Pole Star Posted September 6, 2012 Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 (edited) Hi Pole Star. Is there a specific objective behind the tagging project (e.g. numbers shot / found dead per annum) or is it just about tracking where they go? Or perhaps a bit of everything? Hi Piebob don't panic its nothing to do with the Anti's ! Its research into bird movements ect carried out by the BTO & other interested parties its not just done on wildfowl its carried out on all kinds sizes & types of birds & one of aisters geese was banded on the 19th July last year I understand . I don't have a banding license but have been interested since when I was a young lad in the early 70s & caught my first banded bird dustbin lid & string style ! & caught a Spotless Starling only to find it had a ring on its leg & in excitement I took in the show my mother & examined the ring which had a number & a British Museum contact which we duly contacted & got back the info of where & when it was banded 2 years before , then released the bird . All interesting stuff to those of us who are conservation minded but sadly some shooters dust don't bother to report them & I can't for the life of me understand why ? I try to tell chaps where I live to hand them in or at best pass them to me & I pass on the info , I have to pick up 2 in a moment from a local lad . aisters goose was banded in shetland in July last year so only had a short life before ending up in aisters recipe which is dam good incidentally ! so if you shoot geese try it & don't dump in the ditch like some A holes did on the A9 some years ago it was a 120 pinks in a water course & made the national press ! . Pole Star Edited September 7, 2012 by Pole Star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted September 6, 2012 Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 Is there anywhere where online that says how many wildfowl are banded? Not enough are done really IMO. I had a mallard once which turned out to be 8 1/2 years old. I've seen a woodcock someone shot that was banded and the old man found a dead robin,(I think) near the house that also had a ring. I've still got the mallard ring on a lanyard with my goose call. Out of interest, if I saw a goose that had a massive ring on it, would it not single it out a bit? Thus invalidating the results slightly by reducing its life expectancy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted September 7, 2012 Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 (edited) The BTO publish the number of ringed ( only the Yanks "band " geese) in Ringing and Migration once a year , usualy in April. The returns from these ringed wildfowl provide useful information on breeding , migrantion routes and wintering as well as how long these birds live in the wild. Shooting is the major reason for recoveries , about 12-17% of ringed ducks , but then the majority of birds that die from natural causes are never found. I used to ring a lot of ducks , but its very expensive costing 50P per duck ring and 2.50 for a swan ring. As I used to ring 1-2,000 wildfowl a year you can see the costs mount up ( though some of my rings were subsidised ) , without the cost of building large cage traps and over a ton of grain for bait. We live in an every changing world with wildfowl adapting to farming and climate change and changing their migration patterns and wintering areas so it is vital we understand what is going on so all wildfowlers should report the ring number to the BTO. No need to send the ring in just send the number , bird species , where and when it was shot and you will get back the details ( it may take a little time ) of where and when the duck\goose was ringed. When local populations decline shooting may get the blame , but often ringing returns show the wildfowl have just moved their wintering area. Wildfowler 250 Ringing has no effect on the behaviour of the birds as otherwise there would be no point in doing it. A birds weight changes a lot during the course of a day , being lightest after a cold night and increasing up to 20% during the day. So the addition of a few gram ring is insignificant to them. No more than the effectod a weding ring on a human finger. The larger rings you mention are DARVIC rings , large enough for the number to be read in the wild and made of plastic ( so lighter ). It is very doubtful if any wildfowler would notice a ring on a bird until after he shot it. Several Orkney ringed geese have been shot in Norfolk showing that some do leave the islands and if the proposed goose culls do go ahead I can expect a decline in the number I shoot in Norfolk. Edited September 7, 2012 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted September 7, 2012 Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 Thanks for the reply! I've seen a few American videos where they say,"we spotted a banded bird whilst out scouting yesterday" and the poor thing ends up in the bag in the afternoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted September 7, 2012 Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 (edited) Thanks for picking up on that anser2 I know your Knowledge is greater than mine , I was talking to Alan L & who bands the geese here in Orkney & he did tell me that the Norfolk broads is the the furthest south the Orkney Greylags have been recorded so far & one was recorded in the Faroe Isles . Pole Star . Edited September 7, 2012 by Pole Star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowlingmad Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 i only use one goose recipe, its one the wife and kids love and thats the main thing. i remember the first years of shooting i used to pluck the whole bird and really when its whole plucked you can only roast them. sometimes you would get one that wasnt bad but most of the time it was like chewin on a half sole, you could use the breasts for engine mounts. heres the recipe i use, its a Polish recipe from the war that they used for poor cuts of beef, it works a treat with goose. AISTERS GOOSE RECIPE. INGREDIENTS: 2-3 goose breasts, 2 large red onions, 1lb of mushrooms, 300ml of single cream (or small tub) 2 cubes of beef bovril, butter as needed, flour. DIRECTIONS: 1. cut goose breast in to 3 chunks, coat in flour and sear on both sides in very hot butter. adding butter as required. remove meat to large casserole dish. 2. dice onion and fry in butter till starting to brown and add too goose. 