JDog Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 Mr Motty may marmalise me. Motty and I have long held the view that cold weather on it's own does not turn pigeons on to rape. Even last week I posted that I felt it unlikely that pigeons would get onto the winter shooter's favourite crop until the beech mast had gone. Today, after a night of heavy frost I saw a lot of the grey hordes on many different rape fields and they appeared to be feeding hard. They numbered in the thousands in total. Can this be a coincidence? The first frost and the first pigeons feeding on Brassica napus. I may have to revise my views. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 Drove past a field this morning which had no birds on it last week , this morning it had a good hundred feeding hard. It was a rape field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 Same here, white over this morning and our osr fields I can see from the house had a lot of activity over them. I still don't get why there was zilch shooting over beans we put in this year, I tried at drilling, at chit and at harvest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 question.......................do pigeons eat slugs......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobby dazzler Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 Cold weather does change the pigeons food source I spoke with a nother couple of very keen pigeon shooters this morning they said they checked the rape yesterday nothing much doing but went for a nother look this morning after a hard frost and there was hundreds on it and there is still plenty of beech mast about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbw1shrops Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 Answer yes I shot some a couple of years ago and asked the PW massive about it they were only small slugs not the big garden critters ! Atb Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 I saw the first big flock on rape last friday in my neck of the woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) Answer yes I shot some a couple of years ago and asked the PW massive about it they were only small slugs not the big garden critters ! Atb Dave in that case i dont think the pigeons that are dropping into the rape on my patch arnt eating the rape....think they are after the slugs.................cause nobody else around here is reporting birds on the rape....... Edited November 24, 2014 by ditchman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 Well I've seen pigeons feeding on rape here and there for the past few weeks. If other foods sources on the ground get frozen, then it is certainly likely that pigeons will eat what they can get at, and I suppose that means rape, mostly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenholland Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 opened a pigeons crop a few years back it was crammed full of yellow shelled very tiny snails, spoke to peter theobold he said he found the same sometimes, just goes to show what they will eat, they say variety is the spice of life. ....kenbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 iv seen pigeons on rape last week, with no frost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 Mr Motty may marmalise me. Motty and I have long held the view that cold weather on it's own does not turn pigeons on to rape. Even last week I posted that I felt it unlikely that pigeons would get onto the winter shooter's favourite crop until the beech mast had gone. Today, after a night of heavy frost I saw a lot of the grey hordes on many different rape fields and they appeared to be feeding hard. They numbered in the thousands in total. Can this be a coincidence? The first frost and the first pigeons feeding on Brassica napus. I may have to revise my views. On ONE (and only one) of my perms, they have been on rape for some time, several hundred of them. (We have few beech trees in the area) Was finally able to have a go at them yesterday( no shoot day this week, birds well away from woods and covers) and soon was reminded how hard it is. Of course they all went off to fields near pheasant woods, you can't flag them all. I got 10 for 6 hours in the hide, mostly passing birds. One had a crop full of beech mast/rape mix, he had been in the wood with a few beech trees. Incidentally, in my frustration, I shot at 3 really wide passing passing birds (60+ yards?) and hit them all, well, knocked feathers out of them. Two flew on "untouched", the other dropped stone dead. The pattern at that range is literally hit or miss Pigeonslayer!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich1985 Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 Been on rape here a month. Cold doesn't make a difference if you ask me just the drive to find food, shot a lot of woodies in March and April on rape and it certainly weren't cold then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuy Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) Just started to get a few phone calls off various farm's, about their rape getting hammered, Edited November 25, 2014 by stuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShropshireSam Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 Saw first large numbers on rape on Sunday late morning. Went to set up in the early afternoon, went off as a couple of large flocks and then did not see many once set up, and most of the ones I saw from then on just kept flying past. Shot three in about three hours....but while it was quiet I made a hide in the middle of a fallen oak. It must have come down in summer as in full leaf and will make an excellent hide for future visits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott/misty Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 loads of pigeons on the rape today in kent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlander Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 Send us some this way you lot, as its not happening around here at the moment!!! Outlander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passionforangling Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 I saw pigeons gliding across a road onto a rape field this morning at 8.00am whilst on my travels. At about 11.00am as I returned along the same route there were quite a few sitting in the trees along the rape field. As others have noted, it was a hard frost here this morning and its certainly the first time I've seen pigeons feeding on the rape in any numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootgun Posted November 26, 2014 Report Share Posted November 26, 2014 loads of pigeons on the rape today in kent Whereabouts in Kent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott/misty Posted November 26, 2014 Report Share Posted November 26, 2014 Faversham near A251 my friend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootgun Posted November 26, 2014 Report Share Posted November 26, 2014 Thanks mate! That's quite far from my permission next to Padock Wood... i've got over a 1000 acres of rape to shoot over but haven't got the chance to see if any pigeons about. I'll have a look Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fieldcraft Posted November 26, 2014 Report Share Posted November 26, 2014 Personaly cold weather helps but pigeons do the same here every single year same fields same patch similar numbers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popa bear Posted November 26, 2014 Report Share Posted November 26, 2014 out and about today few on rape some on beech even a few on new planted wheat two inches high (whats that all about) a lot just chilling in the trees to much food about for them to choose from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulboy1957 Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 A251 ..... I've got some permission along there,thanks ill have a recce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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