An answer to my questions? Maybe?

[kitchrat]

I have some new information on my pre-emergence spray/seed dressing questions.

Four fields of peas, with dressing, drilled about the middle of last week. Sprayed soon after. Nice local woods to supply birds. Huge number of peas, pink with dressing on the surface. Never seen so many loose, due to poor (concrete) soil conditions

Friday, small amount of pigeon interest. 

Saturday, small amount of interest. 

Sunday, small amount of interest. 

Monday, small amount of interest.  BUT, we had a light shower of morning rain, I'm sure it wasn't enough to wash the dressing or spray clean away.

Tuesday, HUGE number of birds.

Wednesday, HUGE number of birds. Never seen the like of it.

Thursday, all peas cleaned up,  most birds seem to know this, just a few stragglers dropping in, out of habit?

So, dressing and spray do not mean birds will not attack a good food source, (but MAY make it less attractive if better stuff available). BUT, my bored brain asks another question (SORRY). Are pigeons colour blind?? I am, slightly, and initially found it very hard to spot the loose peas, I had to get down on hands and knees (praying for pigeons?) whereas  the normally sighted could easily see them from a normal walking position. After the Monday shower of rain, which I'm sure it wasn't enough to wash the dressing or spray clean away, I could now easily see the loose peas. The shower, it seems, had just cleaned the dressing off the top surface, making them the normal whitish colour again. Did this result in the pigeon onslaught?? or did it just build up naturally? We are told pigeon eyesight is different to ours, more based on UV reflection, could this result in colour blindness?

I'm certain that heavy rain helps to expose, for example, loose beans which were right near the surface as it washes the soil off them and pigeon attack increases so is food visibility an important factor?

Sorry to bore you!!

 

Edited April 10, 2020 by kitchrat

[KillStone]

I seem to remember reading or being told that they are at least impaired when it comes to the colours that say humans see but wasn't there the thing about them being able to see a certain amount in uv?? I think some decoys (silliosocks possibly) were painted in a uv paint that shows up to the pigeon? As for seed dressing- I have shot a lot of pigeons stuffed with pink/red coated seed wheat etc so I don't think the coverings deter the birds in my experience you've described a four day build up period and personally id say that is very normal for the birds to find the crop then build big numbers as they draw in on it. The rain shower may have altered the birds habits for example the local woods may have provided some decent shelter the we day that would've brought the birds together meaning when it cleared they all then found a nice field of peas as the first bit of food they came across on leaving the trees hence a sudden mass increase of birds locking onto an easy food source.

Just my thoughts on your situation described im sure others will have their own take and experiences.

[kitchrat]

3 hours ago, KillStone said:

I seem to remember reading or being told that they are at least impaired when it comes to the colours that say humans see but wasn't there the thing about them being able to see a certain amount in uv?? I think some decoys (silliosocks possibly) were painted in a uv paint that shows up to the pigeon? As for seed dressing- I have shot a lot of pigeons stuffed with pink/red coated seed wheat etc so I don't think the coverings deter the birds in my experience you've described a four day build up period and personally id say that is very normal for the birds to find the crop then build big numbers as they draw in on it. The rain shower may have altered the birds habits for example the local woods may have provided some decent shelter the we day that would've brought the birds together meaning when it cleared they all then found a nice field of peas as the first bit of food they came across on leaving the trees hence a sudden mass increase of birds locking onto an easy food source.

Just my thoughts on your situation described im sure others will have their own take and experiences.

All good stuff, thanks, except there is no such thing as UV paint, just certain types of white paint reflect UV better than most. (Told you I was getting bored!! or is it boring??)

Cheers

[KillStone]

Sorry yes I meant some sort uv reflective paint as in it would reflect more in the uv spectrum (I’d that’s a thing?! Just made it up tbh) than a normal type of paint I presume to highlight the decoys as per the “slip over jackets” from sillosocks and a very brief search shows some paint for the white parts of your decoy that is uv reflective. I doubt too much money has been invested into researching a pigeons eyesight in fairness so would imagine much of it is more opinion based than factual 

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, if you do a search on here there a some info on what paint PW members used on their deeks, they were those small trial pots

[clangerman]

they might have hit them because the rain had made the peas softer never under estimate how smart pigeons are 

[Westley]

I doubt they as smart as your good self though  ?    🙄

[dad]

Natural build up i would say probably the main group were feeding elsewhere not too far away cleared it up a little fly around spot your few birds already down and in they go.

[kitchrat]

14 hours ago, dad said:

Natural build up i would say probably the main group were feeding elsewhere not too far away cleared it up a little fly around spot your few birds already down and in they go.

Yes, I know that seems logical but I have been doing extensive scouting (on my mountain bike) and couldn't find any other build up. However, the pigeon communication network shouldn't be forgotten. I don't mean Twitter (almost a joke if it were Coo Coo) but birds watching others in flight and learning from that can have dramatic results. Sort of long distance body language.

[dad]

2 hours ago, kitchrat said:

Yes, I know that seems logical but I have been doing extensive scouting (on my mountain bike) and couldn't find any other build up. However, the pigeon communication network shouldn't be forgotten. I don't mean Twitter (almost a joke if it were Coo Coo) but birds watching others in flight and learning from that can have dramatic results. Sort of long distance body language.

In my experiance they can be down  2 fields away and almost invisible especially if nothing joining them i think sometimes we move off too quick or go looking when they are not moving anyway nothing feeds all day.

[Old Boggy]

On my daily afternoon ramble yesterday I came across my farmer friend`s field recently drilled maize crop (for biofuel) where the seed had been dressed (see photo).

There was plenty of seed on the surface particularly around the headlands, but not a single pigeon to be seen. Normally, such seed untreated would have produced a bit of interest, but not so with this treated seed. I know that there is another thread on a similar subject, but this being maize, I thought that I would throw it in the mix, so to speak, for any comments that anyone has.

I would like to add that my walk also saw two marsh harriers, a pair of English partridges and several skylarks, the latter I understand which are less common in other areas than my neck of the woods where they are most plentiful.  

OB

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Old Boggy

[oowee]

I am told that the maize used to have two coatings one against wire worm and one against birds. It was proposed that both would be removed over a two year period but I am told this did not happen and the farmers can now select one of the two coatingsdepending on conditions. 

[Norfolk wildfowler]

Several well known pigeon shooters have written that pigeons are colour blind. Where that came from god only knows,. There have been many experiments done that show pigeons have as good or better colour vision than we have. Read all about it in ornithology by Frank Gill.

 

[kitchrat]

Wow!! 766 pages to read before bedtime! Seriously, I did find the bit about colour vision, most interesting. So my painting of all my kit in matt green/brown is not stupid! (I did have a blue milk crate for example)

Many thanks, now all you need to tell me is what speed to run my magnet, if at all!!

Cheers,

JK