Pheasant question.

MarkD.

Was out shooting today with a mate, got a nice few duck. Then we said we'd head inland, seen two pheasants in one field but they broke the wrong way.
Then in another field while going to another location we counted 5 cocks two hens and about 6 or 7 lil chicks. Mate wanted to shoot but I convinced him not to because im not into abusing someone elses land i.e land we dont have permission on (yet)

Question is, is this normal? Seems a bit out of season to have a load of young chicks about? Was a nice setting, small field but good plantation of trees to the left and rear of the field from the gate end.

pheasant tail

MarkD. wrote: »

Was out shooting today with a mate, got a nice few duck. Then we said we'd head inland, seen two pheasants in one field but they broke the wrong way.
Then in another field while going to another location we counted 5 cocks two hens and about 6 or 7 lil chicks. Mate wanted to shoot but I convinced him not to because im not into abusing someone elses land i.e land we dont have permission on (yet)

Question is, is this normal? Seems a bit out of season to have a load of young chicks about? Was a nice setting, small field but good plantation of trees to the left and rear of the field from the gate end.

I never heard of chicks at this time of year to be honest,,someone else may answer that question. Em what part of country ya shooting?? All duck shooting and water fowl is all finished until the weather changes up where i am anyway!

Dunno how any chicks would survive this weather.!

daithi55

is the weather not bad enough without going out and shooting whats just about surviving mst be nothing only skin bone and feathers on the ducks

MarkD.

We here in North Cork had no snowfall over the last number of weeks. And for your info the duck we got were fit and well healthy. Duck were out in there numbers, it was frosty this morning but lakes, ponds and rivers were'nt frozen over. Any fields that were frosty thawed out very quick as there was nice shine and heat of the sun

Just cos the rest of the country has snow and bad ice (Which we escaped) why should we not go out and have some sport?

deerhunter1

daithi55 wrote: »

is the weather not bad enough without going out and shooting whats just about surviving mst be nothing only skin bone and feathers on the ducks

depends on where you are living, don't critisise someone until you know the facts.:(

MarkD.

deerhunter1 wrote: »

depends on where you are living, don't critisise someone until you know the facts.:(

Thank you

Eddie B

MarkD. wrote: »

Question is, is this normal? Seems a bit out of season to have a load of young chicks about? Was a nice setting, small field but good plantation of trees to the left and rear of the field from the gate end.

Bunch of partridge someone released me thinks!!!;)

coolhandspan

Hold on guy there is a general stop.

As all game hunters will be only too well aware, severe cold weather conditions have a serious affect on wild birds and their ability to find food which can have, in worst case scenarios, disastrous consequences for their survival. With this in mind during the current cold weather spell and taking into account the fact that the current arctic conditions are forecast to continue until Sunday 5th December at least and probably into the following week, NARGC is urging all club members with immediate effect to refrain from hunting all birds during this period. The Association is also urging club members to redouble their efforts in providing feed for the birds at the same time. If the current cold weather continues into next week, the criteria will have been met for a statutory ban on hunting. However, NARGC believes game hunters should act immediately.
We appeal to all Delegates, RGC and Club Officers to ensure that this notice is brought to the attention of all club members immediately.

daithi55

have a gander here lads should of mentioned it in my first post

http://www.nargc.ie/site.aspx

jap gt

lads my gun club is not far from marks, bad frost and ice around here little snow hasnt been above -1 most days, we have stopped shooting as have most of his club, the birds are nearly walking up to us in the fields hard for all birds to find food in this weather, feeders are getting an awful battering, i see no sport in hunting this weather, just stepping up the vermin, but until its an offical ban to each their own

deerhunter1

jap gt wrote: »

lads my gun club is not far from marks, we have stopped shooting as have most of his club, the birds are nearly walking up to us in the fields, feeders are getting an awful battering, i see no sport in hunting this weather, just stepping up the vermin, but until its an offical ban to each their own

great opportunity to control vermin, we should make the best of it, they wont obey a ban, regardless the weather:)

deerhunter1

Eddie B wrote: »

