Behind the scenes

Geoff Garrod says you can never do enough reconnaissance for your day, especially at this time of year when pigeon can be elusive

- Geoff Garrod

It’s been a strangely quiet year for pigeon in this area and the numbers simply aren’t around. The times of year when I’d expect to see large flocks haven’t shown the birds. I look on social media and good bags are still being shot in some areas — just not around here. There’s an article to be written on theories of where they are and perhaps I’ll address that next month after a bit of research. For now, though, it’s essential that you keep a keen eye on your permissions to make the most of any opportunities. Autumn drillings will be the best bet for now.

Sometimes the most obvious-looking locations are exactly the opposite. I’m sure we’ve all seen a field covered with blue/ grey birds feeding away happily on autumn drilling. It’s easy then to think you’ve found a great field and how could this possibly go wrong with so many birds about. You’ll soon learn that, especially at this time of year, large flocks are usually a non-starter.

As you arrive to set up on a field like this, your mere presence will usually be enough to move the whole flock off on to another field — there’s plenty of brassicas around now that the pigeons can fill up on even if it’s not their preference. If you’re lucky enough to get a hide and a pattern set up before they move, your first shot will certainly get their attention and your efforts will have been wasted.

Drastically reduced