Back in the day in South-West France, during the months of October and November, there were so many people hunting wild pigeons (when the birds migrate flying from the northern lands towards the Iberian peninsula), that it was not possible to get married because the priest would have been at the palombiere.
The national channel TF1 (https://www.tf1.fr/tf1/jt-13h/videos/chasse-a-la-decouverte-dune-palombiere-du-sud-ouest-56212386.html) confirmed in a reportage that there are people working hard during the summer to be able to take six weeks off in the fall, just for hunting the palombe (or wild pigeon). This is called locally, ‘blue fever’, when local men call out sick to hunt for the beautiful blue pigeon.
Palombe hunters get up before the sun rises, dress at home, and head to the palombiere to prepare for the day. Only after the set-up is complete, will they sit down for breakfast.
The tasks include feeding the captured wood pigeons from the previous year, raising them to the top of the pine trees, with a ingenious system of cables and wires, so that the palombes work to attract the migrating ones. A hunter will pull the strings from inside the palombiere, the captured birds will flap their wings, attracting ones flying overhead and, with a bit of luck, hunters will catch them alive, trapping them in nets.
The rural village of Bazas organizes a festival every year at the end of September or early October to discover how the palombe hunting is carried out. The ‘fete de la palombe’ is held on a Saturday, during market day, and is the quintessential French countryside event!
There is a blessing ceremony at the cathedral where they are blessed by the priest, before the palombes have been released which always includes the well dressed confrerie de paloumayres. The mayor of Bazas walks out, carrying a prized palombe.
Unless you’ve lived in the South West of France, you’ll likely have never heard of palombieres were or what they looked like.
Most palombieres have no electricity, maybe a tiny generator for one light bulb for the darkest days, no running water, and a jerry can that had to be brought back and forth from home. Inside is a stove to heat and cook (likely using wood, it helps to also warm up the water to wash the dishes), table with chairs, maybe an old sofa for a power nap after lunch and of course, glasses: as there is always at least a round of pastis aperitive drinks before the hearty meal.
But the peculiar feature of every palombiere is definitely the overhead opening from which hunters, comfortably seated, observe the sky while trying to spot a flock flying over.
The other sign that right away reveals the presence of a palombiere in the forest is the view of tunnels, meters and meters of tunnels covered in browned ferns and pine needles, so that hunters can move from one site to the other without being seen.
Hunting (wild) pigeons is a widespread tradition here and as well across the border in Spain. You can find palombe in the Marche des Capucins as well as the market in San Sebastian.
There is no distracting tv, most of the time not even telephone reception. A clear day in the forest, with the heat coming from the old stove, the smell of mushrooms and pine, an occasional pheasant or roe deer passing by, with a rustic meal washed down with Bordeaux red wine, is a way of slowing down and make the most of a tradition that is still strong around here.
A lot of Gironde hunters experienced one of the most meager hunting years ever in 2020, even the newspaper Sud-Ouest reported a sharp decrease in number of passages (https://www.sudouest.fr/environnement/chasse/sud-gironde-beaucoup-moins-de-palombes-que-d-habitude-6923991.php), with migrating routs moving to the east, over neighboring department of Lot and Garonne.
Hunters will take some time off this winter, only to start working again at the maintenance of the palombiere in the new year.
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By Anne Jordan and Simona Palenga