This years pigeon decoying, how are ye doing?

cookimonster

As the title says, hows the pigeon decoying going?

I'm finding it slow compared to previous years, very few pigeons around. North County Dublin and Meath seem scarce and I'm just back from a non shooting trip to Wexford coast and very little sign of birds.

Too much sun, wrong harvest or did the bird shooting ban in UK have a knock on effect here?

J.R.

I agree - very few pigeons about compared to other years.
I shoot in West Dublin, North Kildare & North Kerry.

I had a few great days on the rooks - seems to be loads about this year.

I saw loads & loads of pigeons attacking a oil seed rape field in Kildare at the end of July - landowner dioesn't allow any shooting - "nature is well able to manage itself"...that was the only decent collection of pigeons I saw this year.

The bother now is they are all cuttting together, at the same time, so in an area with lots of tillage they will just get up and leave for the next crop field after a few shots.

The pigeon man

Very few pigeons but loads of rooks and grey crows around the place.

I find the only way to get the greys is decoys and a caller. Obviously have a section 35 license for this.

Sika98k

Patchy, had some good days but it can be hard to find them some days. Might spend a morning touring permissions.

cookimonster

I absolutely agree with the above, unbelievable amount of covids around and every where is been cut together.
Maybe when the wheat is taken in there will be move activity.
I'm waiting on a field of rape to be cut soon and hopefully make up for a poor season...

You’re welcome to come into Dublin city centre and do a number on the seagulls if you’re interested

Birdnuts

Speaking to some tillage lads from back home in North Kildare this week and they are saying a lot of crops have been badly lodged due to the heavy downpours of the last 2 weeks which means the crows and pigeons have their pick of many sites to get stuck into and so are spread out more thinly than normal - might account for some folks not seeing the concentrations they get other years

cookimonster

Birdnuts wrote: »

...... 'lot of crops have been badly lodged due to the heavy downpours of the last 2 weeks.....

Thats a good point, this year on my permissions fortunately for the farmers and unfortunately for me there was very little laid crop. Last year I got great shooting over laid grain.

Birdnuts

cookimonster wrote: »

Thats a good point, this year on my permissions fortunately for the farmers and unfortunately for me there was very little laid crop. Last year I got great shooting over laid grain.

Likely to get even worse given all the weather warnings out for the coming days - lads are racing ahead with combine work over the next 24hrs to get ahead of whats coming in tomorrow night and the weekend

J.R.

cookimonster wrote: »

very few pigeons around.

Just set up your hide under the nearest pear tree

Dubliners warned to look out for 'drunken pigeons' as pear trees' fruit starts to fall

https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/dubliners-warned-look-out-drunken-16733684