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Young birds


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During a conversation with another shooter today , he commented on the lack of young birds. It made me think that due to the extreme heat we had this summer would that affect the eggs or the hydration of the fledglings in the nests. I delivered six hundred birds today and when bagging up I did not have any young birds which prompted me to ask this question. Over to the massive??

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We normally find the time of the year when we see the most youngsters are on the rape stubble's and because they were mainly left alone this year there were 100s of young , it also made a difference with the long dry spell that the time they were feeding on the loose rape seed was a lot longer than normal as the seed could not germinate .

The long hot and dry Summer could also be the reason for a bumper year for acorns , the hedgerows are also full of berries and one of the garden centers where we go to pick your own Plums had that many we saw one or two branches that had snapped off with the weight of the fruit , and within a matter of days there was more fruit that had dropped on the floor than was left on the trees .

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Hi I’ve not noticed any difference this year, I shoot most of my pigeons from late June and July . If the hot weather did have an effect on the pigeons they would just start nesting again, they seem to breed all year now.  The weather hasn’t effected the partridge they have done well this year. I have noticed some pigeons are (plump) and heavier, maybe a new breed of pigeons. More numbers of stock doves each year if it’s of any interest.

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29 minutes ago, Gas seal said:

Hi I’ve not noticed any difference this year, I shoot most of my pigeons from late June and July . If the hot weather did have an effect on the pigeons they would just start nesting again, they seem to breed all year now.  The weather hasn’t effected the partridge they have done well this year. I have noticed some pigeons are (plump) and heavier, maybe a new breed of pigeons. More numbers of stock doves each year if it’s of any interest.

Thats a good point - the number of stock doves up here this year has absolutely boomed - not so many feral but i think the falcon sorts them and the collared doves 

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Hi jall can I ask what part of the country you are shooting . I’m in the north west. It’s interesting to know what is happening in other places. I was out today and there was flocks of stock doves and hundreds of feral pigeons on drilling’s the feral pigeons are staying on the fields for longer. I saw lots of young woodpigeon l don’t think that the hot spell has had any effect on the number of woodpigeon stock doves or feral pigeons.

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3 hours ago, Gas seal said:

Hi jall can I ask what part of the country you are shooting . I’m in the north west. It’s interesting to know what is happening in other places. I was out today and there was flocks of stock doves and hundreds of feral pigeons on drilling’s the feral pigeons are staying on the fields for longer. I saw lots of young woodpigeon l don’t think that the hot spell has had any effect on the number of woodpigeon stock doves or feral pigeons.

Im in Derbyshire 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi folks

i just thought I would add a comment on my local observations. Following some strong winds recently I have spotted scores of pigeons feeding on beechmast & acorns. I noticed many young adults with almost complete white neck bars and very juvenile birds with no obvious neck bars. I am hopeful that we will see a bumper amount of birds as they begin to flock up as the natural thermostat drops.

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