Attracting wildlife

[JonnyP]

I remember once being told by a farmer that if you suck on the back of your hand to produce a squeeling sound, it will attract foxes, so a few years later I was sitting on the edge of a woodland one evening, when I remembered this, so I started sucking on my hand and sure enough a young fox came running my way, but soon shot off when it saw me. Got me thinking though, What do you do to attract wildlife....................Jon

 

[Abbe Osram]

When I started to hunt forest chickens I bought a wistle making the sounds of that bird. It works really well, they answer fast and come nearer but there is still a job to be done seeing them as they are very small.

cheers
Abbe

 

[Wenie]

I think I saw on some Bill Oddie show the other day that making a rustling noise is the way to attract squirrels... Haven't tried it out though, so I'm not sure it'll work...

 

[tomtom]

you can by a lot of hunting aids from ebay very cheap, fox calls (does the same thing as back of hand trick) deer calls and lots of birds..

personaly on a quiet night i like the jump over my back wall and hoot untill i see the tawney owl swoop in to a tree on the opposite headge!

 

[wolf]

I remember once being told by a farmer that if you suck on the back of your hand to produce a squeeling sound, it will attract foxes, so a few years later I was sitting on the edge of a woodland one evening, when I remembered this, so I started sucking on my hand and sure enough a young fox came running my way, but soon shot off when it saw me. Got me thinking though, What do you do to attract wildlife....................Jon

i believe this noise you described is the sound of injured prey,thats why the fox comes..

 

[wolf]

i have used squeeky toys like the dog ones to attract roe deer,this can also be done with the privet or other type leaves.

 

[Longstrider]

As a child I was once told by an old 'keeper that the best way to catch a rabbit was to hide behind a bush and make a noise like a lettuce. If you think about it, it makes sense

Calling foxes in quite close can be relatively easy. The squeeking, squealing sound you are trying to imitate is that of a mortally wounded rabbit. Anyone not familiar with this would probably be amazed at just how loud and piercing a rabbit can squeal when in this situation. The fox comes close to investigate the possibility ofan easy meal. Methods I have known to work include sucking hard whilst pursing your lips in a "kiss" fashion, sucking against the back of the hand or forearm, or the most effective way I've seen is to scrape a section of expanded polystyrene packing foam along either the bodywork of a vehicle or the side of a polished gun-stock.

The squirrels coming close to Bill Oddie when he rustled his nuts in a bag (ooh-er missus! ) only did so because they were used to being fed by people. Try it in woodland where the quirrels are more used to being persecuted by the 'keeper or forrester and you won't see one for days.

I have managed to call magpies in close enough for a shot by shaking an old fashioned wooden matchbox hard whilst it contained about half a box of matches. It makes a sound veryt much like the "Chak-a-chak" call they make as either an alarm signal or whilst mobbing something. Other magpies will often come closer to investigate, especially if there is an owl or crow decoy on a fence post close by or a dead rabbit laid out on the ground.

 

[pumbaa]

I was shown by a local old boy how to attract owls by Cupping your hands (like you would when useing a grass leafas a read whistle) and blowing the owl sound . it works too . Will show you next time i see you if you like!
Pumbaa

 

[JonnyP]

I was shown by a local old boy how to attract owls by Cupping your hands (like you would when useing a grass leafas a read whistle) and blowing the owl sound . it works too . Will show you next time i see you if you like!
Pumbaa

Would love to see owls come in close to me by hooting. Round my local nature reserve I quite often imitate different birds and the only ones I seem to get a response out of is wrens and robins and sometimes woodpeckers, most birds will call back but come no closer or clear off totally. I like the idea of attracting magpies with a box of matches. I was once working somewhere where they had a magpie trap that contained a live magpie which attracted others into a trap. They caught 30 in 2 weeks. Abbe, I never realised that there were still wild chickens about, have you any photo's, I would love to see one. Wolf, we have lots of roe deer in the woods nearby, how does a squeeky toy attract them...................Jon

 

[Abbe Osram]

. Abbe, I never realised that there were still wild chickens about, have you any photo's, I would love to see one. Wolf, we have lots of roe deer in the woods nearby, how does a squeeky toy attract them...................Jon

Well, dont know if they are the mother of chickens but we call them forest chickens, "järpe" I guess they have nothing to do with the farm chickens.
Here is a picture:

cheers
Abbe

 

[JonnyP]

Well, dont know if they are the mother of chickens but we call them forest chickens, "järpe" I guess they have nothing to do with the farm chickens.
Here is a picture:

cheers
Abbe

Abbe,
Are you sure that is not a cuckoo in fancy dress. What do the eggs taste like..................Jon

 

[Longstrider]

