Pigeons

.Wilier.

One of Freddy's beloved
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
798
Anyone who knows me, knows that The Family Wilier lives in the sticks in rural North Lincolnshire and where we live, we seem to be plagued with fecking wood pigeons. I would say there is around 8-10 pairs of the fat gits living in the tree's surrounding our garden (with more coming, since they all seem to have had baby fat gits)

Now normally they arent a problem, hell we had peacocks in the garden when we first bought the place, but recently they seem to have taken to shitting all over the lawn!! I guess pigeons have to poo somewhere, but all over the lawn is causing my children a fair bit of angst, since they seem to step in the crap and then bring it into the conservatory on theyre shoes (or worse, on theyre feet).

So Im afraid the time has come that Im going to have to have a cull (not on the kids Swift) and get rid of the shit machines we call wood pigeons.

Question is, how?

Suggestions on a postcard to the usual address please.

Phil.
 

Vae

Resident Freddy
Joined
Dec 23, 2003
Messages
1,182
I suggest you listen to "Poisoning Pigeons in the park" by Tom Lehrer for some ideas :D
 

old.Tohtori

FH is my second home
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Messages
45,210
Whatever you do, do it "humane" way. You don't want animal rights people knocking down your door and taking you downtown to pooville.
 

Chilly

Balls of steel
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
9,047
shoot the fuckers with an air rifle - and bolloxs to humanity, they aren't human.
 

Ch3tan

I aer teh win!!
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
27,318
Who you gonna call? Pigeon buster! (Throddy and his air rifle)
 

Insane

Wait... whatwhat?
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
998
ive always wondered if the bicarbonate of soda trick worked :eek6:

a clever trick is to "invite" a bird specialist who happens to have a sparrowhawk round to your house for some "demonstrations" for your "children", since its a natural predator and if they see it "roosting" at your house, they vacate the area pretty sharpish and dont return.

a more fun option is bird scarers, go to AirsoftScotland and pick up a few Dangerzone Mk5 Thunderflash Pyros, they go off with a good crack and scares the crap outta most people as well :) the obligatory "keep out of reach of children" warning does apply tho, and they should only be used on private land (i.e. no tossing them under cars on main roads :eek: )
 

old.Tohtori

FH is my second home
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Messages
45,210
Chilly said:
shoot the fuckers with an air rifle - and bolloxs to humanity, they aren't human.

I'd rather have you then one pigeon shot.
 

throdgrain

FH is my second home
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
7,197
Ive been shooting for years as some of you may know, and have shot a lot of pigeons in me time, oh gor blimy yes I have. Indeed sometimes I get paid to do it, but thats generally feral pigeons as opposed to the woody variety.
They are actually pretty bloody difficult things to shoot. You might say stupid fat bastards but you go out there with a gun they know what they are up to I promise you. :)
Anyway, I'd say that was pretty much the option, shoot em or put up with it. If you lived a bit closer Id even come and help you, and for free too :D If you need any info on buying a gun, just ask, though bear in mind proper ones aint cheap, my current kit for example wasnt short of £500.
If you do get a gun, bear in mind a head shot is the only way to go, particularly for a woody, they are much stronger than thier feral cousins, where an upper body shot sends em off to pigeon heaven damn quick :) The woody has a crop filled usually with seeds etc that effectively acts like armour plating for the upper chest part, if you shoot one there you are likely to only injure it and it will fly away to die slowly. This is a bad thing ,so please dont do it.
Lastly, they make great eating.
 

old.Tohtori

FH is my second home
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Messages
45,210
Funny how a slow death is bad and a fast death is good.

And with humans, just the other way around.

"Well atleast you got still two days to live and get your things sorted."

Weird....weird...weird.
 

.Wilier.

One of Freddy's beloved
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
798
throdgrain said:
If you lived a bit closer Id even come and help you, and for free too :D .

Get your skinny ass up here and help me matey, I'll make it worth your while ;)

(in pies of course)
 

throdgrain

FH is my second home
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
7,197
old.Tohtori said:
Funny how a slow death is bad and a fast death is good.

And with humans, just the other way around.

"Well atleast you got still two days to live and get your things sorted."

Weird....weird...weird.

Well, obviously, because a slow death involves pain and misery, and a fast death involves nothing but the clicking off of a light switch. (Kind of thing).
If you're a vegitarian then probably it would be easier not to read this, if you're one of those people that thinks meat comes in a cellophane wrapper, Ive got news for you mate, it dont. :)

Willier, Lincolnshire, where the fuck is that m8? (Seriously, whereabouts are you?)
 

old.Tohtori

FH is my second home
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Messages
45,210
throdgrain said:
Well, obviously, because a slow death involves pain and misery, and a fast death involves nothing but the clicking off of a light switch. (Kind of thing).

Yeah i get that, ofcourse, it's just weird why it's different with humans. Why not flick off the lightswitch with people who are incurable.

Anyways, i eat meat, i know how it gets there, but i still don't have to like animals being killed. I like animals, though soe animals are so made for burgering.

