adzyvilla Posted February 10 Report Share Posted February 10 Time: 14:00 till dusk Location: Mid Norfolk Conditions: Very mild, overcast and light, almost imperceptible easterly winds. I think dad has officially retired from roost shooting. I got a phone call from him this morning to say he wasn't feeling up to it and this is the second week in a row hes swerved it. Mother reckons he has had enough but doesn't want to tell me, so we will have it out tomorrow. It has been nice to share these afternoons with him, but at 76 I fully understand that it may be time to stop hanging around in damp cold woods and sit in by the fire instead. There wasn't quite the turn out this week in other woods, and Jonesy was missing as well so I was pretty much on my own at the Eastern end of the estate. Having donned my Temu ghillie suit (jokey Christmas present from my other half) I made my way to my normal haunt in the far end of the carr to find it under about a foot of water where the river had burst its banks. I managed to find a high spot for me and one for the dog and settled in for an afternoon of contrasts. The current era of roost shooting seems to be epitomised by long boring periods of inactivity punctuated by ever decreasing windows of time where a few pigeons might pass fleetingly into view. Much like last week, the birds were high, wide and lacking commitment, offering scant opportunities for a shot. The first hour saw me having a string of single shots at birds that stretched my abilities to the limit. Half a dozen empty shells for a single solitary pigeon set the scene for the rest of my afternoon. I decided a little break after all that frenzied activity was needed, so I set to work cutting up some of the smaller windfall trees to construct a makeshift bridge over the deep and forbidding ditch that splits my end of the carr in two. Back in position after my 'rest' for more of the same. The birds simply weren't around in any numbers and the lack of shots in the distance suggested the same was true for the rest of us. If I fired my trusty armsan 5 times over the next hour I'd be surprised, and my total bag didn't increase. Standing there with time to spare, I listened to the sounds of the woodland to pass the time. A green woodpecker here, a jay or two there. A party of finches working their way along the outer edge of the wood and on to the tall double hedge that divided the twin 40 acre east and west 'high' fields. I was struck by the amount of stock doves I could hear calling around me. If my small corner of Norfolk is typical, their numbers are looking healthy again. As the dusk approached and the clouds darkened with the promise of rain, I finally started to see some activity as birds came in to look for places to roost in the conifers behind me. A purple patch yielded 3 birds for 4 shots, before another lapse as the birds became wary. I shifted position to the edge of the wood, masked by a fallen ivy clad tree and I sacrificed a clear view of the sky for being 20 yards closer to the intermittent flight line that follows the path of the river. I need not have bothered as the birds had clearly dried up, preferring to hole up in one of the many empty woods around. As I made my way back to the car, a flock(?) of jackdaws chatted and chocked their way overhead on their way to roost, sounding like mocking laughter at my achievements of the afternoon, or lack thereof. Even the dog wasn't happy. Better luck next week eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted February 10 Report Share Posted February 10 thats a very good right up.not to many round hear not coming like they used to,i did get 6 and a rook, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted February 10 Report Share Posted February 10 As per normal, a very good account of your effort to decrease the Pigeon population in mid Norfolk , I am exactly the same age as your dad and I can fully understand why he is not as keen as he once was and sometimes the warmth of the fire and some sport on the box might well be a better option . I am not quite ready to spend a Saturday afternoon indoors while the weather is not to bad , I had left it to late to put a few decoys out on the fodder beet where several Pigeons have found it to there liking , time I got out on the estate it was well past two and a fairly dark afternoon , a lot got out of the surrounding trees and at that time of the day they would have had no intention in coming back so I left my motor where it was and took my dog for a longish walk to where a mate of mine was decoying on the outside of his allocated wood , time I got there it was past three and odd shots were ringing out from the various woods around the estate but very little Pigeon activity , he had only got three and after a yarn I left him to it and I made my way back to my motor to have a nice cup of coffee , after listening to Norwich on the radio the first spits of rain were hitting my windscreen and not seeing any chance of a shot or two I heading back the same way I came a good couple of hours earlier and then joining your dad