Bunch of partridge someone released me thinks!!!;)

me thinks the same

jap gt

deerhunter1 wrote: »

great opportunity to control vermin, we should make the best of it, they wont obey a ban, regardless the weather:)

thats true, we have 7 foxes shot since last friday, all around 6 in the evening with the excepption of one, magpies and grey crows are on for tomorrow, we always spend time at vermin but its easier now with the cold spell

johngalway

jap gt wrote: »

all around 6 in the evening

They'll all be out early to make the most of what they can hunt and keep warm. Haven't the time to be out in the day really but I'd say there's a fair few out then too.

jap gt

johngalway wrote: »

They'll all be out early to make the most of what they can hunt and keep warm. Haven't the time to be out in the day really but I'd say there's a fair few out then too.

yea saw at least 6 or 7 more but im limited in range with the 22 wmr for now;):D

MarkD.

Fair enough I see all your points of view about the ban, but today is the 5th of December and we were not on club land we were on permission land of our own accord. Also if every club or person seized shooting at -1 then we might aswel all sell up our game guns and take up knitting.
Also Im suprised some people are'nt jawing about shooting crows and magpies which we were also doing today as they might fear for their welfare too "Oh their hungry too and struggling"

Eddie B was the only fella to answer my question about what type of chicks they could have been. Thanks Eddie.

Now I wish I said nowt about landing a few duck cos most dont seem to appreciate a good days sport by someone who analysed the weather and the birds activity and decided to have sport with a few duck.

jap gt

MarkD. wrote: »

Fair enough I see all your points of view about the ban, but today is the 5th of December and we were not on club land we were on permission land of our own accord. Also if every club or person seized shooting at -1 then we might aswel all sell up our game guns and take up knitting.
Also Im suprised some people are'nt jawing about shooting crows and magpies which we were also doing today as they might fear for their welfare too "Oh their hungry too and struggling"

Eddie B was the only fella to answer my question about what type of chicks they could have been. Thanks Eddie.

Now I wish I said nowt about landing a few duck cos most dont seem to appreciate a good days sport by someone who analysed the weather and the birds activity and decided to have sport with a few duck.

no one was having a go mark, -1 was the highest its been, you said on another thread that the birds around you looked hungry, its not a forced ban like was said but usually if a club asks members to stop shooting for a few days they do, what you find sporting others may not but thats just a difference of opinions, like i said to each their own

doubt anyone here will be complaining about shooting vermin mags etc

MarkD.

jap gt wrote: »

no one was having a go mark, -1 was the highest its been, you said on another thread that the birds around you looked hungry, its not a forced ban like was said but usually if a club asks members to stop shooting for a few days they do, what you find sporting others may not but thats just a difference of opinions, like i said to each their own

doubt anyone here will be complaining about shooting vermin mags etc

Fair enough I did say that pheasants did look hungry during the week, as there was a light covering of snow on the ground, was freezing all day and there was no sunshine during the week. It was dull and overcast. Here is that post you are on about;

MarkD. wrote: »

Whats the best thing to feed pheasants in the chilly weather? I know where theres a good few that are like headless chickens walking around looking for food

But as I also said we analysed the situation today, there was a good thaw and we read that at one stage it was between 6 and 7 degrees and no wind chill. Thats why we said we'd go for duck, and we said we'd leave the pheasants till another day. But I agree with what you said each to their own, we just stated ours on the facts we had.

IceMaiden

I mostly agree with the other posts in relation to a voluntary shooting ban of game is at this time recommended . To look at pheasants mostly reared/released birds are not a real problem in that they are feeder educated/wise so will hopefully remain close to there feeders or feed rides ,wild pheasants are mostly wise enough to capitalise on this & will also benefit from any game feeding stations.

One of the problems is that to pursue pheasants means walking over grounds of various terrain in hope of a shot, at this time that is disturbing other wild game & wild bird population, basically its impossible to hunt pheasants/partridges without also disturbing other species .