I'm pretty sure that the photo is of an adult male Rock Ptarmigan. (Although I do like the cuckoo in fancy dress theory! )

 

[Abbe Osram]

I'm pretty sure that the photo is of an adult male Rock Ptarmigan. (Although I do like the cuckoo in fancy dress theory! )

I looked up the latin name its: Bonasa Bonasia, we dont collect the eggs but shoot the bird. I think egg collecting is forbidden here as we want the population to grow.


here is the sound of the bird:
http://www.virtual-bird.com/sounds/bonasa-bonasia.mp3

the wistle I bought gives me the high pitched sound but I have to get the rythm right which I was surprised works very well, the birds believe I am one of them and come near, still its hard to shoot them.

cheers
Abbe

 

[bilko]

I was shown by a local old boy how to attract owls by Cupping your hands (like you would when useing a grass leafas a read whistle) and blowing the owl sound . it works too . Will show you next time i see you if you like!
Pumbaa

Pumbaa, i was trying this last night for a good hour untill i got sore lips but all i got was ....sore lips and a gush of hot breat coming out my hands. I even found this ' how to' guide http://spiritsdancing.typepad.com/monkeyseemonkeydo/2005/02/how_to_make_an_.html but i still can't do it. Iv'e adjusted my hands every which way to no avail. I wonder if you could expand on the way you were taught. I would love to be able to talk owl.

 

[wolf]

the squeeky toy imates the sound of a roe doe during the mating time. http://www.deer-uk.com/attracting_deer.htm
you can hear the squeeky toy here.

 

[bilko]

I looked up the latin name its: Bonasa Bonasia, we dont collect the eggs but shoot the bird. I think egg collecting is forbidden here as we want the population to grow.


here is the sound of the bird:
http://www.virtual-bird.com/sounds/bonasa-bonasia.mp3

the wistle I bought gives me the high pitched sound but I have to get the rythm right which I was surprised works very well, the birds believe I am one of them and come near, still its hard to shoot them.

cheers
Abbe

Hi Abbe,
I watched the film Jeremiah Johnson yesterday and the picture of the bird was remarkably similar to one in the film although not brightly coloured. Jeremiah was going to shoot it but his wife ( an indian squaw ) stopped him and threw a stone at it which killed it or at least knocked it out. I wonder if it was the same bird. Mind you, Jeremia was going to use his trusty 50 cal so there probably wouldn't have been much left to cook.
Hope you are keeping well
Ian

 

[Abbe Osram]

Hi Abbe,
I watched the film Jeremiah Johnson yesterday and the picture of the bird was remarkably similar to one in the film although not brightly coloured. Jeremiah was going to shoot it but his wife ( an indian squaw ) stopped him and threw a stone at it which killed it or at least knocked it out. I wonder if it was the same bird. Mind you, Jeremia was going to use his trusty 50 cal so there probably wouldn't have been much left to cook.
Hope you are keeping well
Ian

I havent seen the movie so I cant tell you if its the same bird. I am hunting them with a .22 but havent been lucky yet. I saw them in my scope but swups when I am ready to shoot they are gone. I still have to learn a lot with the hunting stuff to get my belly full. ;-) I am still having to go to the supermarket.

ohh well, with time ....I hope ...I make it...

cheers
Abbe

 

[Beer Monster]

I remember watching a program with Simon King the wildlife presenter/cameraman. At one point he saw a barn owl hunting over a meadow so he lay down on his back in the long grass and made a very high pitched squeaking noise on his hand. The Barn Owl was attracted to the noise and hovered a few meters directly over him for a good few seconds allowing him a fantastic view. Always wanted to try this .......

 

[Galemys]

I wonder if it was the same bird.

The bird in Abbe's picture is called a hazel grouse, it is a bird of woodland in scandinavia, central europe and eurasia. North America has related birds (I know of the spruce grouse and the ruffed grouse, they're may be more species) which look quite similar. So the bird in the movie is a different species to Abbe's.

Tom

 

[pumbaa]

Pumbaa, i was trying this last night for a good hour untill i got sore lips but all i got was ....sore lips and a gush of hot breat coming out my hands. I even found this ' how to' guide http://spiritsdancing.typepad.com/monkeyseemonkeydo/2005/02/how_to_make_an_.html but i still can't do it. Iv'e adjusted my hands every which way to no avail. I wonder if you could expand on the way you were taught. I would love to be able to talk owl.

It is difficult to expand on the link you found with out seeing what you are doing !
Make sure you have a tight seal with your fingers and hands . Your lips should be on the knuckle half way up your thumb . Blow downwards . You will need to move the positioning about till you get a note . You need quite a gap in the middle of your hands (a smaller gap produces a higher note that eventualy you wouldnt hear) .
Hope this helps a bit
Pumbaa