I'm used to losing ripe cherries to blackbirds etc.and don't really
mind that: HOWEVER, this year 3 huge fat wood pigeons have taken to
visiting my garden early morning and early evening and eating the
little green unripe cherries before they even have a chance to develop
and feed the song birds, as well as trying to get into my cold frame
after the salad stuff. I fear for any crop going in the ground for the
rest of the year.

Having eaten chicken wings tonight, the little pile of bones on my
plate gave me ideas about the pigeons. Big fat sitting targets in my
cherry tree.
Apart from a .22 BSA Meteor or similar, I doubt there's any way of
deterring these crop destroyers. I think it's legal to shoot them,
but does anyone know differently and is there any other way of
deterring them? Incidentally, this is the first year that we haven't
been infested with cats, hence the pigeons no doubt. Despite being
sorely tempted to shoot cats, I'm mindful of the fact that they are
probably someone's pets and aren't really edible. Overfed pigeons are
a different matter.

Incidentally, this is the first year that we haven't
been infested with cats, hence the pigeons no doubt.

We have managed to get rid of the cats and the birds we have a truly
wonderful :-))

Despite being
sorely tempted to shoot cats, I'm mindful of the fact that they are
probably someone's pets

Why worry? If they annoy you, do something about it;-))

and aren't really edible.

:-)) They taste like Rabbit I am very reliably informed ;-))

Overfed pigeons are
a different matter.


Pie? ;-))

Mike

--
H.M.S.Collingwood Ass. Llandudno 20 - 23 May Trip to Portmeirion
National Service (RAF) Ass. Cosford 24 - 27 June Spitfire Fly Past
H.M.S.Impregnable Ass. Sussex 1 - 4 July Visit to Int. Fest of the Sea
RAF Regiment Assoc. Scarborough 2 - 5 Sept. Visit to Eden Camp

The message
from Jupiter contains these words:

Having eaten chicken wings tonight, the little pile of bones on my
plate gave me ideas about the pigeons. Big fat sitting targets in my
cherry tree.
Apart from a .22 BSA Meteor or similar, I doubt there's any way of
deterring these crop destroyers. I think it's legal to shoot them,
but does anyone know differently and is there any other way of
deterring them? Incidentally, this is the first year that we haven't
been infested with cats, hence the pigeons no doubt. Despite being
sorely tempted to shoot cats, I'm mindful of the fact that they are
probably someone's pets and aren't really edible. Overfed pigeons are
a different matter.

A good Meteor is quite sufficiently powerful for a head-shot, but I'd
never take a wood pigeon with a body shot with an air rifle with much
less than the full 12 ft lbs permitted, as the feathers can prevent or
reduce penetration.

(I use a pre-charged AirArms S310, and that sometimes puts a pellet
clean through.)

Things to consider:

If you miss, your pellet must not pass into someone-else's property
unless you have their permission.

A lighter pellet gives you higher velocity, and as kinetic energy is
proportional to the mass of the pellet, and to the square of the
velocity, a lighter pellet gives a flatter trajectory and more
knockdown.

However, you should be careful not to exceed the 12 ft lbs muzzle energy
if you do use a much lighter pellet than normal.

Too many wood pigeons in the diet can poison you. (But you need to eat
them regularly to get any bad effects.)

One pigeon with spuds and two veg just about makes a meal for one person.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from "Mike" contains these words:

cats

and aren't really edible.

:-)) They taste like Rabbit I am very reliably informed ;-))

A late friend of mine who was on minesweepers during the war was on
shore-leave, and as his train was not for some time, he and a mate
decided to have a meal in a café.

On the menu was rabbit (and not a lot else), so they ordered.

My friend took one taste and pushed his plate away.

"What's the matter, Mac? Mine's delicious." said his friend.

"The last thing this rabbit said was 'miaow'." he replied.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Or if you're not hungry, you could use my trusty cat/magpie deterrent technique - sturdy catapult and a jar of hazelnuts.

