Where are they?

[popa bear]

Went out this morning for a recky for a couple of hours went on a bank in a barley stubble field with good views all around over layed barley and cut barley nowt apart from the one very occasional pigeon flying over but not landing.Checked the peas nowt checked the cut and standing rape saw only three birds.The only birds i saw were in an onion field which has a road on two of the three side and impossible to shoot typical better weather off work able to drive to your hide location and no birds funny old game isn't it it makes you wish for the winter and cold weather

[JDog]

Birds in this area are not moving until after 2pm. You may have been out too early.

[aga man]

Much the same here at the minute popa bear, very little pigeon movement during the day yet woodlands alive with the sound of cooing woodies at dawn and dusk.

 

Every day can bring a big difference at this time of year, you just have to keep looking.

 

 

I agree with Jdog also the afternoon is a better time to be out looking right now.

Edited August 5, 2016 by aga man

[popa bear]

It was around lunch time but you would expect to see some flying about if not committing but nothing.Went out the other evening onto a freshly cut barley field but again very poor i think we only had half a dozen shots between 2 of us

[marsh man]

Not all fields will produce pigeons no matter what the crop is , and even more so this time of the year , each dry day when the combines can start cutting there must be 100s if not 1000s of acres being opened up with a good combine being able to cut 100 acres + a day ,

 

Knowing the land I go on , I mainly look at the fields that have giving me a lot of shooting over the years and tend to ignore the ones that don't , take today for instance , this week the harvest have been off and on due to the wet days but they still managed to cut the last of the barley and a few fields of rape so me and Lakeside1000 went this afternoon on one that have been a godsend over the years weather its been peas , barley , wheat or rape and today although there wasn't a huge amount of birds about we still managed to shoot over 60 , and the fields of fresh barley stubble and a rape field that has just been cut had next to nothing on it .

 

So if you know where the holding woods are, try and watch them when they leave or look at the fields where you have had pigeons in the past , but you need to be quick as they forecast a dry weekend and by Monday the pigeons could be in the opposite direction from where you have seen them two days before . Good luck and keep looking.

[stuy]

Birds in this area are not moving until after 2pm. You may have been out too early.

bang on there jdog same in hereford been out a few times best so far 88, and three 70 pluses all from 1 pm til 6 pm , we haven't got the numbers I normally see this time of year, im sure they'll turn up and I'll get hopefully a few tons

[kenholland]

12/30 onward's in little waves every 3/4 of an hour for me just lately checked there crops nothing, out this weekend see what's what Worcester area.

[army646]

Same up in Yorkshire. No real movement until well into the afternoon. Still have not built up in any real numbers over the wheat which is still standing

[pigeon controller]

The food table is vast at present this tends to dilute the flocks and I agree it's an afternoon feed.

[Wilts#Dave]

What acreage are you looking over?

I find one farm may be devoid of pigeons but another just 5-10 miles away or less may be heaving with birds.....that also can change year on year where on farm may produce lots one year but less the next, often due to the crops planted and in which fields!

[marsh man]

As above , the afternoons do normally shoot better than the mornings but with the days of daylight getting shorter now you can still get some sport in the mornings and if I only had the odd day to go I would set up by mid to late morning , saying that I would have looked at the field the day before to make sure there were some on there in the first place .

[popa bear]

What acreage are you looking over?

I find one farm may be devoid of pigeons but another just 5-10 miles away or less may be heaving with birds.....that also can change year on year where on farm may produce lots one year but less the next, often due to the crops planted and in which fields!

i would say approx 2,000 acres spread over 3 perms mainly very mixed arable with some woods and pasture i'm very lucky to have so much and such variety thats why i can't understand the lack of birds

Edited August 6, 2016 by popa bear

[mossy835]

afternoon is better thats when they move round here.but with a gas banger going off i have no pigeons on rape,only on stubble on another form.

e