Black and white, tip over with a stick fatbelly on a green field isn't really bestowed with camouflage :D
 

itcheh

Part of the furniture
Joined
Dec 23, 2003
Messages
740
Agree with Throddy with the headshot advice - wood pigeons are flying tanks!
 

Lazarus

Part of the furniture
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
2,874
tried simply getting a model of a bird of prey (or two) and displaying them in and arounf the garden?

or borrow a few pussy cats.
 

throdgrain

FH is my second home
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
7,197
old.Tohtori said:
Yeah i get that, ofcourse, it's just weird why it's different with humans. Why not flick off the lightswitch with people who are incurable.

Anyways, i eat meat, i know how it gets there, but i still don't have to like animals being killed. I like animals, though soe animals are so made for burgering.

Black and white, tip over with a stick fatbelly on a green field isn't really bestowed with camouflage :D


Just for the record, I like animals too, and the countryside etc. People think that because we shoot we have some pathological hatred of all things furry and feathery. To be honest, its very much the reverse, I love all these things. Neither do I want to eradicate them all. But they are part of my life, and so it goes on .
 

old.Tohtori

FH is my second home
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Messages
45,210
throdgrain said:
Just for the record, I like animals too, and the countryside etc. People think that because we shoot we have some pathological hatred of all things furry and feathery. To be honest, its very much the reverse, I love all these things. Neither do I want to eradicate them all. But they are part of my life, and so it goes on .

Ah. Good in my book.

Can't stand gunhappy wankers who think animals were made to be shot at. That all.

Lazarus said:
tried simply getting a model of a bird of prey

Don't do that! You'll get rid of the pigeons ofcourse, but have you ever tried removing a herd of geeks from your lawn?! :eek7:
 

throdgrain

FH is my second home
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
7,197
Funnily enough all the shooters I know feel exactly the same. We need to preserve this stuff so we can continue to shoot, apart from anything else. The only people I know who are ever intent on rabbit genocide are farmers, and I suppose the reasons there are obvious.
The wankers you get shooting blackbirds with thier fifty quid air rifles are nothing to do with proper insured BASC members, they are , indeed , just wankers breaking the law :(
 

.Wilier.

One of Freddy's beloved
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
798
Hehe, I was only joking Throd, were about 20 miles NorthWest of Lincoln, so about 160 miles from you Id guess. :)

Ive just managed to borrow a rifle from a mate at work, tele sites with a lazer dot thingy, I'll have a bit of practice on some bottle tops tonight :)
 

Tom

I am a FH squatter
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
17,610
As Throddy says, shoot them. Shooting is bloody good fun, and if you use the correct gun, you get to eat them (if you shoot enough).
 

Tom

I am a FH squatter
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
17,610
.Wilier. said:
Ive just managed to borrow a rifle from a mate at work, tele sites with a lazer dot thingy, I'll have a bit of practice on some bottle tops tonight :)


Stock into your shoulder, right eye closed, left eye on the sight, don't breathe when you pull the trigger.

At least thats how I do it, and it works for me :)

Can you get your wifey to take some piccies of the whole thing? Should be good for a laugh.
 

Chilly

Balls of steel
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
9,047
and dont use the fuckin laser when shooting the birds, they will notice and fuck off sharpish :p
 

TdC

Trem's hunky sex love muffin
Joined
Dec 20, 2003
Messages
30,925
get a cat.


because:

-cats are ace
-you knows it :)
 

Gumbo

FH is my second home
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
2,362
Tom said:
Stock into your shoulder, right eye closed, left eye on the sight, don't breathe when you pull the trigger.

At least thats how I do it, and it works for me :)

You left handed then?

As throddy says head shot is the only way with an air rifle on a woodie, they used to call it 'hit or clear miss'. Alternatively if you are in the sticks enough just get a shottie, and roost shoot them in the evenings. Rather less surgical, but far more effective.

I've been shooting and taken 100 woodies in a couple of hours when they were overruning this part of the world. We used many decoys, and a flapper to bring them in, murder one on the ground then take two more with the remaining two rounds in the Remi. We got 15p a bird from the local game merchant, and many beers from the farmer who's entire wheat crop was saved.

I find it funny when people get outraged about this. It's part sport, yes, but the exploding pigeon population is largely down to the decline of birds of prey, brought about by habitat destruction as agriculture intensified. There is no natural balance anymore, there never will be again. The thousand or so birds I helped remove from this area over a 3 or 4 week period would have pretty much made farming impossible, it was turning into a plague of biblical proportions.

This particular action occured probably 10 years or so ago, and hasn't been necessary again since. There is a healthy woodie population round here, but with other initiatives there is also a good Marsh Harrier, Red Kite and Sparrowhawk population too. Trust me, watching a Sparrowhawk take down a woodpigeon on the wing is a truly amazing sight.
 

Tom

I am a FH squatter
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
17,610
Whoops I never did get right from left :)
 

Maljonic

Can't get enough of FH
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
1,297
Have you tried getting some realistic looking pretend cats and sitting them in the trees; they might be too clever for that I guess, you might have to get animatronic pretend cats, or real cats with a tree bound insentive. :)
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom