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Stormy weather ahead

anser2

By anser2,
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anser2

anser2

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The weathermen are forcasting very strong wnds in the morning for Southern England , but I would urge anyone going out to take great care. Weather like this is what we dream about , but you can have too much of a good thing. many wildfowl will seek out sheltered areas before the worst of the wind arrives or hunker down and not move at all.

 

 

Then there are the problems of blocked roads to get to the marsh and having to keep a very wary eye of the tide , even if its a neap one. I can remember being out one dawn in such conditions and for once the duck did flight - downwind making almost impossible shots. The two i did hit were wirled away in the wind and the dog was only able to find one and that was a pretty sorry mess having been covered with mud. All in all give me a simple 30-40 mph gale anyday. Having said that I hope to do a flight in the morning. Providing I can get through to the marsh. I have been watching the few geese we have had on my marsh this season and at last they have started to use a flightline that might yeald a bird with luck.

I have been out in a few such winds sometimes lucky , more often not. There was a morning on the sandunes on the n Norfolk coast when the pinks battled in in thousands , but the cover was not good and the moment you moved the geese jumped in the air and flared sideways and allowed the wind to carry them backwards - just where do you shoot at a a goose being pushed backwards and sidewards. I did finaly manage to get a few , but for a lot of shots. On the other hand I have been out in storm conditions that became life threatening and ended with tragic results , so take care if you are out in the morning.

 

 

 

 

At the risk of sounding like a boreing old **** it might be worth recalling a storm flight i had over 30 years ago.

 

It was January 11th 1978 on the Wash. I was staying on a houseboat with a mate Dave Wilkes for the week. All week the weathermen had been telling of north gales across the country , but Norfolk seemed to miss out on them, just having moderate north breezes. But the tides had been huge flooding the salt marsh every morning. Despite there being a lot of geese and duck about we only had a couple of mallard and a pink between us for the first two days. Wednesday morning was a blank and we got back to the houseboat and after breakfast turned in for some kip. We awoke to feel the house boat being buffeted by the now storm force wind .
We knew their flight lines and with this wind they had to be low. About 3.00 it started to sleet and the visibility was very bad. We split up and hid in a creek and awaited the geese. I should have guessed something was wrong when a flock of mallard refused to get airborn, they just parted was I walked through them and reformed in a tight huddle as I passed.

After about an hour I was frozen to the core , the wind just cut straight through me. A skein of pinks appeared out of the driving sleet .
They came over in a mass just feet above the marsh and I was just too cold to uncurl and shoot. I knew I had to get back to the houseboat or there was a real risk of exposure setting in. I got a shock when I stood up , the sleet had cut visibility to less than 30 yards and I was not sure which way the houseboat was ( my compass was back in my other wet jacket in the houseboat ). Unless the wind had changed as long as I kept it on my back I knew I would reach the sea wall. Being pushed by the wind it only seemed little time to cross the marsh. Then a second shock. in front of was a stretch of mud that I could not see the other side of through the sleet. rather than face the possibility I had walked in a circle and this was the open mudflats ( the wind was still at my back ) I nervously crossed the mud and to my relief the sea wall appeared out of the murk. The stretch of mud had been the silted up borrow pit where they had dug the mud for the sea wall.

When I got back to the houseboat the owner John was there with Dave warning us of the surge tide that was expected. John had seen T early on and he was supposed to join us for a cupper. As I was changing I looked outside the window and thought the ground looked very light. It was the tide 5 hours early !!

We just got back to the sea wall in time , but we got a wetting. John was worried about T and we set out to find him which we did , or rather T blundered into us. He was in a bad way vomiting and he then passed out on us. Giving Dave the guns John and I carried T back 1\2 a mile along the sea wall to a place where they could get the car and drive up. The other two went for the car wile I stayed with T. He had come round , but kept being sick. The sleet had stopped , but spray was flying everywhere. It seemed an age before the car headlights appeared and by some of the waves were running over the sea wall.

As soon as we got T back into a warm car he perked up and even has a fag. When we got back to the club car park he seemed a lot better and he went to put some of his gear into his car. Next thing the car lurched across the car park and I ran over. T was gripping the steering wheel and his face was stone cold almost clear as there was no blood. He had a heart attack brought on by exposure. I slipped 2 shells into his gun and shot into the air as the wind was so strong it was impossible for the others to hear anything. The others ran up but it was too late T was dead. I know we should have tried to revive him , thumped his heart or something , but none of us knew what to do. To my amazement on such a night the shots brought the beat keeper to the car park and he contacted the police.

The next day we returned to find the houseboat sunk our belongings scattered round the marsh , but Dave and I were the lucky ones . If John had not warned us and his warning had not made me look out the window I have little doubt we both would have drowned for the houseboat was moored 100 yards from the seawall and we never would have made it swimming.

