Pigeon Chasers

[pigeon controller]

Just one observation, people talk about the pigeons in the woods and Oldun says the Keeper has not seen many birds in his woods. 
I’ve stated this many times in the past that I and BB shoot the ancient Forest of Arden which is predominantly deciduous with Beech and Oaks so we do keep the birds for some time, out of sight. This Forest historically covered Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire. 

Less shoots operate on these estates now as they have been taken over by the Leisure industries for golf and fishing. The Packington Estate being one.This allows the birds to feed when they like on the natural foods. I’m not aware of the nutritional value of the vast conifer woods but I do realise the value of these as a warm roost wood.

Currently in my locality we have large amounts of acorns still available for the birds to feed on, these individual trees are a small amount to the amount in the woods. None of these acorns have started to rot as the cold weather has helped to preserve them longer as we normally have wet weather which rots them.

I’m sure that normal service will be resumed in a few weeks and BB will be displaying mega bags of birds on rape fields.

[old'un]

6 hours ago, pigeon controller said:

Just one observation, people talk about the pigeons in the woods and Oldun says the Keeper has not seen many birds in his woods. 
I’ve stated this many times in the past that I and BB shoot the ancient Forest of Arden which is predominantly deciduous with Beech and Oaks so we do keep the birds for some time, out of sight. This Forest historically covered Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire. 

Less shoots operate on these estates now as they have been taken over by the Leisure industries for golf and fishing. The Packington Estate being one.This allows the birds to feed when they like on the natural foods. I’m not aware of the nutritional value of the vast conifer woods but I do realise the value of these as a warm roost wood.

Currently in my locality we have large amounts of acorns still available for the birds to feed on, these individual trees are a small amount to the amount in the woods. None of these acorns have started to rot as the cold weather has helped to preserve them longer as we normally have wet weather which rots them.

I’m sure that normal service will be resumed in a few weeks and BB will be displaying mega bags of birds on rape fields.

Hope you are correct and we start to see some numbers on the rape next month, must admit I have not seen it this quiet in this area for a long time, I usually find something to have a go at.

Looking at winter last year there was also a decent berry/acorn crop but there were posts of people finding and shooting pigeons through Dec, Jan, Feb and beyond.

I do realise pigeons do move from area to area, in fact a few years back I was shooting some rape fields near the M5 Bromsgrove and I commented on the big numbers in the area and you commented “so that's where they have gone” think you were having a bit of a lean period in your area.

I do appreciate what you are saying about your area and acorns and it’s perhaps the reason they not showing in this area (yet) but I am just not seeing any numbers in the woods, or on or around the fields, bunny_blaster commented last week saying he had seen plenty of pigeons in Warwickshire, think I should have replied “so that's where they have all gone”

[pigeon controller]

1 hour ago, old'un said:

Hope you are correct and we start to see some numbers on the rape next month, must admit I have not seen it this quiet in this area for a long time, I usually find something to have a go at.

Looking at winter last year there was also a decent berry/acorn crop but there were posts of people finding and shooting pigeons through Dec, Jan, Feb and beyond.

I do realise pigeons do move from area to area, in fact a few years back I was shooting some rape fields near the M5 Bromsgrove and I commented on the big numbers in the area and you commented “so that's where they have gone” think you were having a bit of a lean period in your area.

I do appreciate what you are saying about your area and acorns and it’s perhaps the reason they not showing in this area (yet) but I am just not seeing any numbers in the woods, or on or around the fields, bunny_blaster commented last week saying he had seen plenty of pigeons in Warwickshire, think I should have replied “so that's where they have all gone”

I went past the M5 field twice last week and did not see a bird like you say. I then went to Nuneaton and saw a large flock flying over rape but not settling, they are about.

[bunny_blaster]

I travelled the M5 last week and went through Hagley up to Belbroughton and counted a total of 2 pigeons over the 3 days I was there. Didn’t see too much rape though

[old'un]

1 hour ago, pigeon controller said:

I went past the M5 field twice last week and did not see a bird like you say. I then went to Nuneaton and saw a large flock flying over rape but not settling, they are about.

the rape fields I was talking about were a few years back, they are winter beans this year but I think I know the fields you are talking about.

 

1 hour ago, bunny_blaster said:

I travelled the M5 last week and went through Hagley up to Belbroughton and counted a total of 2 pigeons over the 3 days I was there. Didn’t see too much rape though

there are plenty of rape fields if you know where to look but there just ain’t any pigeons in the area, can you send some of yours please.

[JDog]

I looked at five rape fields today and all had pigeons either feeding or sitting up having fed.

