strangford wildfowler Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Well the brent are back again at strangford lough, anyone else think there early? Also how many wildfowlers think they should be put back on the lincence? My personal view on them are as a pest because they eat all the grazing for other birds and they make a mess of a permision I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 It's about the right time for them to turn up. I would like to see them returned to the quarry list, although I do not se them as a pest (but I don't have to put up with them on my wheat, grazing, rape, etc). It would not surprise me if they are now the goose species with the highest wintering numbers in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Has there ever been anything added back on? We cannot even do it with Badgers . To be fair we should never have let them come off just reduced the season so dramatically non were shot say 5-6th September that way if it ever happens again to another quarry species we are just talking about re- extending the season. Added back? yes but only with small bag limits as they are not "hunter aware" and I don't see it happening! Gassing netted birds and burying them on landfill is more likely as and when they create real issues to farming etc. The world has gone mad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutty Boots Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 As Kent has said above, once a quarry species has gone, it's gone for good I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 last time i wildfowled, there were billions of them. they were deafening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Wildfowler Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Brent isn't a British bird, it's European as it passes through, breeds in and winters in a number of European countries. We could only add it to the quarry species list if the European countries were all to agree, and at the moment they don't. Where and when Brent cause a specific problem, a licence can be obtained, usually to shoot a certain number but that's it. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lister1 Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 I think i see a few at kirton at the weekend. They were a long way off but definitely dropping on the marsh like brents. Last season I had a hugebskeen if em drop into my deeks. So many no other birds came by. They made an absolute racket. I just tucked into the small creek and watch them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 (edited) But it would be nice for a traditional wildfowling species to be returned, particularly as numbers could withstand the taking of a harvestable surplus. Brent isn't a British bird, it's European as it passes through, breeds in and winters in a number of European countries. We could only add it to the quarry species list if the European countries were all to agree, and at the moment they don't. Where and when Brent cause a specific problem, a licence can be obtained, usually to shoot a certain number but that's it. John Edited October 2, 2013 by Penelope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry P Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Brent isn't a British bird, it's European as it passes through, breeds in and winters in a number of European countries. We could only add it to the quarry species list if the European countries were all to agree, and at the moment they don't. Where and when Brent cause a specific problem, a licence can be obtained, usually to shoot a certain number but that's it. John can you explain this a little more to me please John, I had no idea that our government cannot decide what we can shoot in our country..Why could our government not just put Brents and Barnacles back on the list if it so pleased. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 can you explain this a little more to me please John, I had no idea that our government cannot decide what we can shoot in our country..Why could our government not just put Brents and Barnacles back on the list if it so pleased. Cheers Sorry to say Terry I don't think there will ever be any the wildfowl we have lost from the quarry list being put back on while we have idiot numbers boys trying to get them selves in the record books , I have seen what has happened here in my own back yard since word has got around that Greylags are here in large numbers & need controlling to know that . Could you just for one moment imagine what would happen if say the Barnie the Brent or the Curlew was put back on ? all the idiots would be out to shoot as many as they could & then what ? pose for pics to go on FB with their record breaking bag & show what great marksman & wildfowlers they are & then chuck them in the dead pit simply because they don't want them or cant be bothered with all the work ? . So what do they do , get fish n chips on the way home ? or put a Fraybentos tin pie in the oven when they get home ? , that sums these ****** up & they are the curse of the shooter/conservationist & wildfowler today . Too make it worse some of theses clowns are BASC members & members of PW ! it did not take me long to work that out ! . ATB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barls2-9-12 Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Have seen a few Brent turn up in the past week or so along with the wigeon. Be good to have them back on the quarry list but wouldn't hold your breath. Does anyone know what they taste like? Be good to know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 (edited) Not too bad once they are regularly feeding inland, by all accounts. Have seen a few Brent turn up in the past week or so along with the wigeon.Be good to have them back on the quarry list but wouldn't hold your breath. Does anyone know what they taste like? Be good to know Edited October 2, 2013 by Penelope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strangford wildfowler Posted October 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Thanks for the feedback guys, I know there has been a big number of brent in strangford lough in recent years, when said about making a mess of permission I have, they mess every where and eat the grass for the cattle and sheep, plus they compete with other wildfowl. Can any of you guys put a list of wildfowl that have been taken off the licence, I would like to know. Cheers atb SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 (edited) Brent, Garganey, Mergansers,Goosanders and the sea