This year’s hunting season was opened as the hunting of common wood pigeon started on 10 August. Over the past 40 years wood pigeon has spread to almost all parts of Finland and now many hunters find it an interesting target. The abundant pigeon population sustains hunting very well. As the population has spread over the years, the annual bag has grown to the present number of about 170,000 birds.

In the late summer wood pigeon normally lives in forests, eating bilberries. In many places this year’s bilberry crop was quite good. The somewhat late ripening of cereals and peas, the most desirable feed for pigeons, may keep the populations scattered. This means that the birds may move to fields only after the start of the hunting season and the early days of the season may be a little quiet. In many regions hunting should not be started until the end of the week, but we could expect to see the most eager hunters on the fields on the opening day.

The hunters should keep in mind that they are not allowed to enter unharvested fields without the permission of the farmer, which is one reason why using a retriever dog is advisable.

Further information:
Klaus Ekman, tel. +358 (0)9 2727 8116
Marko Svensberg, tel. +358 (0)9 2727 8117