Adventure on the school run

Pigeon will feed wherever they like — which is all part of the challenge, says Tom Payne

- Tom Payne

As we push further into the autumn months, with gloriously fresh mornings and the sun low in the sky, the pigeon shooting becomes rather sporadic to say the least — especially in a year when the wild harvest has been so bountiful.

It’s a little boom or bust at the moment. You put in plenty of miles on reconnaissance for not very much. Patience is, as always, the key as well as an understanding that the pigeon will be enjoying the woodland fruits unless there is something to entice them on to the farmers’ fields.

But surprisingly, even when the wild harvest is high, you can get those couple of days where birds suddenly switch back on to an old stubble or autumn drilling. It’s just a case of knowing when they’ll switch, which is frankly pretty difficult.

If I’m driving about, I am always very aware of where I’m seeing birds and on what. Recently, the weather has taken a turn for the worse. With three days of nonstop rain and intermittent downpours after that, it’s fair to say the ground was wet.

Due to the weather, one recent Sunday a friend of mine invited me to watch them shoot clays in Wiltshire. You know things aren’t going to plan when not only are you going to a clay ground but you’re also only going to watch. The sun did come out on that day and after about nine cups of tea we were on our way back, searching for a pub for Sunday lunch that at least had some normality about it in these strange times.

Inquisitive