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I've come over all Peter Scott'ish


islandgun
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A couple of weeks ago i diverted a stream to flood the bottom of my croft this has resulted in a pool about 6" deep and about 100sqm with a constant flow of water, my point (if there is one) is that I'm really enjoying watching the greylags, and ducks using the pool so much so I'm loosing the desire to shoot any of the visitors, Is this behaviour natural or am i loosing the plot.

Anyone else experienced this sort of thing or I am turning into a hand wringing leftie tree hugger and will i be knighted :unhappy:

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I reckon it's a perfectly normal feeling for a sportsman to have. I love it when the home bred greylag come around the croft in the summer, they are sometimes still there when the season opens but I have no desire to shoot them.

Thanks aister. I'l just get back to me linda macartney burger then

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First

 

Cold shower

 

Now you know your not dreaming 😟

 

This is very serious and important

 

You have created a habitat to study your quarry to enable you to become a better hunter ☺️

 

You have only not shot them because your fridge is full and your not hungry 😋

 

This can be the only possible answer 😉

 

Unless your turning to the other side

 

(Vegitarian )

Now man up

 

Or at least post a picture of your nature reserve 😂

 

All the best

Of

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I hear the knotting forum has some vacancies :whistling:

Knotting ! or Knitting ? Knottings a mans job ;)

 

First

 

Cold shower

 

Now you know your not dreaming

 

This is very serious and important

 

You have created a habitat to study your quarry to enable you to become a better hunter ☺️

 

You have only not shot them because your fridge is full and your not hungry

 

This can be the only possible answer

 

Unless your turning to the other side

 

(Vegitarian )

Now man up

 

Or at least post a picture of your nature reserve

 

All the best

Of

:lol: shower ! now where did i leave that RSPB application :friends:

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Going Peter Scott'ish is just fine, going Peter Sutcliffe isn't.

 

There are 5 big fat wood pigeons that sit in the tree at the bottom of my garden, they are there most days and nest in a nearby tree and I have no desire what so ever to stop them - and I haven't shot a pigeon in 2 months (and not by choice either).

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Going Peter Scott'ish is just fine, going Peter Sutcliffe isn't.

 

There are 5 big fat wood pigeons that sit in the tree at the bottom of my garden, they are there most days and nest in a nearby tree and I have no desire what so ever to stop them - and I haven't shot a pigeon in 2 months (and not by choice either).

on a serious note its about time and place. I shoot greys when its cold, dark and wet, out on the shore, I probably will shoot my "splash" when its blowing a gale from the south, I will take two geese or preferably some ducks (given the chance) before the end of the season, perhaps it makes me feel better about myself or actions, perhaps I couldn't give a #### and know where some of our meat comes from, I am quite sure i'm privileged to have the choice.

atb IG

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A couple of weeks ago i diverted a stream to flood the bottom of my croft this has resulted in a pool about 6" deep and about 100sqm with a constant flow of water, my point (if there is one) is that I'm really enjoying watching the greylags, and ducks using the pool so much so I'm loosing the desire to shoot any of the visitors, Is this behaviour natural or am i loosing the plot.

Anyone else experienced this sort of thing or I am turning into a hand wringing leftie tree hugger and will i be knighted :unhappy:

When i was younger I knew plenty of Wildfowlers who had a small collection of Wildfowl they had found or wing tipped.

My father dug a pond put sand gravel bushes etc and Fox proofed a large area of his garden where to had up to eight Pinkfeet and two Whitefront Geese all had originally been shot. One Pink in particular used to really anoy my Mother as after being captive for two maybe three years it would answer me calling it.I could be some distance away voice call or whistle it and it would call like mad for some time.

The strange thing after my parents separated my father took them to the Otter Trust Norfolk who after being told how long they had been kept etc decided not to wing clip them within two days they had all flown never to be seen again.

