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Jays, shoot or not?


Ant8681
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I have just been down on one of my permissions where i am baiting squirrels with peanuts, there has been for a week or two a woodpecker the frequents the station feeding off the nuts and i really enjoy watching him/her as it passes the time a bit. This morning it was there again as usual but when it went off to eat the nut i could hear a jay going mental and when i looked the jay was bullying the woodpecker whilst being watched by its mate. I got the jay in my sights but then had a wierd feeling and couldnt pull the trigger!! :no: , this has never happened before but then again i have only ever shot them before with a shotgun.

Do or have any of you experienced this and should i just man up and go back and shoot it??

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As above, Jays are on the General Licence - they are corvids with corvid habits - so long as you are satisfied that they are a problem they are fair game as vermin. Know what you mean about nice looking birds etc, but so are Maggies. It all changes when you see the nasty critters having a real go at songbird nests etc.

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I decided to go back and get it!

 

http://i1171.photobucket.com/albums/r559/Ant8681/DSC00188.jpg

 

If you do shoot any could i have those blue feathers please...i'll gladly make you some sea trout flies in return.

Not very numerous round here any more, so have'nt shot one for a good few years.

Tight Lines

Aled

Sorry mate only just got this so ill go back and get them for you!

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I,ve Only Ever Saw 1 Pair Of Jays In My Neck Of The Woods, And Yes I Did Have My Gun With Me At The Time, But I Could,nt Get Anywhere Near Them To Get A Shot At Them :lol: Very Alert Birds I Thought, Much More So Than The Other Corvids

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Must say I don't have any problems with them here, so I don't shoot them. They're beautiful birds and as there're no pest problems with them, I'm happy to let them be!

 

 

Me too..we wouldnt be here without the Jays..or we would but we would all be speaking French or Spanish...Jays planted the oak woodlands which provided timber for the 14th 15th & 16th century English fleets.

 

They are on the General list so each to his own...they are very clever and illusive birds however, and theres no danger of them being eradicated in any numbers to make much difference.

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If you do shoot any could i have those blue feathers please...i'll gladly make you some sea trout flies in return.

Not very numerous round here any more, so have'nt shot one for a good few years.

Tight Lines

Aled

PM me your address mate i have the feathers for you

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I,ve Only Ever Saw 1 Pair Of Jays In My Neck Of The Woods, And Yes I Did Have My Gun With Me At The Time, But I Could,nt Get Anywhere Near Them To Get A Shot At Them :lol: Very Alert Birds I Thought, Much More So Than The Other Corvids

They can be difficult with a shotgun because they fly out at about fifty or sixty yards when they see you coming, not giving much chance of a shot. You can often watch them fly away from you down a cutting and see the white flank when they land. That's your best chance if you have a rimfire and they stop with a safe backdrop. You can pick them off at range because they think they are safe.

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