by having a nice cup of tea in my arm chair and putting the gun away till this time next week . MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adzyvilla Posted February 10 Author Report Share Posted February 10 Thanks MM, I often wonder if roost shooting is becoming a dying art and the changing habits of pigeons means that it will soon become a thing of the past. None of the maize strips got flailed this week so no chance at decoying today as I'd hoped. Maybe I can persuade him out again at some point, I think he is a bit down like I am after the end of the game season and just needs a kick up the ****, mind that probably won't do his sciatica any good... 29 minutes ago, mossy835 said: thats a very good right up.not to many round hear not coming like they used to,i did get 6 and a rook, Will we see the likes of the roost shoots of old? Ever since I've been doing them its been on a downhill trajectory. I remember as a 15/16 year old getting bags of 30 or more im a couple of hours. Perhaps they are getting too crafty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted February 10 Report Share Posted February 10 11 minutes ago, adzyvilla said: Thanks MM, I often wonder if roost shooting is becoming a dying art and the changing habits of pigeons means that it will soon become a thing of the past. None of the maize strips got flailed this week so no chance at decoying today as I'd hoped. Maybe I can persuade him out again at some point, I think he is a bit down like I am after the end of the game season and just needs a kick up the ****, mind that probably won't do his sciatica any good... Will we see the likes of the roost shoots of old? Ever since I've been doing them its been on a downhill trajectory. I remember as a 15/16 year old getting bags of 30 or more im a couple of hours. Perhaps they are getting too crafty? Some people still seem to do fairly well on the four Saturday afternoons in February , last week was a very strange week with numbers varying from nothing to 25 , our estate cover nearly three miles across so you will get a fair bit of variation , this week the shots were very sparse with what Pigeons were about flying well above the range of a standard shotgun , we have got Pigeons but some of the woods are not shot in as we have got a wilding program in a 1000 acres of farmland that also have some good woods and the Pigeons soon find a place that is more friendly than some of the others . still I always say it's the taking part that count, but like you say that the roost shooting around these parts are nothing like we had in the past , why ? , I haven't a clue MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 On 10/02/2024 at 18:27, adzyvilla said: Time: 14:00 till dusk Location: Mid Norfolk Conditions: Very mild, overcast and light, almost imperceptible easterly winds. I think dad has officially retired from roost shooting. I got a phone call from him this morning to say he wasn't feeling up to it and this is the second week in a row hes swerved it. Mother reckons he has had enough but doesn't want to tell me, so we will have it out tomorrow. It has been nice to share these afternoons with him, but at 76 I fully understand that it may be time to stop hanging around in damp cold woods and sit in by the fire instead. There wasn't quite the turn out this week in other woods, and Jonesy was missing as well so I was pretty much on my own at the Eastern end of the estate. Having donned my Temu ghillie suit (jokey Christmas present from my other half) I made my way to my normal haunt in the far end of the carr to find it under about a foot of water where the river had burst its banks. I managed to find a high spot for me and one for the dog and settled in for an afternoon of contrasts. The current era of roost shooting seems to be epitomised by long boring periods of inactivity punctuated by ever decreasing windows of time where a few pigeons might pass fleetingly into view. Much like last week, the birds were high, wide and lacking commitment, offering scant opportunities for a shot. The first hour saw me having a string of single shots at birds that stretched my abilities to the limit. Half a dozen empty shells for a single solitary pigeon set the scene for the rest of my afternoon. I decided a little break after all that frenzied activity was needed, so I set to work cutting up some of the smaller windfall trees to construct a makeshift bridge over the deep and forbidding ditch that splits my end of the carr in two. Back in position after my 'rest' for more of the same. The birds simply weren't around in any numbers and the lack of shots in the distance suggested the same was true for the rest of us. If I fired my trusty armsan 5 times over the next hour I'd be surprised, and my total bag didn't increase. Standing there with time to spare, I listened to the sounds of the woodland to pass the time. A green woodpecker here, a jay or two there. A party of finches working their way along the outer edge of the wood and on to the tall double hedge that divided the twin 40 acre east and west 