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Jays, shoot or not?


Ant8681
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I know the Jay is a corvid and I have shot about half a dozen over the passed 40 years however,they are it seems solitary birds with a mixed diet they are nowhere near as bad as the Maggies and Crows whom hunt in gangs and bully their prey to death,therefore the Jay is very scarce so,as a conservationist I leave them alone,should their numbers increase then I shall act accordingly...just personal preference :hmm:

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I know the Jay is a corvid and I have shot about half a dozen over the passed 40 years however,they are it seems solitary birds with a mixed diet they are nowhere near as bad as the Maggies and Crows whom hunt in gangs and bully their prey to death,therefore the Jay is very scarce so,as a conservationist I leave them alone,should their numbers increase then I shall act accordingly...just personal preference :hmm:

 

:good: my thoughts exactly! We have a very few pairs around here, but they are mostly in the pine woods and their diet is pretty varied; bird populations here are far more susceptible to gangs of marauding maggers! I'm a bit of a bird watcher too and i'm always pleased to spot a jay on a trip out in the field

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:good: my thoughts exactly! We have a very few pairs around here, but they are mostly in the pine woods and their diet is pretty varied; bird populations here are far more susceptible to gangs of marauding maggers! I'm a bit of a bird watcher too and i'm always pleased to spot a jay on a trip out in the field

It's nice to know that there are others on the forum who like myself are under the impression that this great country pursuit is not all about kill..kill..kill :good:

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It's nice to know that there are others on the forum who like myself are under the impression that this great country pursuit is not all about kill..kill..kill :good:

 

Is that a bit of a dig?!?! I'm sure there are a lot on here that kill things that are a pest! Or protect lesser/fewer harmless Birds.

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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??

Shoot the *******. They are pretty, but then so are Pheasant! They kill other birds and rob their nests so if you like songbirds, shoot them without conscience. :yes:

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Shoot the *******. They are pretty, but then so are Pheasant! They kill other birds and rob their nests so if you like songbirds, shoot them without conscience. :yes:

 

I do like songbirds a lot. But they're not a big nest robbing problem here, their numbers are extremely low and are definitely no pest, so what's the point? I'm not gonna eat them so it's a pointless shot, an unnecessary death - especially in the breeding/hatching season so the jays are safe enough as far as i'm concerned

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I do like songbirds a lot. But they're not a big nest robbing problem here, their numbers are extremely low and are definitely no pest, so what's the point? I'm not gonna eat them so it's a pointless shot, an unnecessary death - especially in the breeding/hatching season so the jays are safe enough as far as i'm concerned

If their numbers are low, that's different. We need to be responsible enough not to "overshoot" however magpies & crows in this area almost outnumber the songbirds. We have a fair few Jay's as well so will be shot on sight. Your location might be different. We have thousands of Fox's here, however when I visit family in Lincolnshire they hardly ever see one.... :/

If you like Jay's (and they are lovely) shoot two magpies instead... :rolleyes:

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Never shot a jay, I just hope I shoot enough magpies and crows to outweigh any negative the pair that live somewhere around my field have. Stunning birds and you don't see em often. The pair I often see are quite tame in comparison to magpies and even pigeons. Often enjoy watching em

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I do like songbirds a lot. But they're not a big nest robbing problem here, their numbers are extremely low and are definitely no pest, so what's the point? I'm not gonna eat them so it's a pointless shot, an unnecessary death - especially in the breeding/hatching season so the jays are safe enough as far as i'm concerned

Well said fellow conservationist :good:

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Never shot a jay, I just hope I shoot enough magpies and crows to outweigh any negative the pair that live somewhere around my field have. Stunning birds and you don't see em often. The pair I often see are quite tame in comparison to magpies and even pigeons. Often enjoy watching em

I think this is the definitive answer - shoot enough magpies, crows, jackdaws and other nasty corvids to allow the Jay's to breed. We have quite a few on one of my farms and they will be shot there, not so many on some of the others, so they will be left alone. I want the grey partridge to breed without attack from corvids. Don't act like some nationalities I could mention and shoot anything that moves... that's just not British :good:

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Can't you eat jays?

 

Don't know......possibly curry one, serving suggestion vindaloo for preference or madras for ring sting ease the next a.m.

 

Never seen a jay up here so if one arrived would probably not shoot.

 

A much bigger problem is the increase in crows & mags, these are popped at every opportuniy.

Edited by Sha Bu Le
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Well said fellow conservationist :good:

 

Paranoid! Far from it, just wasn't sure how to take the comment. But the one above explains a lot.

 

Q. Jays, shoot or not ....

 

A. ... No

 

I guess that's the difference between Town folk and Country folk :rolleyes:

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I guess that's the difference between Town folk and Country folk :rolleyes:

 

how does it?! I've lived my whole life in the country and I don't shoot them! In fact I've lived in the same village for most of it and I've seen the jay population increase ever so slowly, and there are still very few around, so they're safe from me! :good:

 

Or are you saying town folk WOULD shoot them...

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