Groundhog Day

[pigeon controller]

Thursday I had a call, Crows and Pigeon on the direct drilled wheat so on Friday after picking up DB at 10.30 we drove straight to the field. Not a bird in sight, we could see some birds in the distance and were just about to drive off when the farmer turned up to tell us they had been on the field in the morning. We enquired about the birds on the distant field and he said it was cut maize and to help our selves. So we drove over to it to find at least two hundred crows down, we decided to set up for these as we could not see any pigeon. Just then the farmer phoned to tell us that he had just spooked three hundred pigeon of the bean stubble which had been direct drilled also, as he said this we could see a large flock of pigeon flying over the wood, so we drove over to look at the field. It had a good covering of red wheat seed which we think is unpalletable to the birds but they were on it so we set up in the centre of a hedge on a known flightline we put the twelve pigeon out on the one field and three crows we had brought on the other with the intention of shooting both as the farmer wanted the crows shot. After a slow hour we had ten pigeons and no crows, it was now 12.00 and the farmer phoned to inform us that the crows were on the maize, so I took the three crows and drove over to the maize and set up. I made a fortress of a hide with a thick lid as the sun would be directly in front of me and I used the lid to shield me so I could shoot out of the shade. I placed the three crows out thirtyfive paces so the pattern would be a good spread as I tend to have the birds too close and with the jackdaws twisting and turning at ten yards are difficult to hit. The birds returned without calling and I soon had fifty out in front and I kept adding them by just laying them out and sticking the beaks in the soil in a big arc infront of the hide. In the end all the shot birds were out in front, I packed up at 16.30 as it just finished and phoned DB and he said that when I shot it sent a number of birds to him and now that I had stopped they stopped . We think they had reverted to the woods as a good number had acorns in them and my shots spooked them. As I drove back to DB I passed three fields of direct drilled wheat in mustard and they were covered with birds. On driving round to DBs position I could see he had been busy and I stood in the hide while he picked up on the edges of the field and had two pigeons. After picking up and laying out we had one hundred and thirty corvids and one hundred and twentfive pigeons so splitting was the wise move.

 

After last weeks two hundred pigeon on the ground taken over by the new farmer DB had a call from the farmers son who was not happy about us shooting. So DB went down to the farm on Sunday to meet him. two hours later we had permission but only when they had bird problems . So Saturday I picked DB up at 10.00 and we decided to look at this land and it was all done and seeded but the normal track around the field had been cultivated and the crows on the field were all on the far edges. We were just going to beat a hasty retreat when the farmer arrived not the son his Dad and said are you going to shoot the crows? We told him that we were going to see the ajoining farmer to get permision to drive through his farm to get to the point on the field with the wind behind us and where the crows were feeding. It took us two hours to sort out the access and when we did and drove to the field it had no birds on it as the farmer was working close by and spooked them!!!!!

It was now 13.00 and we had to make some decisions, so we decided to shoot the same farm as Friday so we drove back to view it and the field with the pigeons was the same field DB had shot the day before.

So he set up with twelve birds from the day before and I went to a different field which I had shot the week before midway between the maize and DB. It was now 14.00 I had ten crows out and set my hide tucked under a tree in the shade. We shot till 16.30 and collected the birds together on DBs field and layed them out seventyseven pigeons and seventyfive corvids. So as it was a total Groundhog Day it was the right decision in the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Adge Cutler]

Another impeccable write up PC.. Hat off to you again.

 

I must say I admire the symmetry and precision with which you lay out the corpses, shows a lot of respect in fact.

 

You weren't a Undertaker in the past by any chance?

Edited October 22, 2016 by Adge Cutler

[pigeon controller]

Another impeccable write up PC.. Hat off to you again.

 

I must say I admire the symmetry and precision with which you lay out the corpses, shows a lot of respect in fact.

 

You weren't a Undertaker in the past by any chance?

 

Its because in my tiny mind these pigeons are somebody's food at the end of the day, I've had my sport and now they are a gourmet meal .

 

 

It's been notsed in the past but no I've never worked in the chapel of rest !!!!!

Edited October 23, 2016 by pigeon controller

[aga man]

Great bags for this time of year. Nice to see some corvids down on the deck!

[Ollieollie]

Well done as per PC! I had 15 on sat in leominster, dont think a picture would have the same effect

[pigeon controller]

Well done as per PC! I had 15 on sat in leominster, dont think a picture would have the same effect

 

Well done Ollie, fifteen less.

[yickdaz]

top darts again pc you and motty have been bagging them at a rate of knots recently

[dolphin]

unbelievable bags again well done I was told you only get out what you put in and the time and effort you put in you deserve all the

success you both achieve

atb dolphin

[pigeon controller]

unbelievable bags again well done I was told you only get out what you put in and the time and effort you put in you deserve all the

success you both achieve

atb dolphin

Thank you, we would never shoot the same farm two days running but needs must and it paid off. Edited October 23, 2016 by pigeon controller