August showers.

[JDog]

Mightymariner and I had a great plan for this afternoon. He would look in his most likely spots and I would look in mine and whoever saw the best opportunity would host the day. It never worked like that. He saw a promising barley stubble with the swaths still in it and was just about to call me when the farmer told him that it was to be baled. I went to several barley stubbles on my patch but there were no birds on it.

 

We reverted to plan C which was to look at a very recently harvested rape stubble. When we got there I could see without the need for binoculars several hundred pigeons lifting and settling in the distance. When we drove over there we found the pigeons on a swathed rape field over which MM did not have consent.

 

The only option was to set up alongside the field on our boundary in the hope that our shots would move the birds into an area where they could see our rotaries. During the afternoon we did get spasmodic attention from pigeons mostly coming from behind and they were not easy to shoot. We also got the attention from one or two heavy showers and the picture shows my kit on the line which is soaked.

 

I suspect that we shot getting on for forty pigeons but I left before the count up as I had promised to do dinner this evening.

 

[aga man]

Those showers are very hit and miss {bit like the pigeons at present}, but very wet when you get one!

 

At least you got out and shot a few

[la bala]

You was out and on some, thats the main thing.

[ditchman]

Jasper looks very pleased to be at home ..back with his mum..

[marsh man]

I was also out this afternoon on some rape stubble that had been cut two days ago , the tractor was on there yesterday cutting the stalks down to ground level , while I looking at the field yesterday pigeons were dropping in while the tractor was working and at times were only 25 to 30yds away from the machine cutting the stubble.

 

Today I got there just after dinner and found the pigeons there but nigh on impossible to decoy , I tried everything , magnet to the front , sideways and even behind me , decoys close , well out and took all the rubber decoys in and just had the dead ones out , then around 4 . 30 the sky started to darken and I could see the rain beams in the distance and with horse racing on today I thought I would pack up before I got wet and the town getting chocker blocked with race day traffic , with most of the gear in the motor the rain arrived sooner than expected and I can fully understand how you got so wet as it lashed it down with the water splashing off the ground , the only thing I had to clear up was the magnet , battery and the two dead birds on the top , after about 15 minutes the rain eased enough for me to get the rest of my gear and head off home and joining the long q of traffic waiting to get out of the town.

 

All in all not one of my best days with 16 pigeons to lay out and two to dry out I was lucky I didn't have to dry out as well , but there you go , it was still better than going to work or sitting at home doing nothing .