Sights when out in the country side

[Cosd]

There are some wonderful sights sometimes when you're out in the country side. Often you see them when you're alone but yesterday I was sharing a hide with a friend.

 

In the morning there was a couple of Red Kites riding the thermals. If you've never seen one in real life they are magnificent birds with a 2 metre wing span.

 

I've seen the odd Red Kite before but by the afternoon there was about a dozen of them circling over the fields, I've never seen so many in one place.

 

At one point we noticed one of the Kites swoop down from the other end of a very large field, and it just glided about 2 feet off the ground and was heading towards us just to our right. It landed about 25 yards away right next to a downed pigeon which started flapping and we thought it was dead in the air about 10 minutes before when I shot it. The Kite stood there looking at it for about two minutes before it flew off leaving the pigeon (we dispatched the pigeon straight after).

 

It doesn't sound much I suppose, but watching this bird swoop so low and glide maybe 600-700 metres along the ground was fantastic.

 

 

What sights have you witnessed when sitting in a hide?

Edited September 6, 2013 by Cosd

[TIDES EDGE]

Not in a hide but whilst driving my boss around the shoot one sunny day inspecting the cover crops we came around the bend to discover a courting couple in a sunny glade now that was a bird in full splendor

[deny essex]

Enjoyed many sights over many years , a Kestral trying to pull heads off my rubber decoys, a buzzard I disturbed while walking a field edge, it circled several times close to my head I could see it eyeing me clearly before moving off.

A young fox walking into my hide and thinking "OHH C**P before beating a hasty retreat.

A sparrow hawk chasing a small bird through a small spinney , so fast and agile it was unbelievable.

Coming eye to eye with a young roe deer as it looked in my hide.

4 nazi's with full kit and guns sneaking up behind myself and my son as we sat in the hide on the edge of a wood, when we said we have real guns they apologised and went off on their re-enactment after a laugh and short chat.

Many more faded with age and brief mind pictures but interesting and amusing to myself.

 

 

 

P.S A novice Cosd trying to hit a bird as his 1st bunch of 15 decoyed , I nearly fell off me perch laughing.

Edited September 6, 2013 by deny essex

[Cosd]

P.S A novice Cosd trying to hit a bird as his 1st bunch of 15 decoyed , I nearly fell off me perch laughing.

Ok I admit that must have been funny, but was it as funny as the day you leaned back in your chair in the hide and fell backwards into the ditch

[deny essex]

Ok I admit that must have been funny, but was it as funny as the day you leaned back in your chair in the hide and fell backwards into the ditch

 

Only demonstrating how you need to be sure footed in a hide

[-Mongrel-]

Out in the hide last weekend with my stepson and we'd watched a couple of hawks hunting the field in front with little success and one in particular had given the flapper a hard look.

 

A couple of minutes later I noticed a shape moving fast, low across the stubbles. It came straight into the flapper but realised all was not right at the last moment and, just lifted over the top before flaring into a turn, quite literally flashing across the front of the hide no more than 4 feet away. We felt the air disturbance from its wings. The lad had been looking the wrong way and just turned in time to see the flash of wing in front of his face! He almost fell off his stool!

 

Absolutely brilliant getting that close to a hunting, wild hawk.

Edited September 6, 2013 by -Mongrel-

[Madness]

Watching a barn owl hovering over my lurcher as it caught a rabbit in the dyke bottom whilst out lamping, it was drawn in by the squealing as the dog was trying to extract it from the brambles.

[pork chop]

was once sat in a barn the open side type waiting for a fox to show when a barn owl sat on a bale a few feet away.there was some black plastic sheeting and he kept flying up and dropping on it trying to flush out mice/rats.first time i had seen one

[Paul T]

Last Sunday morning saw a roe deer buck chasing a hare across a stubble field. The hare was about 30-40 yards in front and every time it stopped and looked round the deer would stop and try and look all innocent . Happened a few times until the disappeared through the hedge line.

 

Never seen anything like it before - fascinating and very funny to watch. I wish I'd have been close (and quick) enough to take some video.

[aga man]

was once sat on a tidal river bank flighting duck at dusk when something started to swim accross the river towards me,turned out to be a roe deer, didn't appear to be getting chased either just swam to get from a to b very good swimmer too.

 

as for a pigeon hide, seen many things including someone approach the decoys throwing stones at them and a women in a gateway of a country lane once stopped off for a pee! got quite an eyeful there her backside was huge

[BRNDL]

I was talking with Ceaser from the forum whilst out shooting together. He has video footage of 2 deer chasing each other around in the crop...then they head right over to him and completely crash through his hide knocking him sideways!! Now that's a once in a lifetime thing to experience!

