Proudly Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 Perfect winter morning, bright but cold & frosty. After topping the feeders up on Monday I hoped there would be plenty birds around. The ground had dried out & the river had dropped. We pushed the strip wood through & only a single bird which was missed by a lad on his first time out. On to the bog which normally holds a few birds, plenty of snipe & the odd duck. A few duck lifted but were too far away, I missed a snipe & not a single bloody pheasant. We walked to the pond we had started feeding but before we got close enough about 30 teal lifted giving us a few shots but no birds down. A pair of pheasants were dropped in the cover along side the river then we moved onto the big wood which normally provides most of the birds. 3 guns stood this side & 2 guns pushing cover back towards the wood. Not a single bird, I was shocked as previous days where I was stood always provided some nice birds. Something not right. We split & walked the dykes on way back to cars for lunch but again nothing. After break we walked the dyke back towards the cover crop but nothing, again this is normally a certainty. We walked the cover crop & a teal was picked. Obviously pricked from the pond, pleased we managed to pick it. A couple of birds lifted well ahead, as we got nearer the end of the crop my spaniel & terrier decided to go deaf. Half a dozen birds got up too far away for a shot, I apologised to the lads for ruining it. We walked back to the strip wood & put 3 birds up, 1 back over that was flying like a rocket which I missed lol. A 2nd broke right which was missed then a nice one flew perfect down the wood & was dropped. We broke into 2 groups & walked the bog/river, this time a load of mallard lifted & 2 were shot. A wigeon was hit by the newbie & he was ecstatic, his first. Back to the cars for a break then decoys out in the slack water on the river. A long wait until the first few duck came over fast, hardly noticed them. A group of Teal came over & with it my first bird of the day! A few more missed & the place we were shooting wasn't ideal but the newbie managed another teal. Very dark & bloody freezing we called it a day, not the best but all but one had managed something. Hopefully our last couple of days will be a bit more productive...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sako751sg Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 Do they not leave the same time as the swallows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew f Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 Take the rifle out for a walk they will be there then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berettacocker Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 Been out with mates falcons lately, and birds, Pheasants/ English Partridge have all been found on sunny banks, and not in the ( reliable ) places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proudly Posted December 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 We could hear the commercial shoots nearby banging away but not as many shots as normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matone Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 The recent high winds & low temps have made them go to the warmest cover,if your ground doesn`t offer enough cover they`ll have left ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proudly Posted December 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 Makes sense Matone, thought it strange. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 It was -16 overnight here in parts of Cumbria. Three of the woods in our syndicate were thinned out to the extreme earlier this year, which means two of them appear akin to the aftermath of an airstrike. There is no cover and hence no birds in those two. They are now exposed to the wind and absolutely nothing likes the wind, but in one of them there was always a healthy ground covering of Bramble, and this produced some very good birds this morning. The birds are coming to the feeders now but if there isn't the cover to keep them hanging around there they will head for warmth as what little sun we see on days such as today generates no warmth. If you have woods you need to be thinning them out at seasons end so the light can reach the ground in spring and summer and therefore grow some cover for next season. If your woods are cold the birds wont stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisheruk Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 They've sussed you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 No stops, their legs work better than their wings if conditions don't lend themselves to them sitting tight and being flushed by dogs.... assuming of course you have enough dogs and are not walking past birds sitting tight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proudly Posted December 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 Not enough dogs, hoping that'll change next season. First season here so still getting a feel for the place. If we can improve the habitat we will but we're limited as we lease from a big estate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konnie Posted December 14, 2014 Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 you may of answered your own question, the estate might of dogged your patch through if birds are getting thin on the ground would not be the first time this has happened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proudly Posted December 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 The estate are not shooting this year so the farmer has told us. I think it probably is a combination of weather/lack of cover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arley Posted December 14, 2014 Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 We had a similar day yesterday. It was a cold but still day and I think the birds heard the guns and leg it out of the drives before they were driven? Saw more birds when we were checking the hoppers at the end of the day than we saw all day. Also we are short of dogs in the beating line, but to be fair to the lads that were beating they did a grand job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted December 14, 2014 Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 (edited) We have found that since the woods have been thinned out any noise we make echoes around the estate so we are now making much less noise than normal when beating. Even with as many dogs as we have the birds are still sitting very tight so we taking it slow and steady. Edited December 14, 2014 by Scully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proudly Posted December 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 Arley we also seen more birds wandering once we'd finished in the afternoon before the flight. Did seem like the birds left it as long as possible before getting out to feed if that makes sense? Scully we had a guest out last time who insisted on shouting like a beater, problem being we're walking up birds not walk & stand like he's used to. The birds leg it & get up too far ahead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtaylor Posted December 14, 2014 Report Share Posted December 14, 2014 -16, are you sure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted December 22, 2014 Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 I wish I knew! At least I know why they've gone though. We don't have too many, but enough. They're all wild - some downright livid - and not fed, just strenuous vermin control. We had a really good breeding season and the numbers were well up so we were feeling confident. That is, until the work was started on the ****** solar panel array a few weeks back. The noise from pile driving the metal supports has been non stop - right on the edge of the main roosting wood - enough to drive anything wanting a decent night's kip into the next county. Not to mention the damned great artic' trucks roaring around all over the place. Feel so sorry for the farmer - he tenants the land and the panels are the estate's idea - they've turned the place into a quagmire and because the site is now temporarily 'owned' by the constructors, he's having all sorts of problems with access to the outlying fields. He's a good friend and it saddens me to see the effect all this has had on him. The only time I've seen him smile in the past couple of months was on Saturday when he told me that he'd gone clear on the TB testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 This time of the year they have all been shot . Harnser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowdie2013 Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 What return percentage are you at for the season? If your at 40-50% youve had a good 1st year and the rest of the birds as has been said may have simply moved on to more favourable ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 -16, are you sure? Have just noticed this....sorry, I meant -6. We thought our driven syndicate would be quietish yesterday as there were very strong bitterly cold winds with hail, and one or two drives have been poor for some reason, but not the ones we expected to be poor. One drive which we expected to be poor due to lack of cover following tree felling last summer turned out to be a very good drive; the birds getting well into the cover of the brash left behind. We also found a lot of birds on our margins which were put up when walking into position for some of the drives, which we can only assume were from a neighbouring shoot. Anyhow, despite there being more birds than we expected, I had no birds over me all day yesterday, and was walking gun on the last drive of the day which took place during a very bitter driving snow storm. Halfway along the wood I heard a cock cackle as it took off and exited the wood behind me well out of range, and another in front which a standing gun killed. Having resigned myself to going home with a clean gun I heard a shout as a bird got up from the other side of the wood. I saw it appear over the tops of the trees to my right and as it was well ahead I didn't think it would come my way, but as I watched it caught the wind and got nearer, but well up. It was a hen, and as the wind pushed it I closed my gun, stepped into its curving line of flight and whipped the gun through as it rocketed over head and pulled the trigger as it disappeared. It folded up dead in the air and came down in Lancashire. I have no idea how high it was but it was well up and going like a missile in the wind; it was the highest pheasant I have ever shot. One bird all day, but it made my day. Anyhow, sorry for the ramble, but back on topic I think all our rough shoot birds are in the railway banking; spotted seven hens and two cocks at one feeder this morning, and when dog got among them they all headed in that direction. It will be toasty warm in there, lush cover and no wind, and only 100 yards from three feeders. Nothing, absolutely nothing (except a kite) likes the wind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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