best time of day at diffrent times of year

[Sweet11-87]

just watched TGS hour long video on pigeon shooting they released today, fairly enjoyable watch.

 

early on in the video when asked what is the best timeto shoot pigeons he says they feed pretty heavily at 2-3pm, ive always had better results earlier on in the day. just wondering is it the general accepted thing that 2pm-3pm is the best time? obviously as the light changes at different times of year  the time changes.

 im just intrested to hear what people think. and  if theyve noticed any patterns and behaviour from pigeons at diffrent times of year. all the books ive read theyre very vague and dont actualy say what a pigeons rough daily routine is.

 

 

link to the video if anyone cant find it

Edited August 24, 2023 by Sweet11-87

[marsh man]

The time of the year would make a big difference , in the height of the Winter I have shot a lot of Pigeons at first light and would ease off after dinner depending on the weather , where in the height of the Summer the days are very long and you would shoot some Pigeons from early morning onwards but if you only had a limited amount of time then the afternoons are normally that much more productive , some might find otherwise but I find the hotter it is the later they leave the woods as they are no doubt in the shade and sheltering from the heat , that is only my findings and others might have there own prefered times .    MM

[Wilts#Dave]

48 minutes ago, marsh man said:

The time of the year would make a big difference , in the height of the Winter I have shot a lot of Pigeons at first light and would ease off after dinner depending on the weather , where in the height of the Summer the days are very long and you would shoot some Pigeons from early morning onwards but if you only had a limited amount of time then the afternoons are normally that much more productive , some might find otherwise but I find the hotter it is the later they leave the woods as they are no doubt in the shade and sheltering from the heat , that is only my findings and others might have there own prefered times .    MM

Echoing that, I’ve always found in the height of summer nearly all my best days have seen the action hot up again come 4/4.30 and a steady afternoon can turn into a very busy last couple of hours when they’ll decoy better than they have all day! 
The last good session I had was at the end of July on some peas, where I’d shot around 50 by 4 o clock and by 6.30 finished on 165 after a frantic last couple of hours.
Would never bother setting up first thing in the summer, personally. 

[Sweet11-87]

Thanks lads, just due to the routine of life I’ve probably done more of my shooting outside of this peak window. Either I’m off work and I go early doors or I’m at work and I go after I’ve got home and sorted everything  out. Think im gona put it off until later this bankholiday and see if I get a bit more sport. Cheers 

[JDog]

Not everyone has time to recce fields before shooting. If they had they would know what time pigeons are feeding in any numbers.

I can't get out of bed to go first light, I always find chores to do in the morning, then lunch of course then leaving to have a look at 1pm.

From what I have seen in recent days setting up at 3pm would be as productive as any time.

[FOXHUNTER1]

I've never shot pigeons first thing as they never show up.

2pm onwards seems to be about right. I had a day recently where I had 93 by around 6pm so hung on to get 100 and they switched on for the last feed at 6.30 til 8.30 and I ended on 168.

[matone]

Only go out after lunch,as others say,2pm onwards takes the best of it in,usually it`s quiet by 4.30-5pm.

[Gas seal]

Hi Sweet11-87 the daily routine of pigeons in the summer months will be breeding. Feeding time will be when they change over sitting  eggs the same as other birds. When I shoot pigeons in June and July there must be many thousands of pigeons sitting on eggs somewhere unseen and not counted. When they change over sitting eggs or squabs is when you will see pigeons flighting straight to one field to feed, just like a racing pigeon flying home. This is the time you will notice a lot of pigeons have gone from the area as they go back to the nest to take over the nest.  No decoys or gadgets will deter these birds flying back and to the nest from their flight lines. This is the  time of the year a large percentage of woodpigeon won’t be seen at all , one of them will be sitting eggs. When I kept pigeons I’m sure it was the hen birds that stayed with the nests the longest and at night.  The  pigeons will be with the nest until the squabs have enough feathers, about six weeks in total before they will be left alone.
I’ve shot woodpigeon for over sixty years and I don’t think anyone has asked about the routine of woodpigeon before. It’s the right question . I’ve been asked many times where have all these pigeons come from or where have they gone.

