HARDMAN’S HUNTING
magpie gave out a small muted squawk that
was cut short as it expired on its way to the
ground where it lay motionless. The songbirds,
which had vanished when the black and white
intruder arrived, now began returning to the
feeders, and the flitting and chirping resumed.
MARAUDING MAGPIES
Things didn’t stay settled for long, though.
About five minutes later, the whole wood
erupted with the sound of magpies cackling,
immediately joined by jackdaws calling loudly
as they circled the trees above the hide. The
body of the fallen magpie had obviously been
seen. I watched a great tit as it looked up into
the treetops. It could see the shadows circling
and then it suddenly darted for cover as
jackdaws began swooping in, mobbing the
area as if egged on by the magpies. I’m not
sure exactly how many magpies had arrived,
but it sounded like at least a half dozen as I
jostled for position to get a view up into the
trees from the side door of the hide.
Frustratingly, I could see one sitting high up
in one of the trees, and although I could get
the rifle up through a tiny gap, the scope was
obscured and I couldn’t get a sight picture.
By the time I had eventually managed to get
an unobstructed view, the bird had moved, so I
got back into my seat as I watched the
mobbing continue. One jackdaw made the
mistake of perching on a branch just above the
fallen magpie, squawking loudly as it looked
down on its fallen cousin. I centred up the
reticle of my scope on its head and fired,sending it spinning down to the ground. I had
hoped that would have encouraged others to
come down to mob it even more, but it had the
opposite effect as the wood suddenly fell quiet,
the rest making their escape. It might not have
been the most productive day, but for the few
hours I spent in the hide, the songbirds had
been safe to raise their young, undisturbed by
marauding magpies.“songbirds had been safe to raise their young,
undisturbed by marauding magpies “
The shooting port wasn’t
the biggest, which meant I
needed the birds directly
in front of the hide.Any day that
involves a
magpie kill is
a good day!http://www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIRGUN WORLD 25