Few hrs this afternoon

[yickdaz]

Went out with no specific field in mind but knew where they have been in recent weeks  so found some pretty quick on barley stubble  set up in  a likely spot soon became apparent it was the wrong  place to be so packed up and moved 200 yards down the field That was the right spot  kicking myself we didn't set up there an hour earlier it was 3pm by the time we got set up for the 2nd time  they came in steady shot 70 in 3 hrs  picked 62 

 

[mossy835]

another good bag of pigeons well done,

[gilbert]

Great short session,  hardwork  moving but worth it 👌 

[pigeon controller]

Well done , worth the move.

[clangerman]

good show there older I get less I like the dreaded move  

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Well done and well done on making the move, often far too easy to stay in the WRONG place.  

[yickdaz]

1 hour ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Well done and well done on making the move, often far too easy to stay in the WRONG place.  

You Don't mind moving on stubbles you can drive to the next spot and unload the car  right where you want to shoot from its a slog if you have to walk with the gear 

[marsh man]

46 minutes ago, yickdaz said:

You Don't mind moving on stubbles you can drive to the next spot and unload the car  right where you want to shoot from its a slog if you have to walk with the gear 

I fully agree that it is dead easy to move about on stubble fields if you find you are slightly off the main flight lines , unlike the dreary days of Winter when you try avoiding moving at all costs , we have very few , if any flight lines as we are surrounded by woods that hold Pigeons and I find this time of the year the Pigeons seem to follow the combine from one field to the next , so one day they are there and a day or two later they have moved on , one thing I notice is the Pigeons seem happier on fields that have got bails on than the clear stubble fields , might just be me , but have you or anyone else think this is the case .       MM

[kitchrat]

1 hour ago, marsh man said:

I fully agree that it is dead easy to move about on stubble fields if you find you are slightly off the main flight lines , unlike the dreary days of Winter when you try avoiding moving at all costs , we have very few , if any flight lines as we are surrounded by woods that hold Pigeons and I find this time of the year the Pigeons seem to follow the combine from one field to the next , so one day they are there and a day or two later they have moved on , one thing I notice is the Pigeons seem happier on fields that have got bails on than the clear stubble fields , might just be me , but have you or anyone else think this is the case .       MM

Is this because the fields without bales have been cut by combines with chaff-cutters, which in my opinion, covers most of the available grain with chopped straw? All my decent bags of late have been on fields that have been baled or, in the case of rape, in areas where the crop has been so poor as to fail to produce enough chopped straw to cover anything. In addition, I think we often see that rough-cultivated fields can increase pigeon interest, is this because the "roughing up" of the surface uncovers previously hidden grain?? Bales, of course, can provide cover mid-field, which is nice but round here they are "here today - gone tomorrow". My "super bag" was on barley stubble once the bales had gone.

Cheers, KR

[Wilts#Dave]

13 minutes ago, kitchrat said:

Is this because the fields without bales have been cut by combines with chaff-cutters, which in my opinion, covers most of the available grain with chopped straw? All my decent bags of late have been on fields that have been baled or, in the case of rape, in areas where the crop has been so poor as to fail to produce enough chopped straw to cover anything. In addition, I think we often see that rough-cultivated fields can increase pigeon interest, is this because the "roughing up" of the surface uncovers previously hidden grain?? Bales, of course, can provide cover mid-field, which is nice but round here they are "here today - gone tomorrow". My "super bag" was on barley stubble once the bales had gone.

Cheers, KR

I think MM is referring to fields that still have the bales on rather than those cleared (not chopped straw). 
There’s no hard and fast rules though, often depends on what food’s available in the area and fields they just prefer. 

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, Wilts#Dave said:

I think MM is referring to fields that still have the bales on rather than those cleared (not chopped straw). 
There’s no hard and fast rules though, often depends on what food’s available in the area and fields they just prefer. 

Yes that is what I was referring to , we have very little chopped up straw as most of the straw behind the combine is giving away or contracted out , it not unusual to see the bailer come on the field before the combine have finished cutting , this often happen if the forecast is for rain as this save turning the straw over to dry it out before bailing up .

Not sure if they prefer baled up fields as they can sit on the bails and weigh things up , this is the same if telegraph wires run across , again this might happen one day and the following day they are back on the bare stubble where the bales have been carted off , some fields will always be more of a attraction than others even though they have all got the exactly same crop in , another one of facts where no one know all the reasons why this should be .   MM 

[Wilts#Dave]

7 hours ago, marsh man said:

Yes that is what I was referring to , we have very little chopped up straw as most of the straw behind the combine is giving away or contracted out , it not unusual to see the bailer come on the field before the combine have finished cutting , this often happen if the forecast is for rain as this save turning the straw over to dry it out before bailing up .

Not sure if they prefer baled up fields as they can sit on the bails and weigh things up , this is the same if telegraph wires run across , again this might happen one day and the following day they are back on the bare stubble where the bales have been carted off , some fields will always be more of a attraction than others even though they have all got the exactly same crop in , another one of facts where no one know all the reasons why this should be .   MM 

I don’t think we’ll ever know all the answers, but through experience learn what ‘works’ and where. 
I’m lucky to have shot the ground I have access to for well over twenty years (all gained by my Dad, not me I add) so have worked out over the years where the pigeons favour when the right crop is planted.
It’s quite amazing how they’ll avoid fields planted with the same crop but favour one not far away. I’ve also got fields I get excited about when certain crops are planted as I just know what they are likely to produce and the likely spots to decoy them from. 
This year has been one of those, where some of my favourite fields have had crops planted conducive to shooting pigeons and has given me a lot more shooting than I would otherwise get over the same ground. 
Likewise as you’ll know, some farms in an area will be much more productive than others which can at times be hard to fathom. 
 

[yickdaz]

12 hours ago, Wilts#Dave said:

I don’t think we’ll ever know all the answers, but through experience learn what ‘works’ and where. 
I’m lucky to have shot the ground I have access to for well over twenty years (all gained by my Dad, not me I add) so have worked out over the years where the pigeons favour when the right crop is planted.
It’s quite amazing how they’ll avoid fields planted with the same crop but favour one not far away. I’ve also got fields I get excited about when certain crops are planted as I just know what they are likely to produce and the likely spots to decoy them from. 
This year has been one of those, where some of my favourite fields have had crops planted conducive to shooting pigeons and has given me a lot more shooting than I would otherwise get over the same ground. 
Likewise as you’ll know, some farms in an area will be much more productive than others which can at times be hard to fathom. 
 

I'm the sane as you, you get to know where and where the birds will be or might be that's not always a given  at certain times of year, I've shot the same farms for over 30 years you get know the flightlines, there's a few farms I know will be better than others so you concentrate your efforts looking at those instead of driving around, only when those banker farms don't have birds on then you have to do the rounds to find them, like you say they just get set on a field   no rhyme or reason they want that field and thats it