3. half mushrooms and fry in butter and add too goose and onions. 4. pour the cream in among the goose, onions and mushrooms, add water till it is all just covered then add the bovrill. 5. cover and bake in the oven at 165 deg C for three hours. Thought i'd try out this recipe, it looks good! Just put everything in the oven, hopeing for tasty results in 3 hours time! If not i'll know who to blame... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted September 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Thought i'd try out this recipe, it looks good! Just put everything in the oven, hopeing for tasty results in 3 hours time! If not i'll know who to blame... let me know what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 (edited) I tried asters goose wildfowling mad with breast's of young geese & found it to be very good in fact I think its the best one yet & if you let it cool & leave it in the fridge for a day or two it tastes even better by the time all the flavors mingled . Edited September 9, 2012 by Pole Star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowlingmad Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Great, I think there is more than enough for 1 meal, so i will. I take it you mean you re-heated it the next time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Great, I think there is more than enough for 1 meal, so i will. I take it you mean you re-heated it the next time? Don't think it tastes as nice cold so yes reheat it even in the microwave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted September 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 i must have a family of gannets because i have never had any left to heat up :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowlingmad Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 i must have a family of gannets because i have never had any left to heat up :lol: Unfortunatly wild geese dont have a very good reputation in our household... But that was down to some old badly cooked birds that were almost inedible!! Even the lab didnt seem to like them!! :lol: And thanks pole star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bad lindz Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Shall we start a `How do you cook your Goose ` post I am sure we all have our own ideas. Although I cooked my first bird this season as a goose wellington I have had great results from mincing the breasts and making a variety of dishes with mince. It allows for plenty of scope. BBL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 (edited) Might be a good idea BBL wild geese are not easy to get right & the older they !!!!! as wildfowlingmad said if they old ones even the dogs are not keen on them ! always best to cook young birds & cook up the old ons for the dog or give to the ferrets & don't forget to use the hearts & livers shame to waste them as they are quite big . Some people just like strong strong gamey flavors & Hugh Fernly Whittingstall is one of them I think ! but I am afraid I am not one em !. When hunting in Africa we had Springbok medallions in our hunting camp & I was looking forward to them but I am afraid never again ! they tasted a bit like what a fresh cow pat smells like ! . Talking of Africa in one of the camps we stayed at there was some cold & hot spicy meet in a bowel we had with our cold beer & I tried a similar thing with chopped cold goose breast & it worked & was soon gobbled up by myself & a farmer who called round but trouble is it was a while ago so I cant remember exactly how I made it ! . But will work on it or maybe some one has a hot spicy biltong idea that we could try it on . Edited September 9, 2012 by Pole Star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowlingmad Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 let me know what you think. The meat was really good, tender and not dry, i think i put too much water in so the flavour was diluted a bit, but very nice overall. Will definantly do it next time! :good: Thanks for shareing the recipe aister! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 The meat was really good, tender and not dry, i think i put too much water in so the flavour was diluted a bit, but very nice overall. Will definantly do it next time! :good: Thanks for shareing the recipe aister! What type of goose did you use wildfowlingmad ? you should have finished up with a nice creamy textured sauce just right to serve with mashed spuds . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowlingmad Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 greylag, yea i put too much water in so the texture wasnt right but its a good recipe, thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted September 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 glad you liked it. my wife just said that you need just enough water to cover, so maybe you have put in too much. the recipe works well with any fowl or game. this time of year when the ducks are stobbly and a nightmare to pluck clean i just breast them and use them in this same recipe (not sure if stobbly is a word but i am sure you all know what i mean ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utectok Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Great shooting. No way would I shoot that many geese though.... just enough for me and familly and friends. Each to his own though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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