There are very few Oak trees in this area, and certainly no Oak woods so acorns are not a distraction. Ivy berries will always hold pigeons interest until they go off in the early spring.

I will be out on Thursday and will report back.

[old'un]

7 minutes ago, JDog said:

I looked at five rape fields today and all had pigeons either feeding or sitting up having fed.

There are very few Oak trees in this area, and certainly no Oak woods so acorns are not a distraction. Ivy berries will always hold pigeons interest until they go off in the early spring.

I will be out on Thursday and will report back.

All these bloody pigeons seem to be North, East and south of me, that's it, I am putting the house up for sale tomorrow.

[marsh man]

3 hours ago, bunny_blaster said:

I travelled the M5 last week and went through Hagley up to Belbroughton and counted a total of 2 pigeons over the 3 days I was there. Didn’t see too much rape though

Well I never , would you believe I have got more Pigeons in my garden then the distance you travelled along that stretch of the M5 , and we haven't got any rape in my back garden , only a bird table 

[Wilts#Dave]

3 hours ago, JDog said:

I looked at five rape fields today and all had pigeons either feeding or sitting up having fed.

There are very few Oak trees in this area, and certainly no Oak woods so acorns are not a distraction. Ivy berries will always hold pigeons interest until they go off in the early spring.

I will be out on Thursday and will report back.

Just shows how it differs, often based on what food is available in areas. 
They’re definitely on ivy berries and other food sources where I am, have got a few ‘good’ rape fields this year or so I thought but I still haven’t seen a pigeon using them…..and I have been looking! 
Good luck Jdog, hope you get amongst them. 

[Topgunners]

On 20/01/2023 at 10:28, marsh man said:

It seem to me that most of the people searching for Pigeons are the older folk , this could be partly because they have got time on there hands and can remember the days when rape was the holy grail in the Winter months , the memories are still clear where a very bad day then would be a very good day now , those days are very unlikely to come back but for some of us we cannot accept the fact and we will still go out day after day just because they SHOULD be feeding on rape , this was fine when you only had the odd field in the area , now we have got half a dozen fields on our estate alone and many more on the surrounding farms , sometimes you will find a field where the land owner haven't got the time to go and check it out day after day and a few might well start building up , but how long will they put up with a bit of stick when a large field on the next farm is left alone during the game season , and this would be the same in most of that area .

So we have to face facts that the glory days on rape is over for the majority of us in the Winter months , from early March then things might be different when it is fed and begin to come back to life but if you haven't got the Pigeons in the first place then you could lay a five star meal out and it wouldn't make a lot of difference and it seem to me that for a great many of members that Pigeons are in short supply 

Bang on 👍 

[semi-auto]

The birds have turned up in this area of Essex in big numbers and are hammering the rape at the back of me. The farmer has had a guy turn up to shoot them on at least two occasions and I have heard no more than one or two shots each time. The lack of feathers around the hide would suggest that he connected with only one or two, if that. The fact that he was in the wrong place (100yards or more from the flight line) and his magnet arms have been flashing like a belisha beacon, probably accounts for it. I'd get out there myself if it wasn't for the fact that my wife won't let me shoot alone since my last cardiac event three or so years ago, even if the farmer were to allow me to shoot. The talk about searching for pigeons reminds me of the time, some years ago, when my shooting buddy (since moved to the USA) and I would do up to 200 miles a weekend in the Landy looking for feeding pigeons. Some times we were lucky, often finding them on our own doorstep on the way back home. 

[dead eye alan]

Out this morning at 7 am set up by 8 first half hour 5 for 11, large flocks coming to the magnet that I did not shoot at then went quiet finished at 12.15 16 in the bag lost one, 29 shots fired my best day so far this year.

[marsh man]

3 hours ago, dead eye alan said:

Out this morning at 7 am set up by 8 first half hour 5 for 11, large flocks coming to the magnet that I did not shoot at then went quiet finished at 12.15 16 in the bag lost one, 29 shots fired my best day so far this year.

Nice one Alan , you didn't pick a bad day to make a start , we had our last shoot today , beaters day is Tuesday and talking to the keeper dinner time about Pigeon numbers and he did say that there are less Pigeons on the estate than at anytime since he started work and that was over 40 years ago , then as if by magic we saw one big bunch eating away on some ole stubble that had been direct drilled with rape , this bunch was around 150 / 200 , then we moved about a mile over to another wood that is close to a block of 150 acres , again another big bunch got out when the beaters started to advance , maybe some of these could have been ones we had just disturbed but it did look better than what we had seen over the last few months , next Saturday will be our first afternoon of roost shooting and then we will know how many are really about with most of the woods having someone in it .