kxkirk Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 At work we have a big shed and for the last couple of days ive been watching a pair of woodies building there nest. A shooting mate of mine thinks I should take the airrifle and shoot them both but i disagree. The thrill of pigeon shooting for me is pitting myself against this beautiful bird doing my homework finding out where it is feeding finding the flight lines then once ive done this trying to set the right decoy pattern to lure them in and then once they are committed the fine art of actually shooting them which i somethime find isnt as easy as it sounds. So am i going soft would u guys just shoot them now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsdad Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 I think I would agree with you and wouldn't shoot them, although pigeon shooting is supposed to be purely pest control no sport, I would not consider it sporting to shoot them in their nest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 I don't see the 'reason' to shoot them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trxnav Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 I am the same I wud leave them alone unless they are making a real mess when driving around I can't even bring myself to hit 1 with the motor have to swerve around or brake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 not soft at all fella. it's called having respect for your quarry. i have a couple of woodies that are regular visitors to our garden. i wouldn't dream of shooting them. they are doing no harm and are a joy to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilR Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 (edited) At work we have a big shed and for the last couple of days ive been watching a pair of woodies building there nest. A shooting mate of mine thinks I should take the airrifle and shoot them both but i disagree. The thrill of pigeon shooting for me is pitting myself against this beautiful bird doing my homework finding out where it is feeding finding the flight lines then once ive done this trying to set the right decoy pattern to lure them in and then once they are committed the fine art of actually shooting them which i somethime find isnt as easy as it sounds. So am i going soft would u guys just shoot them now? Nope, I wouldn't either shoot them either. The pair that are scoffing the wild bird food in my garden dropped by smaller birds on the feeders are interesting to watch. There's a definite pecking order (excuse pun) the pigeons chase off smaller birds and the squirrels from searching in the grass, and the magpies in turn shift the pigeons back up into the trees. I do not interfere with any of the birds or the squirrels visiting the garden, as they give great pleasure to others who want to watch them. Edited April 10, 2013 by PhilR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deny essex Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Its not going soft, if it is then ive been soft for over 35 years pigeon shooting. I never get on with or interested in people with the attitude of killing because it is what it is, proven to be causing damage, a pest, risk to health or a danger and legal to do so etc can be cause , but out of any context like that I'm happy to watch the wood pigeon feed on the bird table on my balcony and watch youngsters grow. When I had a large garden I did often get commens from friends when a woody or magpie landed in the garden or a duck on the pond about shooting them, they were often surprised that I did not shoot or had ever shot anything in my garden, they did no harm so there was no reason to, I know they would breed and possibly their young can cause damage but my shooting has never been about genocide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjm160 Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Well said chaps, much respect to you all. In the impetuosity of my youth I am sad (and ashamed) to say I may well have shot them taking a harsh view that vermin is vermin and that would be two less pigeons feeding on the farmers crops. A few decades later and I go out of my way repeatedly, to avoid running Woodies over on the roads around the housing estate. Dare I say, I even let a young Woodie fly away again after it landed just 5-yards from the hide on Saturday (although that was perhaps a little too 'sporting' ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 No not too soft at all, i read this recently when debating the morale side of killing with myself, its a bit american but not bad http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120707215523AADLxMn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 I've been feeding a good dozen birds in the garden over the cold period, with a 1,000 in the freezer. I think that the Wood Pigeon is a lovely looking bird but I'm glad they like crops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclestuffy Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 From a pest control point of view with the Pigeons (histoplasmosis) are they posing a threat to human safety - namely pigeon waste. This should be the determination to kill or leave the pigeons. We have a pair at work too and their fate is currently hung in the balance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 From a pest control point of view with the Pigeons (histoplasmosis) are they posing a threat to human safety - namely pigeon waste. This should be the determination to kill or leave the pigeons. We have a pair at work too and their fate is currently hung in the balance Two pigeons in a tree at work? I'm not sure it's in the 'spirit' of the gl, same as people blasting them in the back garden cos one of their cabbages got eaten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 nothing soft at all over it, as already stated, alot of shooters blast away at stuff just because its on the pest list, rather than understanding the law, as a pest is not always a pest, and still has laws protecting it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 I agree , I cant see where you are going soft at all, I could shoot some almost every day out of my garden if I so wished but choose not too. However if they are over the fence on the farmers field they its a different matter ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 leave them be mate, i like watching them striding about in the garden, they always look as though they have trousers on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclestuffy Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Two pigeons in a tree at work? I'm not sure it's in the 'spirit' of the gl, same as people blasting them in the back garden cos one of their cabbages got eaten. At work there is a duty to protect employees (which is risk dependant). The OP would need to determine the location and health impact before deciding whether to shoot them. This has nothing to do with morals as I would not shoot them at work for "crop protection" - the pigeons are living under one of the warehouse cannopies and not in a tree BTW so hopefully will put a better picture on my origonal post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fse10 Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 All good with me chap, but as one of the other members has said about magpies my garden & my perms are no fly zone's........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 when i feed the birds in the garden, the blackbirds come down then the doves, finches and sparrows, folowed by 3 or 4 pigeons ..they are like bararge ballons...dont like the jackdaws as they eat everything ..so i let the dogs out...funny thing is when a couple of the labs are out in the garden, they like to have a go at the bird food on the grass, and ive seen more than once a couple of pigeons with the dogs eating the food...yet when the dogs are out they are ruthless hunters !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEADLY PLUMBER Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Your not soft. I feed them in the garden. I do shoo them off when they Hogg the food to much. But when they are out on the battle field it's war. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old rooster Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Had a nice few woodies feeding in the garden over the winter. I don't even like shooting them in the wild when times are really hard for them so the ones in the garden are safe. As for squirrels and magpies that I'd a totally different kettle of fish, they get the Daystate treatment . Surprising how much more activity there is from songbirds and smaller birds since we moved here and culled the squirrels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humperdingle Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Does your work actually want them gone? Suppose it depends (as has been said) on H&S. Are they pooping on stock, is their presence going to prove to be problematic for alarm systems, etc, etc... Bear in mind, come summer, there will be 3 or 4 birds, quite possibly staying put. A family of pigeons can drop a heck of a lot of poop. But when it comes down to it, it's your work's decision. If I was asked to for the right reasons, i'd have no problems with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tod Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Leave them be, i have a few that come to my garden every day to feed and have a drink from the pond, magpies on the other hand dont fair so well, got three working the trees in my back garden at present that need to go as started to see a few wrens etc about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody walloper Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 dont shoot them in the garden but shot seventy in field next door surprisingly the pair nesting in garden still there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclestuffy Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Does your work actually want them gone? Suppose it depends (as has been said) on H&S. Are they pooping on stock, is their presence going to prove to be problematic for alarm systems, etc, etc... Bear in mind, come summer, there will be 3 or 4 birds, quite possibly staying put. A family of pigeons can drop a heck of a lot of poop. But when it comes down to it, it's your work's decision. If I was asked to for the right reasons, i'd have no problems with it. Yes, this is exactly the point but an industrial setting is different from the back garden so it is a bit like discussing apples and pears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humperdingle Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 At work we have a big shed and for the last couple of days ive been watching a pair of woodies building there nest. Yes, this is exactly the point but an industrial setting is different from the back garden so it is a bit like discussing apples and pears. Yes, i'd assumed the 'shed' was a large storage or workshop arrangement.... Not a 'garden' shed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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