For the record the wind that night was recorded reaching 110 miles per hour. At the time I was running a pub in the Broads and when I returned home the next night the wind had dropped to nothing. About 9 ish one of our patrons who was shall we say was a little thick came in and sat down with a pint. In a casual manner he said " I had a job getting in here tonight " Why I asked . He had to wade through a flooded car park to get to the pub. Opening the door all I could hear was the rush of water. The river wall weakened by the previous days huge tide had broken and for the second time in 24 hours I was running from the tide.

 

Be careful in the morning.

Edited by anser2
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tigger

tigger

Posted
Posted

Good shout!! I can echo that very strong winds can push the tide in very early and quickly and cut you off in an instant, and the rain and hail can make vision so vary impaired you can't see where your going, I speak from experience after a little "incident" I had one stormy night.....

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strangford wildfowler

strangford wildfowler

Posted
Posted

 

Im actually more Northernly located than yourself' Its pretty Calm at present'bit of a breeze earlier but i dont think we will get what is forecasted for Southern England and Wales.

 

Your are probably right supergoose, tell me this many birds about your way? Cause it pretty Barron of ducks at the moment where I am

 

Atb SW

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daz2202

daz2202

Posted
Posted

The weathermen are forcasting very strong wnds in the morning for Southern England , but I would urge anyone going out to take great care. Weather like this is what we dream about , but you can have too much of a good thing. many wildfowl will seek out sheltered areas before the worst of the wind arrives or hunker down and not move at all.

 

 

Then there are the problems of blocked roads to get to the marsh and having to keep a very wary eye of the tide , even if its a neap one. I can remember being out one dawn in such conditions and for once the duck did flight - downwind making almost impossible shots. The two i did hit were wirled away in the wind and the dog was only able to find one and that was a pretty sorry mess having been covered with mud. All in all give me a simple 30-40 mph gale anyday. Having said that I hope to do a flight in the morning. Providing I can get through to the marsh. I have been watching the few geese we have had on my marsh this season and at last they have started to use a flightline that might yeald a bird with luck.

 

I have been out in a few such winds sometimes lucky , more often not. There was a morning on the sandunes on the n Norfolk coast when the pinks battled in in thousands , but the cover was not good and the moment you moved the geese jumped in the air and flared sideways and allowed the wind to carry them backwards - just where do you shoot at a a goose being pushed backwards and sidewards. I did finaly manage to get a few , but for a lot of shots. On the other hand I have been out in storm conditions that became life threatening and ended with tragic results , so take care if you are out in the morning.

 

 

 

 

At the risk of sounding like a boreing old **** it might be worth recalling a storm flight i had over 30 years ago.

 

It was January 11th 1978 on the Wash. I was staying on a houseboat with a mate Dave Wilkes for the week. All week the weathermen had been telling of north gales across the country , but Norfolk seemed to miss out on them, just having moderate north breezes. But the tides had been huge flooding the salt marsh every morning. Despite there being a lot of geese and duck about we only had a couple of mallard and a pink between us for the first two days. Wednesday morning was a blank and we got back to the houseboat and after breakfast turned in for some kip. We awoke to feel the house boat being buffeted by the now storm force wind .

We knew their flight lines and with this wind they had to be low. About 3.00 it started to sleet and the visibility was very bad. We split up and hid in a creek and awaited the geese. I should have guessed something was wrong when a flock of mallard refused to get airborn, they just parted was I walked through them and reformed in a tight huddle as I passed.

 

After about an hour I was frozen to the core , the wind just cut straight through me. A skein of pinks appeared out of the driving sleet .

They came over in a mass just feet above the marsh and I was just too cold to uncurl and shoot. I knew I had to get back to the houseboat or there was a real risk of exposure setting in. I got a shock when I stood up , the sleet had cut visibility to less than 30 yards and I was not sure which way the houseboat was ( my compass was back in my other wet jacket in the houseboat ). Unless the wind had changed as long as I kept it on my back I knew I would reach the sea wall. Being pushed by the wind it only seemed little time to cross the marsh. Then a second shock. in front of was a stretch of mud that I could not see the other side of through the sleet. rather than face the possibility I had walked in a circle and this was the open mudflats ( the wind was still at my back ) I nervously crossed the mud and to my relief the sea wall appeared out of the murk. The stretch of mud had been the silted up borrow pit where they had dug the mud for the sea wall.

 

When I got back to the houseboat the owner John was there with Dave warning us of the surge tide that was expected. John had seen T early on and he was supposed to join us for a cupper. As I was changing I looked outside the window and thought the ground looked very light. It was the tide 5 hours early !!

 

We just got back to the sea wall in time , but we got a wetting. John was worried about T and we set out to find him which we did , or rather T blundered into us. He was in a bad way vomiting and he then passed out on us. Giving Dave the guns John and I carried T back 1\2 a mile along the sea wall to a place where they could get the car and drive up. The other two went for the car wile I stayed with T. He had come round , but kept being sick. The sleet had stopped , but spray was flying everywhere. It seemed an age before the car headlights appeared and by some of the waves were running over the sea wall.