Cracks me up to see a cat jump so high.

Bob

On Wed, 11 May 2005 11:20:57 +0000, undergroundbob
wrote:


Or if you're not hungry, you could use my trusty cat/magpie deterrent
technique - sturdy catapult and a jar of hazelnuts.

Cracks me up to see a cat jump so high.

Bob

Yes - a good idea and not many legal pitfalls. Mind you, the
old-fashioned 'garden gun' (20 bore shotgun) would be useful!

"undergroundbob" wrote in message
...

Or if you're not hungry, you could use my trusty cat/magpie deterrent
technique - sturdy catapult and a jar of hazelnuts.

Cracks me up to see a cat jump so high.


I used to know a poacher (now deceased) who was absolutely lethal with his
'plate' (as he used to call his catapult) even into his eighties. Mind you,
he used ball bearings, not hazelnuts, and I don't suppose he'd have bothered
knocking over cats.

Following up to Jupiter

hence the pigeons no doubt. Despite being
sorely tempted to shoot cats, I'm mindful of the fact that they are
probably someone's pets and aren't really edible.

Well, there you are, I read person after person complaining about
cats and it turns out they are our friends.
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-Photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

Following up to Mike

I'm mindful of the fact that they are
probably someone's pets

Why worry? If they annoy you, do something about it;

why worry you might upset a child or vulnerable person for the
sake of some old plant? How come my garden survives fine with
cats wandering through it?
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-Photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

"The Reids" wrote in message
...
Following up to Mike

I'm mindful of the fact that they are
probably someone's pets

Why worry? If they annoy you, do something about it;

why worry you might upset a child or vulnerable person for the
sake of some old plant? How come my garden survives fine with
cats wandering through it?
Yes but you are rational with a balanced opinion. It seems there is a
little band of irrational cat haters around lately spouting their nonsense
and demonising normal pet cats and planting all of the world's ills squarely
upon their shoulders. Reminds me a lot of the middle ages.
In reality they probably hide from their cat owning neighbours and would
shit themselves if one of then came knocking on their door if they were
discovered hurting their pet.Especially someone like myself who is slightly
non compus mentis sp when it comes to my beloved pets and is probably
capable of setting someone's home alight and burning them in their bed for
killing one of my cats. Extreme? Certainly. But the lives of my feline
companions are worth more to me than the life of some worthless tosser who
gets their kicks out of harming someone's harmless pet The cat moaners
probably whinge and cry about the noise of childrens playing, the music
coming from next door at 10 pm, the sound of D.I.Y., the sound of someone
working on their car, etc etc etc. The only solution is for the whinging
cowardly malcontents to go and live on an island somewhere together where
they can all tell each other what reasonable fellows they all are and how
everyone else is wrong.

On Wed, 11 May 2005 21:57:21 +0100, "pammyT"
wrote:


"The Reids" wrote in message
.. .
Following up to Mike

I'm mindful of the fact that they are
probably someone's pets

Why worry? If they annoy you, do something about it;

why worry you might upset a child or vulnerable person for the
sake of some old plant? How come my garden survives fine with
cats wandering through it?
Yes but you are rational with a balanced opinion. It seems there is a
little band of irrational cat haters around lately spouting their nonsense
and demonising normal pet cats and planting all of the world's ills squarely
upon their shoulders. Reminds me a lot of the middle ages.
In reality they probably hide from their cat owning neighbours and would
shit themselves if one of then came knocking on their door if they were
discovered hurting their pet.Especially someone like myself who is slightly
non compus mentis sp when it comes to my beloved pets and is probably
capable of setting someone's home alight and burning them in their bed for
killing one of my cats. Extreme? Certainly. But the lives of my feline
companions are worth more to me than the life of some worthless tosser who
gets their kicks out of harming someone's harmless pet The cat moaners
probably whinge and cry about the noise of childrens playing, the music
coming from next door at 10 pm, the sound of D.I.Y., the sound of someone
working on their car, etc etc etc. The only solution is for the whinging
cowardly malcontents to go and live on an island somewhere together where
they can all tell each other what reasonable fellows they all are and how
everyone else is wrong.


