ernyha Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Had a panic call from a farmer Sunday saying that the crows were devastating a field of barley. My mate just happened to be too ill to go to work so off we went yesterday lunch time. We went straight to the field and it was just as if a tornado had hit it with large laid patches everywhere. Crows were pouring onto the patches beating more down with their wings and dropping on it to feed. On the other side of the road was a pasture field and this was black with crows resting before heading back to the barley to have another feed. The weather was scorching so i struggled to the nearest promising spot which was a small pond sticking out into the field which a lot of the crows were crossing on their way from the pasture. My mate went further down the field to a point that the majority of the birds were heading for and set a couple of crow deacs up on a laid patch.I just built a square hide at the side of the pond and faced the road and waited for any birds that crossed over the trees in front of me. End result, i shot 20+ crows plus 6 woodies and my mate got 40+ plus 5 woodies. A very hot but enjoyable afternoon and now waiting for it to ripen a bit and the call to say the woodies are landing in the laid patches. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ears Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Hi good to hear that you had a nice days shooting. I have been watching pigeons this week dropping in on some barley. The problem is there are no lays on this field bar a couple of 3 feet gaps. So they will not be able to see my deeks. I have my fingers crossed for a heavy storms and some gales to knock it flat. But if the weekend comes and it is still the same, i still might give it a go with my whirler and a couple of benders. If it does not work i will be back off to the spring rape but its growing like mad and flowerd. i have a few acres that are slightly behind and they show more promise i think. last weekend my freind and i shot 136 between us in two different places over the saturday and the sunday. And we had some nice shots to top it off, and bloody warm to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugene molloy Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 Ears, Keep you eyes on the field edges; very often rooks and jackdaws perch on a wire fence and "dive bomb" the crop. If you find chunks of flattened barley or wheat, you don't need to set deeks on the ground (although you can) just a couple on the fence will do. Regards Eug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 Had a panic call from a farmer Sunday saying that the crows were devastating a field of barley. I dont mean to be pedantic here...but are we talking Crows as In the common Carrion Crow.... or Rooks. It is very uncommon for Crows to flock up in any numbers and also any farmer who knows anything about his environment will tell you that a Common Crow is less of a agricultural pest than a Chaffinch! I would say the most Crows you will see together at this time would be 5... 2 adults and 3 Juveniles still dependent. Juvenile Rooks look very much like adult Crows.. FM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernyha Posted June 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 I dont mean to be pedantic here...but are we talking Crows as In the common Carrion Crow.... or Rooks. :blink: FM if you were being pendantic then i would estimate that 1 iin 4 were Carrion Crows and the rest were Rooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red_stag88 Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 Ha, you spelt in wrong Ern :blink: Oh, yeah. I feel good. I corrected Ern on a typo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernyha Posted June 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 Ha, you spelt in wrong Ern :blink: Red so as to make your day, i will leave my typo for the world to see and not edit it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 Oh, yeah. I feel good. I corrected Ern on a typo. Greenhouse, Glass, stones, throw...What was that well known phrase again. :blink: Even Ern is Human red! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palombier Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 Just remember the country saying:- If you see a flock of crows they are rooks and if you see a rook on its own it's a crow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red_stag88 Posted June 16, 2004 Report Share Posted June 16, 2004 Ha, you spelt in wrong Ern :blink: Red so as to make your day, i will leave my typo for the world to see and not edit it. Cheers Ern, your good sport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M ROBSON Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 There will be a few flat fields around now, its rained non stop for 2 days up here and the wind has been more like a January gale. I too have shot mixed bags of Carrion Crows and Rooks over cereal fields, I think it really just depends on the crow population in your area, they are oppertunists and will eat what they can. I live in the town of Glenrothes and it's teaming with Crows, they'll eat anything from an old McDonalds bun to a half eaten packet of crisps, the crows that I shoot only a couple of miles away don't seem so meat only orientated either. Also remember a lot of people mistake a young rook for a crow due to it's hairy beak during the early stages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTaylor2k4 Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 too ill to work but fit enough to shoot :( exactly what i'd do Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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