yourself. Back home for the gear I had forgotten, more time wasted, back to the first field. It must be a senior moment, flags out on one side to move the birds off, parked up , rucksacs , gamebags , cartridges and fire arms hiked to the bottom of the field. Yes senior moment the wind is blowing directly into the face of the wood, and it is starvation cold. Time marches on, back to the car, collect the flags and off to the other field I had seen birds on earlier. Numbers have doubled. a good sign. With the recent wet weather the waterlogged verges have not been rolled, and it is claggy heavy going. Gear cut down to gun, ammo, game bag with six FUDs , shell decoys would be a waste of time today and would be blown over the county boundary in a flash. Set up back to the wind standing hidden in a deep ditch, shallow water but deep mud , feet welded to then spot. Amazingly the first shot staggers a bird which heads for the wood opposite and crashes into a tree. Later this bird has vanished, gone, no sign off what so ever. Eight or so misses is telling me that stuck in a ditch is not a good idea. Up stick and move the decoys fifty yards to where the shot bird had crashed in. Now hidden in the wood a few pine twiggy bits makes concealment, the birds coming in left to right and not seen until they are over the decoys. They start almost at once in ones, twos and threes and small flocks. As the slain are set up as decoys, more birds are attracted, none of the shyness of the recent rape fields but dropping in with full confidence. My trusty Army and Navy hammer gun being out of commision at the moment I have picked on my Rober Hughes and Sons of Birmingham box lock non ejector, bought a few years ago for the princly sum of £25, really nice damascus fine grain twist barrels and a simple game scene on the action 65mm chambers and lightly choked. Its doing the job and the 28g 7 1/2 shot Hull C. C. are doing the business. Between 12 when set up and 2 : 30 pm when other matters called me away 25 pigeon payed the price for fifty seven shots. After six club roost shoots when my best ,'bag' has been 4 pigeon to say I felt like a canine with twin appendages would be a gross understatement. A happy Blackpowder Was out again today , no birds at yesterdays field, in fact scarce all round. Set up where a few were flighting and picked up 8 for 17 shots in a 4 hour session. Good news from the second farm that the Cushat Wood was blue with pigeons, roll on tomorrow.