Where have all the pigeons gone,,,,,,,,,,,

[Dumpling 23]

I have 4 farms that i shoot on a regular basis and ive noticed over the last 10 years a decline in wood pigeons in the area.

I cant remember back until the early 60s when we had those bad winters and from what ive been told back then there were pigeons everywhere,

Is there habitat changing or is it that so many people shoot these days there is not enough to go round any more?

Ive also noticed as well that there are a lot more pigeons in towns and villages making there nests now and i see more out of my living room window than i do in the field,

Would be gratefull for some feed back on this and also is it the same where you are???,

[Neal 1,874]

I think they've all moved down here!

 

I see huge flocks on the farms where I go ferreting and I regularly have a pair nesting in my garden. My dogs particularly enjoy a bit of bird watching when the branchers are out.

 

On a serious note mate, I'd say they're the commonest sight in my garden, which is semi-rural/semi-sub-urban, apart from the house sparrows.

[Roonstar 0]

I have to agree with Neal.

 

Not sure if it has anything to do with the area you are in but i have had another great winter. I have been shooting the same area for the last 15-20 years and cant say i have seen a decline in them!

 

Maybe your just a better shot tham me

[consett lad 43]

loads of them on land we shoot there must be a couple of thousond flying about at min. bloody hard to shoot at min tho lol

[danebrewer10 6]

I was going to ask the same thing, this year and the back end of last year I have hardly seen any, not much of anything come to think of it, i think the cold snap and snow we had must've put a dent in their numbers, plus farmers who I have spoken to haven't had that much crop damage either... :(

 

DB

[nathgoon 2]

you want to get your arse down to our farm mate theres thousends of the buggers

[RaiderBoy 19]

  On 06/03/2010 at 08:03, Dumpling said:

I have 4 farms that i shoot on a regular basis and ive noticed over the last 10 years a decline in wood pigeons in the area.

I cant remember back until the early 60s when we had those bad winters and from what ive been told back then there were pigeons everywhere,

Is there habitat changing or is it that so many people shoot these days there is not enough to go round any more?

Ive also noticed as well that there are a lot more pigeons in towns and villages making there nests now and i see more out of my living room window than i do in the field,

Would be gratefull for some feed back on this and also is it the same where you are???,

 

same up here in aberdare not 15 miles from you i think, but over a much shorter scale of time. this time last year i could of counted at least 10 sitting on the school roof opposite my house but right now there are none, come to think of it ive only seen about 5 pigeons in the last month and they were in some oak trees boardering a farmers field. i think the 3 weeks of snow cover that we had up here put a really big dent in the numbers.

 

Richard

[foxy21 0]

your right there mate theres not a lot flying about round here quite shocking havent seen meany flock about hopefully there just on holiday and come back soon and in numbers so we can get the barrels hot

[pest hunter 151 15]

i think there is still far to many of them but i used to see 20+ on the barn roof in summer now i only see 2 or 3, they might just be getting used to being shot in the fields and more are moving to towns

[Dumpling 23]

  On 06/03/2010 at 08:03, Dumpling said:

I have 4 farms that i shoot on a regular basis and ive noticed over the last 10 years a decline in wood pigeons in the area.

I cant remember back until the early 60s when we had those bad winters and from what ive been told back then there were pigeons everywhere,

Is there habitat changing or is it that so many people shoot these days there is not enough to go round any more?

Ive also noticed as well that there are a lot more pigeons in towns and villages making there nests now and i see more out of my living room window than i do in the field,

Would be gratefull for some feed back on this and also is it the same where you are???,

 

Update,,,,

Thanks for all your replys on the above, Ive got a new farm to go to now for pigeons the only problem is its 45 miles away from where i am,,What do you do? I love my pigeon shooting and i would not swap it for anything,,,,, Cheers,

Steve.

[Roonstar 0]

The distance does not really worry me, if a few of you are going then you can take it in turns driving. Would rather drive a hour and have a good days shooting than walk 2 mins down the road for a poor days!

[Cheshire JP 0]

  On 14/03/2010 at 11:39, Roonstar said:

The distance does not really worry me, if a few of you are going then you can take it in turns driving. Would rather drive a hour and have a good days shooting than walk 2 mins down the road for a poor days!

 

 

well got lots here in cheshire.. cant shoot enuff lol.. If you are getting less where you go shooting on ya farms maybe smothing ells is to blame .. maybe birds of pray have moved into the area, or the food they are feeding on is no longer able to support the larger numbers of woodies. maybe farmers have changed crops they are growing or changed to keeping cows, who knows..

 

but would be an idea to ask any local twichers if they have seen more birds of pray than normal or see if they way the land you shot at or the land around it is being managed.

all could affect how many woodies u see,

Edited March 16, 2010 by Cheshire JP

[stevethefish 80]

They are still around mate but pigeons travel huge distances sometimes. I have had it when thousands are hammering the crops week in and week out and then the just dissappear without a trace. You dont really want these huge flocks anyway they spook to easily and you finish up waiting ages for them to return after your first shot.

In a couple of weeks you should see them start to return ready for mating, they will be in smaller flocks and will be more willing to drop in for a chat. At the moment there are thousands around here and have been all winter, they have been a tw@t to shoot on the rape and maize, I cant wait for some drillings at least they will come in with intent and be easy to decoy.

[allenyeates 3]

Winchester!!!! Just seen thousands of them on my way down to Southampton.