Another friend from Surrey over the years built up a flock of eighteen Pink's again all wild been shot birds these had a covered small lake they could fly around during a storm a tree caused a breakage in the fence unfortunately before my friend realised all eighteen left amazingly in a North direction.

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on a serious note its about time and place. I shoot greys when its cold, dark and wet, out on the shore, I probably will shoot my "splash" when its blowing a gale from the south, I will take two geese or preferably some ducks (given the chance) before the end of the season, perhaps it makes me feel better about myself or actions, perhaps I couldn't give a #### and know where some of our meat comes from, I am quite sure i'm privileged to have the choice.

atb IG

Spot on :good:

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I have been wondering if I have been loosing the plot also, so thank you for confirming it is 'normal'. When I'm game or pigeon shooting etc I love pulling the trigger. However I have a small bit of land I feed wild stock to invited friends to, on that land the challenge and enjoyment to me is getting the birds into the covers and over the guns. I get a bit attached and end up hoping the guns miss.

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When i was younger I knew plenty of Wildfowlers who had a small collection of Wildfowl they had found or wing tipped.

My father dug a pond put sand gravel bushes etc and Fox proofed a large area of his garden where to had up to eight Pinkfeet and two Whitefront Geese all had originally been shot. One Pink in particular used to really anoy my Mother as after being captive for two maybe three years it would answer me calling it.I could be some distance away voice call or whistle it and it would call like mad for some time.

The strange thing after my parents separated my father took them to the Otter Trust Norfolk who after being told how long they had been kept etc decided not to wing clip them within two days they had all flown never to be seen again.

Another friend from Surrey over the years built up a flock of eighteen Pink's again all wild been shot birds these had a covered small lake they could fly around during a storm a tree caused a breakage in the fence unfortunately before my friend realised all eighteen left amazingly in a North direction.

 

this makes me happy as a winged bird seems to able to carry a lot of shot, did they leave in the spring ?

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There is nothing wrong with watching rather than killing the wildfowl that are using your garden. Most wildfowlers in your situation would do the same. Years ago I kept a small collection of winged and captive bred wigeon, pintail, teal , gadwall, barnacle, pink footed , greylag and canada geese. I used to spend hours just watching them and the only duck\geese we ever used to shoot on the farm were mallard for fear of killing one of my tame birds. The collection drew lots of wild birds including a few pinks and a flock of canadas. The barnacles went on the form a feral free flying flock that colonised the local marshes. So those of you who see barnacle geese in the Broads can blame me. I was still shooting hard of course both on the local marshes and on the Wash , but I found keeping the tame wildfowl very rewarding. Years later I moved away to take a full time job as a wildfowl keeper and warden in what in the 1970s was the largest wildfowl collection in the world outside of Slimbridge and have worked in conservation ever since.

 

Today I am unable to keep any wildfowl due to where I live , but with retirement looming I am seriously considering moving back to the Broads and have already found a suitable place where once again I could keep a wildfowl collection. For me watching wildfowl and shooting is all part of the same thing and any wildfowler who cant see beyond killing birds is missing half of the enjoyment and thrills of the sport. So Island gun enjoy your garden wildfowl , but beware keeping wildfowl can become quite addictive and once you have a a few native duck you may start to look at wildfowl from across the world. Now where did see Chloie wigeon being advertised for sale ?

Edited by anser2
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cheers anser, the pool is about 300m from the house and next to the tiny bit of salting we have on Harris I do have a few khaki cambells running wild and I'm feeding them in the pool with grain, but I seem to be putting down a lot more than I used to :) I have made a hide and go down a few times a day to see whats using the area, Hoping for an icy spell as the moving water should prove attractive. your own life proves that its a natural thing to both enjoy watching and shooting wildfowl with the shooting providing some sustainable food for the table

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I get it big time. I used to live in a house overlooking a lovely trout stream, there was a beautiful brown trout who had a lie under my window. I did not want to cast a fly for that trout! I was quite happy just to see him (or her) every morning.

Tight Lines

Aled

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