WW3 on wood pigeons

tagwex · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 11:36 pm Post subject: WW3 on wood pigeons

I have put up with them and now they have to go. There were 7 of those feathered rats and 2 pheasants in our plot all year long and strangely enough not one rabbit has been spotted, and of course there was a few rats (caught 9 in a trap so far).

We added on 9 more drills, nearly 40m long, to the initial veg patch for 'winter crops', i.e. carrots, onion, swede, turnip, broccoli, cabbage and sprouts. Anyway they all went in too late and didn't amount to much sizewise but the damage the birds did to the leaves on the last 5 has to be seen to be believed. It is only in the last week that I have seen how much damage they have done as I had given up on that plot amounting to anything and what with the weather I just left it alone. Anyway with the few dry days I have ventured down to make a start for this year and decided to dig up everything before I spray the whole field before ploughing. Decimated is the word. We have been making veg soup, a cauldron a day, and freezing it for the last few days. The peeling is a nightmare.

I digress, any tips for keeping the feathered rats out apart from shooting them. Netting is not an option as the area is too big, I have 2 drills netted for the cabbages to keep the butterfly out. I have heard of old CD's fluttering in the wind and fishing line strung over the drills and I am going to try and train my mutt that it is fun to chase the pigeons away - do you think he looks menacing enough?

tippben · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 5:18 am Post subject:

Shooting may be the most sensible option. Bird scarers (cds, fake hawks, scarecrows) are of limited use, and you have to keep moving them. Another method that works is an old poachers trick. Set wheat out for a week or so in the same place. The pigeons come and eat it. Then put out wheat that has been soaked in whiskey overnight. The pigeons come and eat it, then get so pissed they can't fly. I have tried this. nearly twenty pigeons lying on the ground. One managed to get airborne but flew straight into a tree.

tagwex · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 9:28 am Post subject:

That's a new one on me. Do I leave them out drunk and wait for Reynard or the local cats to come and finish them off? Either that or load them up in the van and bring them for a long drive and hope that they don't have a homing instinct. Or maybe bring them to Cork as my potatoes professed in an earlier thread as to how tasty they are.

Geranimojess · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 1:11 pm Post subject:

Has the Whiskey to be "Neat" or can it be "Diluted" by Humans before pouring it on the Wheat...seems an awful waste... Laughing

tippben · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 1:24 pm Post subject:

not a waste if you like eating pigeons premarinaded!. And I'm not talking single malt. Any crappy cheap spirit will work.

My Potatoes · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 5:48 pm Post subject:

Though I've cooked and eaten pigeon myself I've never actually prepared it. Apparently it's quite easy; the bird doesn't even need plucking. Only the two breasts are worthwhile and it's possible to carve these out with the minimum of fuss.

kindredspirit · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 6:32 pm Post subject:

I have a Hawk Kite, which works very successfully.

I move it every second day into water pipes specially mounted on the walls.

Keeps those pests of blackbirds out of the garden but doesn't deter our wren.

tagwex · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 12:34 pm Post subject:

I like the idea of a hawk kite, it has possibilities.
Tried that useless mutt out this morning to chase the pigeons away, not interested at all, early days yet.
The thoughts of eating a pigeon does not appeal at all. I have plucked a few shot pheasants in the past, didn't like it but the taste was good. The first time I completely plucked the birds and soon learned that the breasts are the only parts worth chasing, for what additional meat was gained for plucking the whole bird was just not worth it.

tagwex · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 12:46 pm Post subject:

Update on WW3.
I went to a garden center in town yesterday and found this, I thought to myself this could work with the minimum of fuss. No shooting, just move them on. no wasted whiskey, no moving a kite around. So I brought it home and filled it with sand and temporarily put it on the compost bin until I sort out a stake in the middle of the plot and fix it to it. This morning I waken and look out the window to see a dozen of the smaller birds hopping around feeding away as usual, finches, robins, blackbirds and tits within yards of hawkeye and down the field two bloody pigeons rooting away in the drills. Wheres the gun?

kindredspirit · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:01 pm Post subject:

Plastic hawks and owls are no good because they don't move. You need a hawk kite from birdcontrol Ireland.

Then, see those pigeons shift! Smile

tagwex · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 6:47 pm Post subject:

I was outside most of the day and kept an eye on those pesky pigeons and apart from the two this morning in the drills they have stayed up in the trees all day. Not one pigeon on the ground did I see since morning. As for the small birds they just don't care, right up beside hawkeye and not giving a dam.

tagwex · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 10:28 pm Post subject:

Another update *2.
Had a brainwave over the weekend to make hawkeye even more menancing. I downloaded an app to the phone of bird calls, found the call of a buzzard and cranked up the volume. Well it worked and boy did they scatter. Trouble is I cannot be doing that all the time and the phone isn' t near loud enough to cover my half acre.
Went to move hawkeye this evening to a new location and found bird poop dripping down along him, the little b******* are using him for a roost. What a waste of €12.

Good guy · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 10:43 pm Post subject:

I had a sparrow hawk circling over the garden today. Boy, did things get quiet for a while!
What about installing a garden hi-fi? Then you could enjoy Mozart or Daniel while you weed and you could switch to your Raptor Channel when you want to scare the bejaysus out of the feathered rats.

tagwex · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 11:56 pm Post subject:

I really hope that you didn't mean your neighbour Daniel. Ughhhhh!

tagwex · Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 9:08 pm Post subject:

Finally found a supplier in this country for a hawk kite. Tried the web and found many abroad but the shipping costs were exorbitant. Anyone looking for one they can be found at http://www.connachtagri.ie. They are in Claremorris I think. Not cheap though. The price rises with the height of the fibreglass pole. Starts at €150.