'high' fields. I was struck by the amount of stock doves I could hear calling around me. If my small corner of Norfolk is typical, their numbers are looking healthy again. As the dusk approached and the clouds darkened with the promise of rain, I finally started to see some activity as birds came in to look for places to roost in the conifers behind me. A purple patch yielded 3 birds for 4 shots, before another lapse as the birds became wary. I shifted position to the edge of the wood, masked by a fallen ivy clad tree and I sacrificed a clear view of the sky for being 20 yards closer to the intermittent flight line that follows the path of the river. I need not have bothered as the birds had clearly dried up, preferring to hole up in one of the many empty woods around. As I made my way back to the car, a flock(?) of jackdaws chatted and chocked their way overhead on their way to roost, sounding like mocking laughter at my achievements of the afternoon, or lack thereof. Even the dog wasn't happy. Better luck next week eh? "Conditions: Very mild, overcast and light, almost imperceptible easterly winds." You should worry!! It was p*** ing down here, I've only just dried out, hence the late reply! There are some nice conifers in the wood, just right for them to shelter under. So that's where I waited. But NO, any that did eventually come into land went to the middle of the wood on the top branches of huge beech trees, in the full deluge. They were even cooing at me! As to roost shooting getting harder, much of it is, I think, down to less shooters going out and moving them about. especially in bad weather. The 6-Nations Rugby has a lot to answer for. I say, "this is why God invented the VCR", but to no avail! Of course the birds are also getting pretty smart and don't seem to dive straight in any more, they overfly the wood 1st and only commit when a brave (or stupid) bird has landed. Then they flood in. If you shoot him, all gone again.One year I hit a high bird which became lodged on the top of a fir tree, in full view. Best night I've had, they just came in. I shot 25+. What we need is a 120-foot+ tower you can easily move in the wood and put a few lofted decoys up there at the top of the trees. (Dream on!) Of course, us Old Uns, can't swing so fast so birds we used to be able to knock down have been and gone. (excuse number 4543) Still good fun trying though! It's also noticeable how they learn, I had a really exciting evening Xmas eve, very windy, they just kept coming round and getting shot at. Hit about 12 at a ratio of about 1:4, Old Man stiff and slow syndrome! Since then, it's been all this overflying stuff, even though I laid off the wood unt3rd Feb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimo22 Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 (edited) It was poring down when I left home on Saturday, but a promise to the keeper needs to be met. When we arrived the rain stopped and it got quite warm and still. Not as many pigeons about as normal but had four and four squirrels shooting out the dreys, so count that as good couple of hours. I know the picture only shows three of each but gave up trying to get the others out of blackthorn hedge Edited February 13 by Stimo22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 (edited) 1 hour ago, Stimo22 said: It was poring down when I left home on Saturday, but a promise to the keeper needs to be met. When we arrived the rain stopped and it got quite warm and still. Not as many pigeons about as normal but had four and four squirrels shooting out the dreys, so count that as good couple of hours. I know the picture only shows three of each but gave up trying to get the others out of blackthorn hedge If I am not mistaken, one of your pigeons looks very much like a Stock Dove? Edited February 13 by old'un Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimo22 Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 5 minutes ago, old'un said: If I am not mistaken, one of your pigeons looks very much like a Stock Dove? Definitely not, all wood pigeons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 Just now, Stimo22 said: Definitely not, all wood pigeons I was looking at the one with its tail facing us and the black bars on the wing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 (edited) 1 hour ago, old'un said: I was looking at the one with its tail facing us and the black bars on the wing stock dove. Edited February 13 by JDog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adzyvilla Posted February 13 Author Report Share Posted February 13 (edited) Thanks for all the replies! Roll on Saturday, work is quite stressful at the moment. On the subject of the pigeon/stock dove, I've found the humble woodie is becoming quite diverse in its appearance and size. Perhaps the influence of outbreeding with ferals etc? Edited February 13 by adzyvilla auto correct and lack of attention Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 Adzy, your posts are excellent reads whether you shoot a bag full or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.