Feeding is hard at this time & roosting is of equal importance to birdlife. Because most of the harsh weather is from the north/easterly direction many birds have moved south west /west looking for regions that are not as badly effected ,this obviously means many species are in higher numbers in the milder areas but all will be disturbed via various countryside activities.
Ducks are similar obviously coastal & estuaries or rivers have remained flowing giving better feeding to the birds ,many wild or released duck will soon shift to easier feeding from harsh conditions & will leave flight ponds if heavily pursued or not fed enough ,like pheasants many birds will not return to original points of release if the new environment provides a safer & healthier place to survive at this time.

Early season snipe or woodcock rarely have much meat on them, but as a normal season progresses there condition becomes noticeably better, much ground is frozen for most hours of the day & its making feeding difficult for them, add to this the woodcock are largely foreign birds that have arrived via the usual migration roots ,experts say it takes them about 10 days to recover from that in normal conditions ,in harsh weather ever more will constantly shift looking for soft enough grounds to feed ,
They require approximately one third body weight in worms etc each night to maintain condition & enough peace by day to roost & regenerate for the next day .

If anyone this season either shoots woodcock or finds any dead birds then please consider helping the woodcock project by returning info to The National Woodcock Association of Ireland
it only costs your time .

As for the young birds its unlikely they are a wild ,but having said that a British newspaper did in fact feature a mallard with chicks just days before the winter arrived .So anything’s possible at times I guess

The National Woodcock Association of IrelandWe wish to request all members to cease hunting and the persuit of all migratory game birds and in particular woodcock until this severe cold weather changes.
If all members could ask their friends and other hunters to refrain from hunting also, this would show great respect to these birds which are under severe pressure at this time.

http://www.woodcockireland.com/updates.htm

Just over the water the organisations are not just asking fieldsports for restraint but also others who could be doing more to help .
.Severe weather prompts call for voluntary restraint in shooting waterfowl in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Voluntary restraint is also requested by those carrying out bird watching and bird ringing, dog walking, horse riding and water-sports. Nature reserve managers are also asked to consider altering access routes in vulnerable areas.
http://www.scottishgamekeepers.co.uk/content/severe-weather-prompts-call-voluntary-restraint-shooting-waterfowl-scotland-and-northern-ire



Birds at risk as freezing weather continues to bite
Last modified: 02 December 2010
Following the prolonged icy blast bringing Arctic weather to Britain and Northern Ireland, the RSPB is calling on birdwatchers, walkers, anglers and water sports enthusiasts across the UK to minimise disturbance Full information on RSPB site.

MarkD.

Im not going to argue my point anymore about the voluntry ban becasue its going off topic, people are judging without knowing the facts and there is another thread for the cold weather debate.

Back to the orig question; is there any chance the small birds or chicks as I referred to could be young, small hen pheasants? Not doubting EddieB or Deerhunter when they said partridge Im just wondering could they be young hens.

jap gt

MarkD. wrote: »

Im not going to argue my point anymore about the voluntry ban becasue its going off topic, people are judging without knowing the facts and there is another thread for the cold weather debate.

Back to the orig question; is there any chance the small birds or chicks as I referred to could be young, small hen pheasants? Not doubting EddieB or Deerhunter when they said partridge Im just wondering could they be young hens.

its very unlikely that they would be chicks, it was most likely what eddie said

No6

Theres a good few live woodcock, snipe and phesants in the fields around me, I've raised a few when on fox patrol with my rifle, unfortunately I hvn't seen any daytime foxes near me, I've only seen them when out in the car with no gun last week!!! Typical!!

coolhandspan

“Of course, this is also the season when many hunters will be out and about, legally shooting game and wildfowl. During hard weather, we would ask hunters to please show restraint as birds can become much easier to kill and, of course, can also be disturbed by hunting activity around their feeding and roosting areas. Credit should be given to the National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC) which has been urging its members to refrain from hunting voluntarily during this cold spell in the interests of protecting vulnerable species from unnecessary disturbance.”

In relation to question, partridge probobly greys as redlegs are easier to identify