adzyvilla Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 ...or lack thereof. My spies reported decent numbers in various parts of the county, with flocks of 300 or more hammering my friends OSR down near the Suffolk border. Arriving at my usual flighting/roost Wood for the first time since last March, I was greeted by the fields either side in the process of being drilled, with what I assume to be either very early barley or rye (that mystery will have to wait until the farm manager returns from skiing - how the other half live!). Anyway, there was a lot of activity with 400 hp tractors thundering up and down with massive drills, telehandlers beeping as they reversed about and pick up trucks coming to and fro. I left that all behind as I drove up the very sorry looking maize strip (soon to be flailed) and parked up in the wood. I couldn't hear the usual steady rate of shots coming from the neighbouring belts and woods, and there weren't visible numbers of pigeons flying around, in short it wasn't looking promising. As I walked to my usual spot, the dog put up four or five pheasants, making a mockery of the last few shoot days which fell well short of the 150 bird bag, and they clattered away noisily across the river into the safety of the marshy ground the other side. It was mild and there was barely a breath of wind stirring the tree tops as i loaded my semi and turned my eyes to the sky. Surprisingly I was into the pigeons almost straight away, my opening two shots yielding two birds downed and retrieved. Then the great lull set in. There were a few bangs in the distance around me, but nothing like what I would expect, and very little came close by me and if I said i had half a dozen shots over the next hour I'd be lying. The tractors continued their relentless noisy work in the field next door, and only the jackdaws seemed to be appreciating it. I enjoyed the solitude for what it was and waited for my chance It picked up a bit as the sun started to dip below the horizon, and a few more shots yielded another two birds but it was starting to get dark quickly so I decided to call it a day and make my way back to the car. On my way back i paused to consider my now mature dog in the gloomy half light. Looking more like a greyhound than a labrador after a long hard season in the beating line, a season that started way back in the middle of September, she was looking lean and still as keen as mustard, her tail wagging and a spring in her step. A feeling of melancholy crept up on me as I wondered how many more days we might have together out in the shooting field with the world the way it is, and it made for a long quiet drive home. Hopefully the colder weather will yield some better conditions next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Excellent account of your afternoon , we had our first afternoon today and with out a shadow of doubt it was easily one of the quietest first days I have had , admittingly we were on the wrong side of the estate as what Pigeons we have got are in the area of the blocks of o s r , but even so , once the shooting start it is normally fairly constant for the rest of the afternoon , today it just didn't happen and after two shots for one Pigeon I packed up at four and went to see how my mate got in and he had a little more shooting but only had one as well . While yarning we did hear the odd shot and it was only the odd shot and I very much doubt there was many , if any double figure bags made . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adzyvilla Posted February 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Glad I wasn't the only one marsh man. Heres hoping for a better day next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 i went on 3 farms today in the woods, one wood 10 flew out and did not come back,the other 2 woods there was nothing. not a good start to roost shooing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 17 minutes ago, adzyvilla said: Glad I wasn't the only one marsh man. Heres hoping for a better day next week. Well it can't really get much worse , or can it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 1 hour ago, marsh man said: Excellent account of your afternoon , we had our first afternoon today and with out a shadow of doubt it was easily one of the quietest first days I have had , admittingly we were on the wrong side of the estate as what Pigeons we have got are in the area of the blocks of o s r , but even so , once the shooting start it is normally fairly constant for the rest of the afternoon , today it just didn't happen and after two shots for one Pigeon I packed up at four and went to see how my mate got in and he had a little more shooting but only had one as well . While yarning we did hear the odd shot and it was only the odd shot and I very much doubt there was many , if any double figure bags made . They are all in France and Belgium, well that's what I was told by an ornithologist, but don't worry he reckons they will start returning the end of this month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 2 minutes ago, old'un said: They are all in France and Belgium, well that's what I was told by an ornithologist, but don't worry he reckons they will start returning the end of this month. Well that will be something to look forward to , thing is , we only have four weeks , mind you I have just had a thought with us on different timing from the French they might come back a bit earlier , joking aside , this might be one of those rare occasions where it get better over the four weeks rather than go downhill after the first week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 marsh man,can you only shoot the woods in feb, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 8 minutes ago, mossy835 said: marsh man,can you only shoot the woods in feb, We find after four weeks it tail off and a lot of woods are left empty so four weeks is enough , it's no problem setting up on the sides of any wood if it involve crop protection but after the four Saturdays in February the roost shooting come to a close and the woods are then left alone . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuffy Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Very quiet here . No wind though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 Enjoyed that write up. Cheers for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted February 4, 2023 Report Share Posted February 4, 2023 2 hours ago, cuffy said: Very quiet here . No wind though Not sure if any amount of wind would had made a great deal of difference today , we just didn't see many , we will now see what next week brings , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockybasher Posted February 5, 2023 Report Share Posted February 5, 2023 Anyone know if avian flu is impacting on the pigeon numbers maybe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charliedog Posted February 5, 2023 Report Share Posted February 5, 2023 5 between 3 of us yesterday, not commiting in to roost just opportunist shots flying by at the edge of sensible range, the anticipation was better than the result Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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