[Sweet11-87]

On 27/08/2023 at 20:52, Gas seal said:

Hi Sweet11-87 the daily routine of pigeons in the summer months will be breeding. Feeding time will be when they change over sitting  eggs the same as other birds. When I shoot pigeons in June and July there must be many thousands of pigeons sitting on eggs somewhere unseen and not counted. When they change over sitting eggs or squabs is when you will see pigeons flighting straight to one field to feed, just like a racing pigeon flying home. This is the time you will notice a lot of pigeons have gone from the area as they go back to the nest to take over the nest.  No decoys or gadgets will deter these birds flying back and to the nest from their flight lines. This is the  time of the year a large percentage of woodpigeon won’t be seen at all , one of them will be sitting eggs. When I kept pigeons I’m sure it was the hen birds that stayed with the nests the longest and at night.  The  pigeons will be with the nest until the squabs have enough feathers, about six weeks in total before they will be left alone.
I’ve shot woodpigeon for over sixty years and I don’t think anyone has asked about the routine of woodpigeon before. It’s the right question . I’ve been asked many times where have all these pigeons come from or where have they gone.

sorry for late reply gas seal i thought this topic had died. great piece of knowlege their thanks for passing it on. its people like yourself whove kept birds and also shot them for years and the lads above whos brain id love to pick. like i said ive got countless books on the subject, and they all cover times of year,  none of them actualy go into the nitty gritty day to day life of pigeons at diffrenet times of year and its probably fairly valuble information. just from the comments in this post ive been making a concious effort to go out later when its long hot days and by no means is it definitive or fact but i feel i had better sport for sure.

wonder if i can find a book on woodpigeon thats not shooting book but just an indepth look at the bird itself. might learn a thing or 2

Edited September 13, 2023 by Sweet11-87

[Gas seal]

Hi the way to shoot pigeons is to understand them, as marsh man said in winter months the pigeons will feed early morning on rape or green crops. Films and books will show how to decoy on rape fields with shotguns, early this year I shot pigeons from trees in a small wood in a rape field with an air rifle . I shot the same wood for over six weeks and shot more pigeons with the air rifle than I could have shot with decoys on the field with a shotgun. Late morning I will go to where the pigeons are ( roosting) and shoot them (shot gun) retuning from rape fields. Again it’s routine they will spend  time sitting in trees to digest the crop full of green rape. I can email you some information on woodpigeon from my area if you are interested, it’s not about shooting.

[marsh man]

On 13/09/2023 at 14:41, Sweet11-87 said:

sorry for late reply gas seal i thought this topic had died. great piece of knowlege their thanks for passing it on. its people like yourself whove kept birds and also shot them for years and the lads above whos brain id love to pick. like i said ive got countless books on the subject, and they all cover times of year,  none of them actualy go into the nitty gritty day to day life of pigeons at diffrenet times of year and its probably fairly valuble information. just from the comments in this post ive been making a concious effort to go out later when its long hot days and by no means is it definitive or fact but i feel i had better sport for sure.

wonder if i can find a book on woodpigeon thats not shooting book but just an indepth look at the bird itself. might learn a thing or 2

If you really want to look into the life and ways of a Wood Pigeon I would reccomend the book Wood Pigeons by R K Murton , this go into great depth of how a Wood Pigeon live and breed , if I remember rightly there was a mention of poking the nests and spraying certain crops to try and drug the Pigeons , this book was wrote several years ago so a lot have changed with more rape grown and milder Winters , the book was published in 1965 and only cost a few bob then from the second hand book shops , now it would set you back a few quid but you are not likely to find another book with as much detail on the life of a Wood Pigeon .    MM

[Sweet11-87]

cheers ill have a snoop around

 

[pigeon controller]

I’ve stated my ideas in various posts over the years that is in the winter when the feeding spell is short . The first birds into roost are full and have found a good food supply. The digest overnight and are the first out in the morning , the others have learnt to follow hence the flightline system. Watching the rape fields you will find the one they favour, setting up on this first light will give you birds for a few hours in till you spook them and they find another field so pack up and tour round and watch the field they want don’t rush to set up but let them feed . They will stay with that field if not disturbed, you can then shoot later on. 
That’s what I have found works for me.

[FOXHUNTER1]

One point on the video I disagree with is that crow decoys put pigeons off.

I always put both out and shoot both together.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

1 hour ago, FOXHUNTER1 said:

One point on the video I disagree with is that crow decoys put pigeons off.

I always put both out and shoot both together.

Yes, I often use a couple of crow decoys off to one side as a "confidence" measure.

[Gas seal]

Hi Foxhunter I’ve shot pigeons and crows when decoying. I’ve seen crows rooks jackdaw and pigeon on the same field close to each other. I’ve never noticed the crows attack pigeons. What I have seen many times is woodpigeon attacking each other when feeding, just like domesticated or feral pigeons do ,mostly when they are feeding in tramlines . It could be because they are to close to each other. When a pigeon lands on a stubble field to close to another one it will get chased away. But in the winter they will feed in one tight group, maybe l can’t see them fight because their are to many of them together.