Woodpigeon Hints & Tips 05:

Decoy Patterns

Woodpigeons feed as flock birds, and this is a big factor when arranging your decoy patterns. The best pattern allows an area for incoming pigeons to land in, which is a common sense practical consideration but more importantly place the decoys generally facing into the wind, this is often seen in feeding wild bird flocks, but don't line the decoys up in strict order, remember nature abhors a straight line! So place them in a rough pattern to resemble the real thing, after all that is what you are trying to simulate.

This is a simple horseshoe pattern for simple reasons. There is space for incoming pigeons to land in and an escape route. Pigeon decoying is far from an exact science, what might work one day may fail the next so use this advice as a guideline only. On the day you may have to play around with the pattern before the birds accept the decoys and come in to land. Playing about with the shape and taking notice of land features and wind direction will eventually help you eliminate poor decoy pattern. Here are a couple of simple diagrams to help you envisage the basics.