Flight Lines and Flocking

[Bend]

As a new comer, I am finding it difficult to spot flight lines (!), kind of important me thinks. I have been out a few times and I find that the pigeons are generally kind of everywhere, but flying with greater concentrations in some 'avenues' or 'paths' - these are normally consistent with a line of hedging, a small wood to a couple of 'sitty' trees, but it definitely feels a bit random. At present I only shoot over 3 unconnected fields, all quite close together (walking dist) and amount to about 80 acres. Could it be that there are no flight lines there? Also, they don't seem to flock; they mingle around in grouples of 3-7; is this normal? I shoot near Basingstoke.

 

Am out there tomorrow, so any help from the Pros would be welcome.

[MerseaDavid]

In some places pigeons wont use flightlines, they will just fly around looking for food. But you may find that there is abit of a flightline on your land, there might be a lone tree that they fly past or following a hedgeline or something like that.

 

 

But I have had days when there are birds everywhere and not using a flightline, you just have to stick with it mate

 

It is also down to what crops you have and where the roost woods are in your area. If you have not got any crops that the birds are interested in and the wood is not near your land then the birds may not get near your fields.

 

 

When it comes to the birds flocking up it is abit too early at the moment because there is plenty of food for them to eat at the moment so they do not need to flock up and the weather is still not too cold for them yet either.

 

They normally start to flock up around november or later.

 

Good luck for tomorrow mate

Edited September 18, 2009 by MerseaDavid

[Mec 9000]

I liken pigeon flight lines to our road system, we have motorways and roads leading to motorways and various junctions where we enter and leave, so too with pigeons. Birds roosting in different woods will use their routes to join a main line into a feed, main difference being that their flightlines change with the wind and weather and to try and decoy pigeons off their flightlines can be hard work at times. In over 30 yrs shooting these birds I rarely get the idea that the flight is random but then I tend to shoot when the feed is on. There is the odd time I will shoot a flightline but only when I am sure of the line and volume of birds using it.

My advice is always to watch the birds coming and going and you will be amazed at what you will learn from them. Getting a good days shooting is the reward for all the watching and planning although we can get lucky and bag a few by setting up almost anywhere. You are letting yourself in for a lot of fun.

Good luck.

Gerry