Well, I'm not a 'cat hater' by any means and it was me who made the
point about them probably being someone's pets. However, to be
balanced and reasonable about this, surely you must accept that they
can be a nuisance and a pest to gardeners and birdlovers?
I once had neighbours with a varying number of cats (never less than
five). They were semi-feral, killed birds at every opportunity,
wouldn't leave my garden pond alone, took to using a flower bed
outside our front window as a toilet causing such a stench that we
couldn't open the window in the summer and regularly woke us during
the night with their horrible racket. I would have happily shot the
lot. I gave up trying to grow anything under the front window and
resorted to liberal applications of Jeye's Disinfectant powder which
masked the stink as well as being 'uncomfortable' for the cats. For
the nightly row I acquired a loud battery operated electronic warbler
siren which I placed outside at the base of the house wall operated
via a bell push switch on the bedroom window sill. That worked fine,
and none of the neighbours ever complained about it because it got rid
of the interminable racket made by the cats. They used to run away
when that started up. Probably also making high frequency sound
inaudible to us.
You may be a responsible cat owner, but that can't be said about all
of them.

The message
from Jupiter contains these words:

Yes - a good idea and not many legal pitfalls. Mind you, the
old-fashioned 'garden gun' (20 bore shotgun) would be useful!

Garden gun is 9mm RF

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from "BAC" contains these words:
"undergroundbob" wrote in message
...

Or if you're not hungry, you could use my trusty cat/magpie deterrent
technique - sturdy catapult and a jar of hazelnuts.

Cracks me up to see a cat jump so high.


I used to know a poacher (now deceased) who was absolutely lethal with his
'plate' (as he used to call his catapult) even into his eighties. Mind you,
he used ball bearings, not hazelnuts, and I don't suppose he'd have bothered
knocking over cats.

You can often identify the routes of old (grubbed-up) hedgerows by
coming across marbles in the soil. I have two such (baked clay ones)
found here in East Angular where once there was a hedge, and back in the
60's I found a similar one close to a hedge in Oxfordshire.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from Jupiter contains these words:

I gave up trying to grow anything under the front window and
resorted to liberal applications of Jeye's Disinfectant powder which
masked the stink as well as being 'uncomfortable' for the cats.

Find a chemical wholesaler (such as Hay's, if they haven't been taken
over) and buy a small drum (I think 500g is the minimum) of aluminium
ammonium sulphate crystals, and sprinkle a few on the soil.

It's not expensive, you can't see it (after a while), you can't smell
it, it isn't dangerous, and it breaks down into useful stuff for plants.

Cats will avoid it.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Jupiter wrote:


Having eaten chicken wings tonight, the little pile of bones on my
plate gave me ideas about the pigeons. Big fat sitting targets in my
cherry tree.
Apart from a .22 BSA Meteor or similar, I doubt there's any way of
deterring these crop destroyers. I think it's legal to shoot them,
but does anyone know differently and is there any other way of
deterring them?

The problem with an air-gun is that you need a back-stop (unless your
garden is hundreds of yards long. What's behind your cherry tree?
Woodies are quite tough little buggers, when decoying we try to get them
with 30yds, and that's using a 12-bore shotgun. To answer your questions
seriously, wood pigeons may be shot at any time of year under a general
licence, if they are damaging crops (and when aren't they?) so yes it is
legal to shoot them. I know of no way to deter them - even the
ubiquitous 'gas-guns' (for which your neighbours would not thank you)
are ignored after a few days if not moved around the fields. If you have
an air rifle, and can position yourself so as to be firing into the
ground or other 'soft' backstop then, short of applying for a part-two
FAC and getting a .410 it's probably your best option. Do you know
anyone with a .410 who might oblige? (I am assuming a suburban/urban
situation with buildings around where a 12-bore would be inappropriate).