Beans

[Shotguneddy]

I have been out today about 2-3 fields away from a lot of fields of beans,not my perm unfortunately.  and noticed there’s big flightlines building  so Anyone with beans on there perm it would be worth you looking as I have noticed bigs numbers building in the last two weeks I spend usually an hour watching between 4-5 but they are there TIL about 7+ feeding now. Me and dad shot 20 today and that was just off a flightline 3 fields away going to the beans. Rant over thanks 

[JDog]

A good observation Eddy. 

I can never understand why they will go into standing beans with none on the floor yet when the beans are harvested and there is spillage they are nowhere to be seen. 

[Old Boggy]

19 minutes ago, JDog said:

A good observation Eddy. 

I can never understand why they will go into standing beans with none on the floor yet when the beans are harvested and there is spillage they are nowhere to be seen. 

You beat me to that JDog. That`s always intrigued me. I have assumed in the past that at the time of harvest, there is other more appetizing food available. I`ve had some good bags on standing beans, shooting on the convergeance of tramlines, but only mediocre bags, if at all, once harvested.

Just one of the vagaries of pigeon shooting which keeps us forever guessing.

OB

[Balotelli]

Just to add to my twopenneth, some interesting points made by all. And yet, newly drilled beans are a magnet. As the above comments, is it that it is the time of year when the beans are harvested when there are alternative food options? Alternatively, when the beans are drilled then possibly,  there are not so many other food sources. Some bright spark should do a Ph.D on pigeon behaviour.

[motty]

5 minutes ago, Balotelli said:

Just to add to my twopenneth, some interesting points made by all. And yet, newly drilled beans are a magnet. As the above comments, is it that it is the time of year when the beans are harvested when there are alternative food options? Alternatively, when the beans are drilled then possibly,  there are not so many other food sources. Some bright spark should do a Ph.D on pigeon behaviour.

There will be some very big bags shot on harvested beans this year, don't you worry.

[Balotelli]

2 minutes ago, motty said:

There will be some very big bags shot on harvested beans this year, don't you worry.

That's encouraging. I'd settle for a dozen at the moment. I don't hold out that much hope and sorry to labour the point but if there are no pigeons in the area then wishful thinking on my part. Interestingly enough we have rape surface sown on stubble. Not a pigeon to be seen.

[Wilts#Dave]

Shot some of my best bags over beans, and certainly the last time a block was grown on a good farm we have access to they were a magnet when direct drilled in the spring and provided three days on stubble averaging 150 a time.
I would say they love bean stubble, in my area anyway. Was a shame when people all bit stopped growing them in our area, the above report was the first time I’d shot over any for a good few years. 
This year several farms we have access to have a good acreage in though so will be keeping an eye out with anticipation once harvested. 

3 hours ago, Balotelli said:

That's encouraging. I'd settle for a dozen at the moment. I don't hold out that much hope and sorry to labour the point but if there are no pigeons in the area then wishful thinking on my part. Interestingly enough we have rape surface sown on stubble. Not a pigeon to be seen.

You won’t find any pigeons hitting rape drillings, unless they happen to like the stubble field they’ve been drilled into. 
There just isn’t enough spilt seed (none in fact generally). 

[Balotelli]

52 minutes ago, Wilts#Dave said:

Shot some of my best bags over beans, and certainly the last time a block was grown on a good farm we have access to they were a magnet when direct drilled in the spring and provided three days on stubble averaging 150 a time.
I would say they love bean stubble, in my area anyway. Was a shame when people all bit stopped growing them in our area, the above report was the first time I’d shot over any for a good few years. 
This year several farms we have access to have a good acreage in though so will be keeping an eye out with anticipation once harvested. 

You won’t find any pigeons hitting rape drillings, unless they happen to like the stubble field they’ve been drilled into. 
There just isn’t enough spilt seed (none in fact generally). 

That's the point, Dave, the rape seed was not drilled. I can't remember the correct terminology but the seed was surface spread.

[Old Boggy]

8 hours ago, Balotelli said:

That's the point, Dave, the rape seed was not drilled. I can't remember the correct terminology but the seed was surface spread.

I think that if it is rape, then it would have been direct drilled through the stubble. They won't be interested in that until all the grain on the stubbles, berries and possibly acorns have been consumed, namely, winter.

OB

[Old Boggy]

10 hours ago, Balotelli said:

That's the point, Dave, the rape seed was not drilled. I can't remember the correct terminology but the seed was surface spread.

Are you sure that it wasn`t volunteer rape ?

[old'un]

15 hours ago, motty said:

There will be some very big bags shot on harvested beans this year, don't you worry.

Must admit I have shot some very big bags on bean stubble and drilled beans in April/May, this year we have around 300+ acres of winter beans on various farms (most I have seen for a long time), most as now been combined, driving around this last week I have yet to see one pigeon on any of the fields so lets hope you are correct and they start to show before the fields are turned.

[Balotelli]

10 hours ago, Old Boggy said:

Are you sure that it wasn`t volunteer rape ?

Absolutely

[B725]

There was a trend a few years ago to broadcast rape seed direct from the combine via a hopper on the side of the header as they were combining the crop.