Promising pigeon numbers this season in Gauteng & Freestate

@O @oafpatroll 2 years ago

I shot on sunflower fields near Parys today and last Saturday and the numbers of birds has been promising. Over the last five or so years of shooting south and west of JHB and around Kroonstad there's been a marked decrease in numbers. In years before that I'd take more than one case of shells out even on a day shoot and last year I shot less that a case on pigeon and game birds combined. On our annual Kroonstad walkup shoot I fired 7 rounds in 2 days last year as there were very few birds. Here's to hoping that my MEC press is going to have its legs stretched!

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@T @treeman

Do these birds have a lot of hunting pressure ?

@O @oafpatroll OP

In the time and areas I've been doing it I'd say shooter numbers have fallen off significantly so if anything the decline in bird numbers has been in spite of reduced hunting pressure.

@T @treeman

In the time and areas I've been doing it I'd say shooter numbers have fallen off significantly so if anything the decline in bird numbers has been in spite of reduced hunting pressure.

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A natural flux then ?
I see the Guinea Fowl in the Cape are on a high again, there were just a few flocks of 3 - 5 animals 5 years ago, now the average is 9 - 11 birds with 50 + flocks seen again on the farms.

@D @ds-j

Maybe due to a combination of good rains and less shooting?

Some of the wing shooters in our area are actively supporting the breeding of guinea fowl with feed and water points.

@O @oafpatroll OP

A natural flux then ?
I see the Guinea Fowl in the Cape are on a high again, there were just a few flocks of 3 - 5 animals 5 years ago, now the average is 9 - 11 birds with 50 + flocks seen again on the farms.

I've no idea what's driven it and would love to understand it better. I'd assumed it was something environmental along the lines of the huge reduction in insects I've seen in my lifetime.

@O @oafpatroll OP

Maybe due to a combination of good rains and less shooting?

I'm sure the rain must be a factor as it's heavier and more consistent than it's been in years. As far as the pigeons go my observation is that there are far fewer (probably half) shooters than ten years ago. I'm a sample of one and shoot a relatively small area, i.e. 100km S+W of JHB, so this may be different elsewhere.

@J @jamesnotbond

The Guinea Fowl In Port Elizabeth are perhaps 3 x more than 2 or 3 years ago. The same goes for the Egyptian Geese.

@O @oafpatroll OP

The Guinea Fowl In Port Elizabeth are perhaps 3 x more than 2 or 3 years ago. The same goes for the Egyptian Geese.

Good to hear. I'm very much hoping that when I go walkup shooting in the Freestate soon the same is true there.

@T @tripodmvr

Spoke to a friend of mine that farms on the OFS side of the Vaal close to the Barrage. He feels that game bird numbers are lower than usual. In my travels around the Vaal Triangle area I agree with his observations.

@T @treeman

Spoke to a friend of mine that farms on the OFS side of the Vaal close to the Barrage. He feels that game bird numbers are lower than usual. In my travels around the Vaal Triangle area I agree with his observations.

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I was amazed at the impact Vervet monkeys have on bird life, I once watched them work a area looking for food. I saw how every branch, stone and piece of wood was lifted, checked, they miss very little when they work an area over.
A game farmer put me at a look out when I asked why he had only adult Guinea fowl, no chicks ? The answer was obvious - too many Vervet monkeys.

@T @tripodmvr

Vervets eat the bird eggs. The farmers near Jansenville hate them with a passion.

@T @treeman

Vervets eat the bird eggs. The farmers near Jansenville hate them with a passion.

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The area I was in when shown the results of their activity.

@O @oafpatroll OP

Re the reduction in the numbers of game birds in the Kroonstad area, in discussing it with a mate he suggested that it was at least in part due to the number of farms that have been converted from crops to game farming in the last decade or so. That sounds plausible to me.