Jump to content

Woodcock in N Ireland


Ballymac
 Share

Recommended Posts

ahh what a difference a week and a moon make,,,,,had a shifty hr free this afternoon dog needed walking so of we go and bag our first brace of woodys for the season and a teal just for good measure,,,rose a few more and there were none is this place on friday past and they were in good nick.... roll on a bit of frost!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 110
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Millrace what area are you in, just to give an idea of movement of birds.

Last week in Clogher or part of it there were no sightings of woodcock and none reported but the areas being hunted were not the typical woodcock areas. Cant get out myself this weekend and will miss next weekend, so will have to try for a quickie during the week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Millrace what area are you in, just to give an idea of movement of birds.

Last week in Clogher or part of it there were no sightings of woodcock and none reported but the areas being hunted were not the typical woodcock areas. Cant get out myself this weekend and will miss next weekend, so will have to try for a quickie during the week.

 

 

friends of ours who live outside Clougher shot a couple of woodcock last weekend :good:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Done a few bogs today that usually hold a few woodcock and nothing, shot 2 snipe and a pheasant of them but no woodcock. Won't get the chance to shoot this spot till christmas again, so no doubt the cold weather ban will be on then! Have to say though it was still very warm, bit more harder weather would help! :good:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Starting to get a bit anxious about the presence of woodcock locally. Ive made five trips, 2 flights and 3 rough days specifically for them so far, only seen about 6 and got 3. Usually in double figures by now.

 

Any opinions? Ive mostly been on high ground due to the mild weather but not forestry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Starting to get a bit anxious about the presence of woodcock locally. Ive made five trips, 2 flights and 3 rough days specifically for them so far, only seen about 6 and got 3. Usually in double figures by now.

 

Any opinions? Ive mostly been on high ground due to the mild weather but not forestry.

 

I would say a lot of them are still in the forestries. Roll on some hard frost or a bit of snow.

 

I don't know about you guys but a lot of my good woodcocking cover has been taken away in the last couple of years. It's a disgrace that the farmers are not getting grants now for having a certain amount of whin bushes on their ground; think of all the habitat thats being lost for animals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know about you guys but a lot of my good woodcocking cover has been taken away in the last couple of years. It's a disgrace that the farmers are not getting grants now for having a certain amount of whin bushes on their ground; think of all the habitat thats being lost for animals.

 

I parked at the gate of one of my favourite and best woodcock haunts this morn, first thing I noticed was digger tracks going up the lane. Sure enough all the drains have been cleared whin bushes all removed all new posts and green barbed wire everywhere. Makes me sick everytime.

 

Everybody bought diggers during the housing boom couple of years ago, now they have no work to go to they are just looking for something to do and the first place that gets it is 'that wee field thats all grew over we bushes' :mad:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

has the last 2 hard winters hit the woodcock :hmm:

 

aye ollie i was at a farm on saturday and the farmer has the placed ruined all the whins and rashy fields and we hazel plantation have all been ripped out by a digger :mad: and a we 20 acre moss i shot that always held a fair few woodcock piles of snipe and rabbits is now more or less a green field farmer has it drained and dug away :mad:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DARD has changed the land eligibility rules for claiming subsidy,after getting their knuckles rapped by Brussels,so now some land,with whins and light scrub, that was deemed eligible at the start of the current scheme,is now classed as ineligible,so farmers have no choice but to clean it up or lose their part of their sub. But,of course none of the pen pushers thought about the destruction of habitats that would result.

 

Saw a few for the first last year,but so far this year, nothing

Edited by the enigma
Link to comment
Share on other sites

tried couple of spots today first place had a few we managed 4 and ceen maybee dozen more,, not a lot for the area,, 2nd place is one of our certainty spots where someone always gets a shot,,,,nowt there,this is a first in a few years got 1, 2 fields over but that was it,,,,saying that 5 in the bag is good for 3 guns but the weather is so mild why would they even be over here yet!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got an invite to a friends today to try a bit of ground he owns for a woodcock. Dropped the wife at the foyleside shopping centre and headed to Carndonagh. Not exactly Northern Ireland but only a stones throw away. We walked up a hedge about 400 yards long across a bank of whins and back down the valley to his house again. Flushed 8 and got 4. Mate doesn't shoot. Wasnt out a hour which suited me grand. Nice to get a bit of action. Havn't had much luck yet.

post-24214-0-09653700-1321816267.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haven't been out for last 2 weeks but going to make the effort to get out during week and at weekend so hoping to raise a few birds. But over the last 2 years farmers in this area have been ripping up hedges clearing aand draining bog land to the extent that a local gun club has had to quit as the ground not worth shooting over. Areas that traditionally held woodcock have had hedges thinned out so will have to hope that any area that is suitable for woodcock has more birds in it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got an invite to a friends today to try a bit of ground he owns for a woodcock. Dropped the wife at the foyleside shopping centre and headed to Carndonagh. Not exactly Northern Ireland but only a stones throw away. We walked up a hedge about 400 yards long across a bank of whins and back down the valley to his house again. Flushed 8 and got 4. Mate doesn't shoot. Wasnt out a hour which suited me grand. Nice to get a bit of action. Havn't had much luck yet.

 

 

a great mornings shootin, 4's more than plenty for any man in one day or even a week - well shot, I take it it was 4 with 5 shots ? :good:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...