 

As soon as we got T back into a warm car he perked up and even has a fag. When we got back to the club car park he seemed a lot better and he went to put some of his gear into his car. Next thing the car lurched across the car park and I ran over. T was gripping the steering wheel and his face was stone cold almost clear as there was no blood. He had a heart attack brought on by exposure. I slipped 2 shells into his gun and shot into the air as the wind was so strong it was impossible for the others to hear anything. The others ran up but it was too late T was dead. I know we should have tried to revive him , thumped his heart or something , but none of us knew what to do. To my amazement on such a night the shots brought the beat keeper to the car park and he contacted the police.

 

The next day we returned to find the houseboat sunk our belongings scattered round the marsh , but Dave and I were the lucky ones . If John had not warned us and his warning had not made me look out the window I have little doubt we both would have drowned for the houseboat was moored 100 yards from the seawall and we never would have made it swimming.

 

For the record the wind that night was recorded reaching 110 miles per hour. At the time I was running a pub in the Broads and when I returned home the next night the wind had dropped to nothing. About 9 ish one of our patrons who was shall we say was a little thick came in and sat down with a pint. In a casual manner he said " I had a job getting in here tonight " Why I asked . He had to wade through a flooded car park to get to the pub. Opening the door all I could hear was the rush of water. The river wall weakened by the previous days huge tide had broken and for the second time in 24 hours I was running from the tide.

 

 

Be careful in the morning.

 

 

What a story. Good write up arnser.

 

After the happenings at sea in the wind last season I haven't been able to bring myself to go fowling this year. And I don't think I will ever be out there on a boat again.

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karpman

karpman

Posted
Posted

Being inland. Don't get chance to lay eyes on proper sea birds very often.

 

Shall be out checking the local to reservoirs for em over the next few days though.

 

Amazing how far scoters, pintails, and gannets will make It inland in such severe weather.

 

 

Great write up very poignant, stay safe out there fellas. A duck or a goose is not worth not coming back for....

 

Karpman

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mpk

mpk

Posted
Posted

I'm right on the south coast, and to be honest it really is to windy at the moment. I'll probably leave it until this has passed (day or so) it's actually quite bad wind wise at the minute.

 

So much so I have moved the shooting buss away from the house on the driveway through risk of tiles Landing on it !!

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kent

kent

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Posted

All just make sure you can survive for another flight, I changed my intended venue yesterday to about 130 miles further down the coast from were I intended as even with the neap tide I feared not getting back through a crossing at low water if the tide was held back. As it was I got under a great flight of widgeon at the last minute safe spot and then shot like an idiot under a very poor sky ending up with an embarrassingly low 1-5 ratio shooting between gaps in the big black cloud cover

 

Mother nature does not take prisoners, hold court or allow lenience for first offences. That's one hack of a sobering story on the effects of hypothermia

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anser2

anser2

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Posted (edited)

This morning was a bit of an anti climax , but i should have expected that. When I got to the back of the marsh there was a good wind blowing , but nothing like the forcasters were sugesting for the morning flight. Despite heavy rain during the night it was dry as I got my gear on , but as soon as I left the car light rain started. As I started to walk along the greens the wind picked up to probably 40 mph so with the forcast rain I though the weather should be wild enough to get a shot at the pinks without going out onto the saltings so I sliped into the sueada bushes at the back of the marsh.

 

No sooner had I loaded my gun than a bunch of mallard apeared out of the darkness. I missed with two shots at almost stationary birds. I should have had at least one , but on the other hand a super full choke and goose shells are not the best combination for duck at 25 yards in near darkness. Shortly afterwards a single large bird came overhead , but the light was very bad and I could not be sure if it was a goose or a big gull unlil it was past when a single pink foot call rang out from behind. Still better not to shoot that risk killing a protected bird. Over the next hour the light grew , but all I saw was a few gulls and then a dark cloud apeared to the west. Within a short while I could no longer see the trees along the marsh and then the rain hit. For the reminder of the morning heavy rain fell out of the sky. Three teal wisked overhead just a couple of feet above me , but I was loaded with 3.5 inch BBBs for geese so I let them go. Then the rain became even more heavy if that was possible and the wind dropped to nothing . An hour later it stopped for a short time and I expected the pinks to move but nothing happened. Finaly I saw a bunch 500 yards off , but that was all until the rain started again as I was walking off. A few skiens started to flight from the east , well away from the roost but with no wind they were all 70-90 yards up. I suspect the main flock moved during the storm in the darkness and shifted a few miles down the coast ot a sheltered area.

 

So ended the flight all that was left to do when I got home was to dry out my fowling coat ( which had not let any rain through , though my shoulders were wet where rain had driven down my neck , not bad for a £30 fleece in its second season ) dry the gun and oil up the brass shell heads to stop the rust and a late breakfast.

Edited by anser2
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