ducks, Scaup, Scoters and Longtailed Duck as far as I am aware. Oh, and Barnacle Geese. how could I forget? Brent and Barnacles came off in 1954 and the others in 1981?? Edited October 2, 2013 by Penelope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strangford wildfowler Posted October 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Thanks for the info penelope. any idea y the sea ducks where taken of the list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 No sorry, they were never important quarry species anyway as they spend their time way offshore and are rarely seen close to shore except in really bad/hard weather. Thanks for the info penelope. any idea y the sea ducks where taken of the list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 (edited) Because of their breeding biology brent are not suitable as a quarry species. The problem is they are high Arctic breeding geese and their breeding biology is linked in with lemmings and Arctic foxes. Lemmings are the main food for arctic foxes and run on a 3-4 year cycle. Over a couple of years lemming numbers build up and so do the foxes. Then the lemmings eat themselves out of house and home and numbers crash , but for a while the fox population remains high. After the lemming crash the foxes turn to the brent geese goslings and eggs as their main form of food and this frequently results in no young reaching the flying stage over most of the brents breeding range. The fox numbers then decline from starvation and the lemmings start to recover and so on over a 3-4 year cycle. So the brent tend to have a very good breeding season followed by one or two average breeding seasons and then a complete failure. Coupled into this breeding season is the weather. In some cold summers when the snow does not melt on the breeding tundra again the brent will have a very poor breeding season. The yanks opened a season on brent back in the 1980s after protection for many years and it was a disaster. The first year of the open season coincided with a breeding failure and a cold winter on the wintering grounds. The Atlantic flyway population of brent fell by over a third in one season and despite much shorter seasons than we have and very low bag limits. Now the Americans monitor the production of young on the breeding grounds before the open season and will restrict the season if the birds are doing badly. In a good breeding shooting brent will have little effect on their numbers, but shooting them in a bad breeding season will take out a lot of the adult breeding stock. In Europe unlike America we do not monitor the pre breeding success of our quarry species so have no early warning of a poor breeding season so we could easily have a similar situation as the yanks had with a heavy cull. This would be a PR disaster for the image of wildfowling in the eye of the public. Perhaps we could have an open season if we had the restrictions the Americans have , but if we had bag limits or variable seasons we would be opening a can of worms that would difficult to shut. The conservation bodies would press for season changes for other wildfowl and we could end up with a situation where we could shoot teal but not pintail on a flight or find the shooting season shortened if its been a bad breeding season for mallard. Do we want to risk this just to shoot brent. Brent numbers in England peaked 25 years ago and they have declined since so unlike some other species shooting to control numbers does not apply. They were the most common goose in the UK , now they are now less common than pinks, greylags or Canada’s There are other risks too. Brent have become quite tame through protection. They are mainly found on Eastern and Southern England , the very areas where the most people live and there is a high risk of some fool shooting a big bag of brent under the publics nose and the press getting hold of the story, another PR disaster waiting to happen. Finally our main excuse for shooting brent would be to protect crops which can already be done under licence. Half the food brent eat come from the saltmarsh , an open season on them would drive them more onto farmland and make the problems they cause worse. No the best answer is to leave brent alone for now unless their numbers get out of hand. Edited October 2, 2013 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Have seen a few Brent turn up in the past week or so along with the wigeon. Be good to have them back on the quarry list but wouldn't hold your breath. Does anyone know what they taste like? Be good to know I think some posted on here some where Barels2-9-12 that they had some from a cull & said they were tasty , but not sure with going through al the posts recently . ATB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strangford wildfowler Posted October 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 I supose thats true penelope, cheers That's an interesting read answer thanks for sharing. Atb SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barls2-9-12 Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 I think some posted on here some where Barels2-9-12 that they had some from a cull & said they were tasty , but not sure with going through al the posts recently . ATB Thanks for the reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lister1 Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Brent, Garganey, Mergansers,Goosanders and the sea ducks, Scaup, Scoters and Longtailed Duck as far as I am aware. Oh, and Barnacle Geese. how could I forget? Brent and Barnacles came off in 1954 and the others in 1981?? Curlew? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mat Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Curlew? came off the list 1981 i believe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strangford wildfowler Posted October 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Didn't know curlew had been taken off, you learn something new every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lister1 Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Didn't know curlew had been taken off, you learn something new every day. Every day is a school day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted October 2, 2013 Report Share Posted October 2, 2013 Didn't know curlew had been taken off, you learn something new every day. They were still on the list in Eire as were Jack Snipe some years ago but things may have changed ATB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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