Any port in a storm

Wintry weather sends pigeons and corvids to seek shelter in farm buildings; unfortunately for them, Mat Manning has the same idea

Quiet, accurate and comparatively low-powered, the air rifle is as close as you can get to the perfect tool for controlling small pests around the confines of a farmyard. Many of us served our airgunning apprenticeships by sniping rats, feral pigeons and corvids that were making a nuisance of themselves around barns and other farm buildings.

Although I now have the privilege of being able to target rabbits and pigeons on open fields and in mature woodland, I still do a lot of farmyard pest control and I still enjoy it. There is much satisfaction to be gleaned from helping farming friends when pests are causing problems around the yard. There are also times when it’s simply nice to have somewhere sheltered to shoot.

A farm close to where I live is plagued by crows and jackdaws that nest in the sprawling woods which flank the yard. The barns also hold a resident population of feral pigeons. As is often the case, the corvids can be a real nuisance when they home in on vulnerable young livestock and, combined with the feral pigeons, the shower of droppings they leave around stored grain, animal feed, water troughs and machinery poses a significant disease risk.

These unwanted avian visitors cause the farmer headaches through the year, but the problem tends to peak around early spring. By this time of year, the lack of natural food makes the corvids particularly ravenous and feral pigeon numbers can quickly spike if left unchecked.

Hunger