That'll Be The Day

Peter Theobald says local field knowledge is essential to make inroads into a troublesome pigeon population

- Peter Theobald

Last month’s article examined what it takes to be a successful decoyer, and, apart from the ability to hit pigeons with above-average accuracy, looked at the judgments we have to make to get the most out of any given day. But what I didn’t have room to include was how a good decoyer is constantly on the lookout for unusual situations, one that the average pigeon shooter might miss, but could lead to a big day.

I experienced such a day, just a few weeks ago. A local farmer had drilled a field of spring barley and it quickly became obvious that the crop would not amount to much, as weeds of every description soon smothered the few struggling barley plants. It was touch and go whether the crop was worth spending money on, or whether it would be ripped up and planted with something else.

Investigate

It was left till the autumn and as I drove past it on my regular reconnaissance trips I was thinking, “there’s no way he will be harvesting that crop”. Sure enough, on passing the field one day in September, I noticed it had been roughly diced. It was time to investigate. Despite the apparent blanket of weeds, there was the odd ear of barley; certainly, enough to attract the attention of any inquisitive woodies. The field has been very productive in the past, situated near a small town well-known for its resident population of pigeons.