Different woodland... different quarry...

[Shooting Tigers]

Hi,

 

I have been looking for permissions (air rifle only... ) in woodland, and have also looked at paying for sporting rights, etc... There are a lot of different descriptions of woodland, so I was wondering in any of you guys have opinions and experience of what quarry you can expect to find in different types of woodland? Some woodland seems to be dominated by very few species of tree, especially if it has been planted for timber production and "managed", to remove competing species.

 

For example, what quarry would you expect to find in woodland that is mainly ash, or oak, or beech, or sweet chestnut, or mixed broadleaves? How about conifers only, or mixtures of broadleaf and conifers? What about "ancient woodland" or more modern plantations? What about woods that have active coppicing, or with/without grazing livestock at times during the year? What about managed vs. unmanaged woodland?

 

What sort of woodland would you look for if you were after shooting for edible quarry, like rabbit, pigeon or deer (...not with an air rifle, obviously!)? What about sport shooting for pest species, like crows, rooks, magpies and squirrels? Are there any sorts of woodland that are not worth bothering with, as there are few legal quarry species there?

 

Any opinions and experiences welcomed on this question...

 

Cheers,

 

Rob

[Colster]

I'm no expert on this but in my limited experience:

 

Ash - Pigeons like to eat the early shoots and will often roost in them

 

Oak - Again lot's of cover for roosting and will bring Jays in for the acorns in late summer.

 

Conifers - Squirrel drays

 

Big Deer tend to like woodland where the floor is clear (Pine etc) for obvious reasons, Muntjac will pretty much go anywhere.

 

Rooks are a social species, unlike Crows and will typically nest together in the same group of preferably very tall trees (often oak) year after year.

 

Rabbits like the cover but are more concerned about the soil. Fruiting trees which have a dense root structure will deter them but if the soil is clay rich or boggy, don't expect to see many rabbits.

[Shooting Tigers]

Cheers for the info, Colster,

 

I found your comments about the squirrels interesting. When I think of squirrels, I think "acorns", "hazlenutes" and "nuts" , and stripping bark off birch trees, so mainly broadleaves for habitat. I didn't think of conifers for dreys . Curious...

 

Cheers, again,

 

Rob

[Colster]

Cheers for the info, Colster,

 

I found your comments about the squirrels interesting. When I think of squirrels, I think "acorns", "hazlenutes" and "nuts" , and stripping bark off birch trees, so mainly broadleaves for habitat. I didn't think of conifers for dreys . Curious...

 

Cheers, again,

 

Rob

 

They need the cover all year round and they don't mind a quick leap or two to go and find food.

 

My neighbour has a number of conifers and I watched two of them yesterday morning make their way from them into two ash trees, a plum and a holly tree on the way to my hazlenut tree... only one made it back though

[cjb1]

They need the cover all year round and they don't mind a quick leap or two to go and find food.

 

My neighbour has a number of conifers and I watched two of them yesterday morning make their way from them into two ash trees, a plum and a holly tree on the way to my hazlenut tree... only one made it back though

 

Just thought i'd add my 2 pence worth Although you are right with what you say with greys preffering cover - they do also infact prefer mixed broadleaf woodlands (as a food source thus inhabiting). The greys do not really like the conifers food source, much prefering broadleaf - with this said, they can survive and be found in both.

 

Your best bet for greys - go to a broadleaf forest if you can.

 

Happy hunting :look:

Edited August 5, 2010 by cjb1