2nd up date.

[dead eye alan]

The layed barley was impossible to shoot as would  be unable to pick up or shoot safe due to position on the field. At 11 am no visible flight lines and seemingly no interest in the barley, but put up a few from the cut grass field next to it and a few from the large oaks on the boundary. So set up on a hedge between the 2 oaks, I have used this position many times in the past and generally done well. Listening to the 12 o'clock news as I drove the truck to its resting place in the shade 200 yards away, and watching a group of 5 going straight in to the decoys my hopes of a reasonable day was escalating. The first hour only produced 2 birds! bit of a disappointment but persevered, as the day went on a few more started to move and a few fell to the Lincoln, ended at 3.30 with 11 in the bag and 1 lost for 24. the best result so far this month. I think on reflection that a later start say 2 ish and stay later may produce a better result. 

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, well done Alan, yes this time of year I find setting up 1pm  ish and shoot till 8 , the barley has started to turn so am hoping  to get out to👍

[mossy835]

nice shooting. barley here is turning, but no pigeons looking at it yet.

Edited June 27, 2021 by mossy835

[lakeside1000]

Well done again, it seems to be the norm at the moment, Every time I go up to the pea fields I put 50 or so up but they don't come back, Friday I started at 3 pm with just a bunch of half shells in a bald corner under 3 big oaks, It was almost an hour before a few came back, but then they came in one's and two's until I gave up at 7.30 with 11 picked and 1 lost for 18 shots, pleased with a few of the harder shots but still a slow evening, 

Farm manager came to see me as I cleared away and seemed pleased, as the peas are now all in flower with a lot of small pods I need to switch to another crop as they dont like lead in the pea pods when processing, he mentioned some laid barley starting to get a few birds on so out tomorrow for a look, fingers crossed.👍

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, lakeside1000 said:

Well done again, it seems to be the norm at the moment, Every time I go up to the pea fields I put 50 or so up but they don't come back, Friday I started at 3 pm with just a bunch of half shells in a bald corner under 3 big oaks, It was almost an hour before a few came back, but then they came in one's and two's until I gave up at 7.30 with 11 picked and 1 lost for 18 shots, pleased with a few of the harder shots but still a slow evening, 

Farm manager came to see me as I cleared away and seemed pleased, as the peas are now all in flower with a lot of small pods I need to switch to another crop as they dont like lead in the pea pods when processing, he mentioned some laid barley starting to get a few birds on so out tomorrow for a look, fingers crossed.👍

Hi ALAN ... If you are out looking tomorrow have a look at the laid Barley on the branch road at Potter Heigham that go back to Acle , big areas have gone down with a good 100+ pigeons sitting on the telegraph wires and plenty going on the flat patches , I am not sure who's land it is but it would be worth making enquiries , maybe John the farm manager might know .

GOOD LUCK , it look a very good field , sadly to far for me now .

[lakeside1000]

15 hours ago, marsh man said:

Hi ALAN ... If you are out looking tomorrow have a look at the laid Barley on the branch road at Potter Heigham that go back to Acle , big areas have gone down with a good 100+ pigeons sitting on the telegraph wires and plenty going on the flat patches , I am not sure who's land it is but it would be worth making enquiries , maybe John the farm manager might know .

GOOD LUCK , it look a very good field , sadly to far for me now .

Cheers John 👍

[Old Boggy]

On 27/06/2021 at 18:26, marsh man said:

Hi ALAN ... If you are out looking tomorrow have a look at the laid Barley on the branch road at Potter Heigham that go back to Acle , big areas have gone down with a good 100+ pigeons sitting on the telegraph wires and plenty going on the flat patches , I am not sure who's land it is but it would be worth making enquiries , maybe John the farm manager might know .

GOOD LUCK , it look a very good field , sadly to far for me now .

MM, we had to make a flying visit to our friends in Ludham today and think we passed that field of laid barley on our way home. Was it on the left hand side just after the right hand turning from P.Heigham to Acle ? About 100 pigeons got up from the field with another 20 or so on the wires. Hope Alan (Lakeside) managed to get out there. As said, was in a hurry so would have popped in to scrounge a cuppa. Maybe next time 👍.
Further along on the RH side a field of peas had obviously been troubled by pigeons as it was bagged off all over.

OB

Edited June 29, 2021 by Old Boggy

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, Old Boggy said:

MM, we had to make a flying visit to our friends in Ludham today and think we passed that field of laid barley on our way home. Was it on the left hand side just after the right hand turning from P.Heigham to Acle ? About 100 pigeons got up from the field with another 20 or so on the wires. Hope Alan (Lakeside) managed to get out there. As said, was in a hurry so would have popped in to scrounge a cuppa. Maybe next time 👍.
Further along on the RH side a field of peas had obviously been troubled by pigeons as it was bagged off all over.

OB

Evening OB , Pity you couldn't pop round in between your flying visit as you know you are both welcome and the kettle is always on standby , you are bang on with the field I was referring to , the barley is still Green so whoever get a chance to shoot it will still have another good three weeks or so before it is cut , I have been through Ludham loads of times and it always look a good area with stacks of land and very few people around that way , the ones who live out that way are mainly farm workers or people who work on the Broads .

GOOD LUCK when they start combining down your way .

[Whitebridges]

On 27/06/2021 at 18:26, marsh man said:

Hi ALAN ... If you are out looking tomorrow have a look at the laid Barley on the branch road at Potter Heigham that go back to Acle , big areas have gone down with a good 100+ pigeons sitting on the telegraph wires and plenty going on the flat patches , I am not sure who's land it is but it would be worth making enquiries , maybe John the farm manager might know .

GOOD LUCK , it look a very good field , sadly to far for me now .

I drove along there on Monday, from Potter Heigham to Thurne where I did a bit of fishing. Loads of birds along there sitting on the wires and dropping in to large areas of laid barley. A heck of a lot of crows too. 

[Scully]

Peas mustn’t be a Northern thing (?) as I’ve never seen a pea crop in my area. Plenty of rape and the normal crops, but never peas. Is it a ‘prairie’ farming thing? 

[marsh man]

24 minutes ago, Scully said:

Peas mustn’t be a Northern thing (?) as I’ve never seen a pea crop in my area. Plenty of rape and the normal crops, but never peas. Is it a ‘prairie’ farming thing? 

Might well be down to location , the Pea Viners around our way work day and night , seven days a week and when cut and loaded on to the lorries they need to be chilled and frozen at the factory within 2 hrs of being vined, our used to go to Birds Eye at Yarmouth and now they go to either Birds Eye or the CO OP at Lowertoft . there are different groups around Norfolk and Lincolnshire and the group near us take up to six weeks from start to finish , so you can see there are a lot of Peas grown .

[Scully]

1 hour ago, marsh man said:

Might well be down to location , the Pea Viners around our way work day and night , seven days a week and when cut and loaded on to the lorries they need to be chilled and frozen at the factory within 2 hrs of being vined, our used to go to Birds Eye at Yarmouth and now they go to either Birds Eye or the CO OP at Lowertoft . there are different groups around Norfolk and Lincolnshire and the group near us take up to six weeks from start to finish , so you can see there are a lot of Peas grown .

Thanks MM