Question still unanswered

[Topgunners]

Well! what can I say?

 

I only asked the question where are all the pigeons? and I seem to have opened up a VERY HOT & LIVELY debate with lots of personal opinions as to why the pigeon numbers have depleted AT THE MOMENT. The thing is I still have not had my question answered as to "WHERE ARE THEY?".

 

Has anybody got any large flocks and if so where and what are they feeding on?

 

Just to re-iterate a previous comment ;

 

Spring drilling was once a bonanza time for pigeon shooters, but developments in seed drilling technology and equipment waste very little seed, and therefore the chance to shoot is reduced.

 

Well I was travelling around Glos. the other day and watched well over 5,000 pigeons battering 3 very large fields of some form of drilling. (They were flying past my parked van 40-50 at a time) and I DON'T exaggerate.

 

I thought WHOOOPEEE! and after a couple of door knocks I asked a farmer up the road from these fields if he knew who farmed them and he came out with a torrent of abuse about the so called landowner who was a wxxxxxx an arxx ole etc. as he hadn't got a clue about farming and had left ALL of the beans on top of the soil on 400 acres.

 

i commented that wasn't it a bit late for drilling as everyone else had finished theirs and he muttered something about the idiotic jick didn't get up till after the cuckoo called and he hoped that the pigeons ate EVERY Bean he had planted.

 

He said that he had sacked one of his workers who was drilling , for carrying a shotgun in the cab and wouldn't even let his other workers have a day shooting.

 

Sounds a right **** but I will try to approach him this week and hope he doesn't bite my head off.

 

So there obviously are lots of pigeons about and this temptation was enough to bring them out of hiding.

 

Dave K

[hill billy]

im in essex near stansted airport and i have a lot of land to shoot over so i have been trying to balence out which ones i go to, but yesturday i went to one farm i havent shot on for a few weeks and there was excess of 2000 pigeons in the woods, but sorry i couldn't tell you what they have been feeding on because i can't go near the woods shooting because the phesants are coming back

[Fisherman Mike]

Well I was travelling around Glos. the other day and watched well over 5,000 pigeons battering 3 very large fields of some form of drilling. (They were flying past my parked van 40-50 at a time) and I DON'T exaggerate.

 

I thought WHOOOPEEE! and after a couple of door knocks I asked a farmer up the road from these fields if he knew who farmed them and he came out with a torrent of abuse about the so called landowner who was a wxxxxxx an arxx ole etc. as he hadn't got a clue about farming and had left ALL of the beans on top of the soil on 400 acres.

Theres some funny folks around North Glos mate.... Very funny folks :thumbs:

 

FM.

[Highlander]

Well I was travelling around Glos. the other day and watched well over 5,000 pigeons battering 3 very large fields of some form of drilling. (They were flying past my parked van 40-50 at a time) and I DON'T exaggerate.

 

I thought WHOOOPEEE! and after a couple of door knocks I asked a farmer up the road from these fields if he knew who farmed them and he came out with a torrent of abuse about the so called landowner who was a wxxxxxx an arxx ole etc. as he hadn't got a clue about farming and had left ALL of the beans on top of the soil on 400 acres.

 

i commented that wasn't it a bit late for drilling as everyone else had finished theirs and he muttered something about the idiotic jick didn't get up till after the cuckoo called and he hoped that the pigeons ate EVERY Bean he had planted.

 

He said that he had sacked one of his workers who was drilling , for carrying a shotgun in the cab and wouldn't even let his other workers have a day shooting.

 

Sounds a right **** but I will try to approach him this week and hope he doesn't bite my head off.

 

So there obviously are lots of pigeons about and this temptation was enough to bring them out of hiding.

 

Dave K

Are you sure the farmer hadn't deliberately baited the field for his own enjoyment Seems a b***** funny way to plant stuff to me.

 

Which brings me to another point about what birds are feeding on...sure seed etc nowadays is planted/drilled deeper and has been treated to make it less palatable to birds but I see some research is being done to make the growing plants retain that bird repellant during it's season. What then? Maybe one day it won't be a lack of birds that we're facing just a lack of pests to shoot with the plants looking after themselves!

[wabbitbosher]

I was under the understanding that pigeons this time of year have split from the packs for breeding ,

 

So your not going to see the flocks we were seeing at the begining of the year,

 

Quote me if i'm wrong , but i think they will be feeding on easy to digest stuff like Clover , ive also heard some say they eat worms , myself i have seen them in the rape crops dont know what they are eating in there wouldnt have thought it was the rape ,

Im out sometime over the next few days i'll let you know whats in the crops

 

WB

[pigeon master]

The pigeons are still on the rape round my way, just stopped off on my way home tonight to see small groups flighting in but the rain clouds were on the way so I didnt go back with the gun.

 

The PM

[fert]

there on the clover at the moment and after the buds round my end.

they have been for some time now.

[wabbitbosher]

there on the clover at the moment and after the buds round my end.

they have been for some time now.

Youve got buds round your end they are after???

 

You want to watch them claws n beaks !! That could soooooooo make your eyes water

 

Plus you might get arrested!

 

:thumbs: :( :( :( :(

 

WB

[G.I. countrysports U.K. GARY]

At this time of year (exactly at this time of year) we loose the birds for a couple of weeks mainly to Beech and Ash budding...

 

Woodpigeons love this valuable food source...

 

They dont eat the buds although that is how we refer to this act. They actually eat the trees flowers. Right at this time of year both Ash and Beech trees come into flower. The birds can feed exclusively on these trees for up to 3 weeks, after then the trees are past the flowering stage and they then offer no food value...

 

It happens every year, we always loose the birds for this period. However, they will leave the trees alone for better food value e.g. Drilling

 

I think that as far as what value do they get from the tree flower, it is quality grub, because they refuse all other greenstuffs. You will see the odd one here and there on other kinds of crops like peas growing through and Rape, but I do think that the tree flower is the prefered choice...

 

Take a close look at a Beech tree right now, some of them will be laden with flower, I say some of them, the ones that were heavy with beech mast last year will hardly have a flower on this year, they seem to run in a 2 year cycle...

 

Maybe someone could enlighten me further about the 2 year thing...

 

All the very best

 

Gary

[lurcherboy]

They are everywhere except the 1000 acres I am on. Can only bag them on the roost flightt. Now the trees have leaves it's a little bit easier to bushwack. You got any woods on your permish?

 

 

 

LB