What A Rubbish Harvest!

[Dr D]

Same here. Headed out on Friday afternoon and eventually got a bit of a flight picking up 27. But the harvest is late and our local birds have decided to try for another brood. So with almost a month and a half left until the spring barley is harvested and a bad year for beech mast i think there is a good chance of a reasonable autumn. Next weekend I am travelling further from home to see if things are any different on another patch.

Edited August 23, 2015 by Dr D

[Redditch]

i had a few decent days earlier in the month , on one field i had a few 50/60 bird days and 111 , 123 , 150 , by last sunday they were very wary and i had a very hard won 32.

it was all on a field of winter barley that was ready just a little bit earlier than anything else in the area , the first few days were shot while it was still standing but the better days were had on the stubble , i should have had many more birds really , but , my shooting has been a bit off since i had a neck injury earlier in the year, their is still a few birds in the area and strangely i had a few land in the middle of my crow decoys on friday morning.

I have a bad neck/back/shoulders/knees/elbows etc, following multiple accidents. Whenever I go shooting I always take a 30/500 cocodomol, and a 500 metocarbomal, and that helps a lot. Repeat every four hours as needed. The first is for the pain, the second relaxes the muscles. Makes me almost as supple as I was 10 years ago LOL (almost)

[Charlie_79]

It's been fairly good in my area of Kent, plenty of pigeons around most off the farms around me, the wheat has now been started and they are already feeding in good amounts on it.

[Savhmr]

Wheat harvest here is a disaster. We've one large field where we've suffered about half an acre lost to deer damage (tracks and flattened bedding circles) and the rain has been relentless. Only about 10% of the harvest from this field in, and looks like weather set to continue unsettled. Not much pigeon feeding off the stubble from the cut side but loads of pheasant poults and young duck!

[dad]

Farms now have to grow at least three different crops. Result of this is that in East Anglia there are masses of bean fields waiting for the combine. Pigeons seem to have got there before the farmer.

This source of food for the pigs has not been there on this scale before.

Has that changed things?

we have the same bean problem here beans falling out of the pods but the stalks too green to cut. and no permission. same last year 8 weeks it lasted

[Grandalf]

Wheat harvest just about finished here. Beans started yesterday - Then the rains came... Farmer got one field done - two to go.

[ShropshireSam]

Not had a good day since first few rape fields harvested. Pea fields were cut and disced before pigeons found them and have had to hunt around to find a decent number of birds. Found fields (rape and wheat stubble) with about 300 feeding but no busy traffic into them and when moved off few returned .... had bags of ca. 20. Still hopeful of some decent days before all the stubble goes.

[WelshMike]

I think that the few pigeons in mid wales have departed as I struggle to find any reasonable numbers anywhere locally. Due to the weather the harvest round here is 4-6 weeks behind where it was last year, with most of the wheat uncut due to the rubbish weather. Thanks heavens for crows or I wouldnt need a shotgun.

[malkiserow]

I was about with Camokid on Saturday but there were very few pigeons around so ended up decoying corvids.

[marsh man]

Along a four mile stretch along the A47 near mine there were five combines all waiting for a improvement in the weather , when I went past, there was only a heavy drizzle, then coming home about a hour ago there was monsoon conditions with very heavy rain .

 

With the amount of Wheat still need cutting it is now going to be well into September before there finished , next week should be better , so we shall have to wait and see if the weather people are correct .

[mossy835]

there is lots of standing wheat round here.

[kenholland]

just done my rounds this morning just got back, Worcester area,most fields cut now just a few wheat fields to cut nothing about at all more pigeons in my back garden. there out there somewhere hope somebody has a good day. 100 bird reg sporting tomorrow doveridge.

[sitsinhedges]

just done my rounds this morning just got back, Worcester area,most fields cut now just a few wheat fields to cut nothing about at all more pigeons in my back garden. there out there somewhere hope somebody has a good day. 100 bird reg sporting tomorrow doveridge.

 

I don't think pigeon numbers are the problem, it's the fact there could be a thousand on a field but they are generally clearing off when disturbed and not coming back. This is what has happened more often than not lately, almost like winter rape shooting. I was lucky to get a 36 bag on Thursday and a 20 on Sunday so whilst not on fire not all gloom either but you do have to work for them. Had Peterboro Game pick up 172 on Tuesday and the chap reckons everyone is struggling.

[hushpower]

Had a couple of good bags end of june on stood winter barley, Only had bits and bobs since,but the wheat has to be cut yet ,packs can turn up over night ,the problem is giving them three days before shooting,but you have guessed it,some other ****** jumps in and shoots it or they move on before getting settled by guns who have been watching the ground.

[motty]

Had a couple of good bags end of june on stood winter barley, Only had bits and bobs since,but the wheat has to be cut yet ,packs can turn up over night ,the problem is giving them three days before shooting,but you have guessed it,some other ****** jumps in and shoots it or they move on before getting settled by guns who have been watching the ground.

 

Why do you need to give them 3 days?

[anser2]

There has been a small improvement in pigeon numbers this summer and I have even managed a few bags into the 20s in my part of n Norfolk. Very few young birds shot though. Lots of wheat to be harvested yet on my estate and on one organic farm they have not cut any barley or wheat yet. Its going to be a very late end to the harvest around me this year so with luck there should be a few more decoying oppertunities.

[clanchief]

Plenty of birds here all sitin in my oak trees, my farmer has not sown a crop for two years its been that wet here for the past two years, he has many pals that have sown barley and is setting me up to shoot that ground when the combine is finished, even that is a way off, they are thinking of spraying the fields again to bring the crop on, the trouble is we have not had the warmth that you have had down south to make the crops sput with life.

 

Thinking on setting up this Saturday on a bareish grass field that was under sown with clover as its mainly showing now, see if I can get a few shots as its right on the line, the rain we have had in the West has been so bad since last year, sitting in the rain aint fun.

 

Chiefy

[dad]

its been pretty hard around here 15/25 most days and i have a lot of land to cover. quite a lot about but seem to be some on most fields.farmer phoned me friday said about 800 on his new rape coming through,went saturday quite a lot there not 800 though, set up and shot 15, carts on the floor suggested 25 at least but thats the way it is these days.i think i started a bit late 1.30pm the f/line stopped 3pm had sat watching for an hour to make sure of right spot and could have shot another 15 if i had gone straight there.the f/line continued up the middle of the field and over the boundary onto some stubble but too far for me to turn them, packed up 4.30 came back 6.30 for a look and they were pouring onto my field,went back sunday at 11am and sat it out till 6pm for 7pigeons. never seen them eating rape this early before with stubble all round and ignoring bean stubble.

[Fisheruk]

Plenty in the Oak trees here

[sitsinhedges]

Well it has been over a month since I posted this thread and nothing seems to have changed, so many blank days despite birds being about. Today for example, I rolled up to a farm with the bean stubble covered in birds but they just aren't decoying and if anything are skirting around my decoys despite trying a number of different set ups. I did hear a couple of different guns in the distance but even they didn't seem to be getting much sport. Maybe they are just over shot locally. Sooo frustrating.