[400_racer]

Some good reads above, keep em coming

 

A couple that stand out for me... a little while back when my brother and i were out with the air rifles at dusk on a damp winter day, with the daylight all but gone. We were laying in the top of a largish dyke, keeping still, watching along the field margin waiting for the rabbits to appear from the hedgeline further up. Something flew overhead, and we just caught sight of a barn owl as it flew past. We said that was cool and nice to see we carried on watching for rabbits. Before we knew it, it had flown back much lower for a closer look at us! It then hovered no more than a few metres above our head wondering what we were up to before carrying on with its own hunting. Stunning to see it up close hovering like that

 

More recently this summer i was having a wander round the perm looking for pigeons when i clocked a roe deer the next field over mooching about in the wheat. Theres quite a few on this farm and its nice to see, we dont get many back home. I was watching it for a bit through the binos, probably 200yrds away when i thought id try and get closer. So i crept forwards everytime it put its head down and before i knew it we were in the same field. It still hadnt seen me and started to cross left across to the same side of the field i was, so i crouched down. Directly infront of me now, i realised the wind was in my favour the whole time and it crossed in front into the headgerow just behind a large oak, only about 60 yards away. I wondered where it was heading so i crept up to the tree to have a look, go to within no more than 15 yards when i see its head pop up out of the hedge, it hadn't gone anywhere! I froze and to my amazement it walked out infront of me, instantly spotted me and froze for a few seconds before legging it. Never been stalking before, but i didnt think i did bad there Great to see up close.

[oscarsdad]

I was talking with Ceaser from the forum whilst out shooting together. He has video footage of 2 deer chasing each other around in the crop...then they head right over to him and completely crash through his hide knocking him sideways!! Now that's a once in a lifetime thing to experience!

I had two roe bucks chase each other through my decoys earlier this year, not through my hide but close enough!

[-Mongrel-]

We regularly see Roe's on the farm, closest so far was about 30 metres away, wandering through a field of rape. I live in hope of a closer encounter though.

Edited September 6, 2013 by -Mongrel-

[Fisheruk]

I was sitting out in a wood at the end of July about 6.00am earlier this year, waiting for squirrels to show. Then I heard Roebuck rutting behind me. I didn't move and about 10 minutes later a Roe doe came charging past me about 10 metres away, closely followed by the buck. She was having none of it . A few moments later they had turned back and came chasing back past me about same distance and neither noticed me. Magical. don't know whether he got his way or not.

[garden gun]

We are in a heavy Red Kite area and have them feeding in the garden and they have recently started to land on our Bramley and even on the lawn. Also in the territory of a male sparrowhawk - what a master of flight. Sits in our trees to feed every now and then. Charlie and deer (roe and muntjac) are a regular sight at my fave trout lake.

[THE AD]

I was sat in the hide while duck shooting last Thursday night when a barn owl perched on the pole just above my head,prob about 2 foot from my head.

[r1steele]

A couple of seasons ago I was fishing at about this time of year when a stoat appeared on the far bank opposite me. I carried on casting and it climbed down the bank, into the river and swam onto my bank no more then a few feet from me. It looked at me, shook itself dry and wandered off into the undergrowth behind me. Cheek ****** wouldn't have come anywhere near me if I'd had a gun.

[Davyo]

Sat watching 2 roe through the NV on Sat night (bolt removed FROM RIFLE) brilliant watched them for good 20mins.

[Frenchieboy]

I have seen a few interesting things that stopped me in my tracks just to watch whilst out and about but the most recent had half a dozen of us completely fixated for about 5 minutes. We had just turned up at our club clay grounds and were just about to unlock our storage container in readiness for setting up the traps etc when someone noticed a couple of perigrines up on the skyline and half a dozen magpies kicking up a hell of a din. This pair of perigrines were having a right old ding dong with half a dozen magpies, so much so that they were totally oblivious to our presence about 130 yards away from them. The magpies were not prepared to give ground and had the perigrines well out numbered, but the perigrines were determined to stand their ground too. The sight was quite reminiscent of one of an old WW1 ariel dog fight with the perigrines taking it in turns to gain height and then suddenly turning with just a flip of it's wing and going into a high speed stoop after the magpies. The aerobatics of these wonderful birds was trully amazing! Eventually the birds made their way along the skyline, still having a right old go at each other until they were out of sight.

This was by far one of the most interesting and spectacular sights I have seen for a long time and something that I doubt I will ever have the pleasure of witnessing again!

[JDog]

Following on from Frenchieboys tale about Peregrines I was once stalking red deer on the wilds of Rannoch Moor in Perthshire when I heard an almighty thud above me. When I looked up I could see a Raven swirling down obviously badly damaged having been attacked in the air and a Peregrine whirling away in some sort of victory parade.

[Dunkield]

I was watching a muntjac a while back (before I had permission to shoot them) and noticed a rabbit underneath it.

So I shot the bunny, and as it kicked a little the muntjac started to head butt it.

[Penelope]

Whilst out on the Blackwater estuary wildfowling in February two years ago in heavy snow, I saw a Merlin chasing a small bird across the mud. Time after time the Merlin would gain height of about 6 foot then stoop down on the LBJ, who took evasive action. This went on all the way across to Northey Island where I lost sight of them. I saw another Merlin a while later, but suspect it was the same bird.