Cut to the chase

Tom Sykes reminisces about an early morning ambush on crows over freshly mown grass

- Tom Sykes

I lay in bed after I was awoken by my alarm in the early hours of a spring morning. The warm breeze moved the curtains revealing an inky black sky. I am normally a light sleeper when I know that I am going shooting the next day and it didn’t take me long to get up. I let the dogs out and stood on the decking with a coffee, running through the day’s plan in my head.

The strategy

The many farms on the estate had started bringing the grass in from the fields the previous day. This created a good opportunity to shoot crows as they typically decoy well on freshly mown grass, partly because of the resultant abundance of insect life. While out on reconnaissance, I stopped one farmer to ask him in which order he was clearing the fields. I like to set my ambush in a field that was cleared late in the day as I find these can be the most productive the following morning. The area he was planning on carting last was in a perfect location for an ambush, situated on the side of a small hill near a flight line, which ensured that the decoys would be seen from far and wide. My gear was packed and ready to be thrown into the truck before I headed to the estate, my headlights illuminating the field as I pulled off the road.

Bunker down