Bird-Watcher Alert

[bobshooting]

Went down Thornham marsh this morning, had a good flight, a Mallard and my first 2 Teal of the Season, was thinking of breakfast when 2 P.C.s appeared on the Sea-Wall.

 

Hallo I thought, Kent Wildfowlers have made good their threat, (see Brancaster Thread), it's Armed Trespass for me at the Assizes Quarter Session, hope its not Judge Jeffreys shift.

 

However, I was falsely maligning the Kentish Clan. for which I apologise. A Birdy had reported me for shooting Waders.

 

Now, it all finished well, I hadn't been, (although snipe and golden plover are both in season of course), these 2 coppers, male and female, were polite people doing their job and they came onto the marsh with just shoes on, which I admire frankly, I was in thigh boots........I began to feel embarrassingly overdressed.

 

Joking apart, it was as well I had all my ''paperwork'' with me and the local cop-shop liaison dudes knowing I was there, so I could show myself to be carefully legal.

 

The questions that I would like answered are:-

 

what sort of Bird-Watcher doesn't know the difference between duck and wader.

 

how come the police can spare 2 bodies for the best part of some time on this.......... and where can I buy some of their shoes.

 

has this, or anything similar,ever happened to anyone else, or is it just me in the ****, as usual.

 

and finally, am I the only one who thinks this was malicious on the Bird-Watchers part, who, by the way, was nowhere to be seen before, during or after the police?

[silver pigeon 3]

I expect the bird watcher did know the difference and just wanted to make trouble for you, the question is if you had been shooting waders as claimed would the police have known what a wader looked liked!!

Was out this morning and could have had a snipe which lifted from from 10 yards infront of my hide, but at the time I had 42g of bb's in so didn't think it was worth it

[FalconFN]

Answers to questions:

 

A malicious one.

 

You had a gun

 

Join the police

 

You're not the only one.

 

See answer 1.

 

You can understand the bird watcher's feelings on the matter, after all they will be just as passionate and would put in as much effort as you, but it still isn't right to disrupt a lawful activity and waste police time to force a personal opinion. Hope you had a good day none the less.

[malkiserow]

shooting waders is generally a bad idea as it lets the water in

 

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I'll get my coat

[kent]

Having legally shot Wildfowl on RSPB lease I can honestly say no its never happened to me personally. In fact I have never had a bad word from them and have regularly had good ones. There are however (trouble makers) in all walks of life.

What I should say is write all the details down and send it to your club and get any other members to do so, this way you have a bit more to go to the cops with if this continues.. They don't like bringing charges for deliberate false reports but can do if it becomes an issue, lets face it they have better things to do themselves

[birdsallpl]

I expect the bird watcher did know the difference and just wanted to make trouble for you, the question is if you had been shooting waders as claimed would the police have known what a wader looked liked!!

Was out this morning and could have had a snipe which lifted from from 10 yards infront of my hide, but at the time I had 42g of bb's in so didn't think it was worth it

Unfortunately in my experience you can put bird watchers into two categories, those that are truly interested in the natural world and find birds and all types of animals interesting and get great pleasure from watching them in their natural habitat. The other mob are the ones that want to be thought of as the former but really can't be bothered to study over the years it takes to really get to understand. They can probably tell what every bird is in the RSPB book from the photo but wouldn't know a puddle from a loch.

[bobshooting]

shooting waders is generally a bad idea as it lets the water in

 

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I'll get my coat

Are you based at the Novelty Rock Emporium?

[bobshooting]

Having legally shot Wildfowl on RSPB lease I can honestly say no its never happened to me personally. In fact I have never had a bad word from them and have regularly had good ones. There are however (trouble makers) in all walks of life.

What I should say is write all the details down and send it to your club and get any other members to do so, this way you have a bit more to go to the cops with if this continues.. They don't like bringing charges for deliberate false reports but can do if it becomes an issue, lets face it they have better things to do themselves

This is a first for me too, after 48 years 'fowling.

 

I've no axe to grind with the RSPB.

 

In fairness I've no way of knowing if this Birdy was anything to do with the RSPB, a lot of people use that Bank.

[malkiserow]

Are you based at the Novelty Rock Emporium?

 

Sweet, I like it

[hedge hunter]

shooting waders is generally a bad idea as it lets the water in

 

 

 

best 1 I've heard in a while lol

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I'll get my coat

[marsh man]

No " bobshooting" I have never had the law come and give me a look while out fowling and the only time one came and had a yarn was when I was pigeon shooting and a tenant at one of the farms said to the village copper that my shooting was upsetting her horses and when he came he estimated I was 300yds away and told me to carry on as I wasn't doing any harm. Now you have done a lot of fowling "Bob" if you were shooting in bad light , under the moon or in any adverse conditions could you tell the difference between say a White Front , Pink Feet or a Bean Goose two are on the list and one is protected . I am sorry to say over the last 50yrs I have shot two which work out one every 25yrs, and there will be people on hear say if you don't know what they are then don't shoot them, but you know as well as I do if your knelling in a creek with the sound of 1000s of Geese calling all around you and out of the darkness come a small skein 30yds above you and all your thinking about is what one your going to shoot. You know there Grey Geese and most likely Pinks with a very slight chance they might be White Fronts or Greylags. The majority of wildfowlers away from East Anglia are never likely to come across one but with more Geese spreading about the country there is always that possibility . So come on and be honest would you know a Bean Goose coming over you in some of the conditions we go out in ?

[kent]

No " bobshooting" I have never had the law come and give me a look while out fowling and the only time one came and had a yarn was when I was pigeon shooting and a tenant at one of the farms said to the village copper that my shooting was upsetting her horses and when he came he estimated I was 300yds away and told me to carry on as I wasn't doing any harm. Now you have done a lot of fowling "Bob" if you were shooting in bad light , under the moon or in any adverse conditions could you tell the difference between say a White Front , Pink Feet or a Bean Goose two are on the list and one is protected . I am sorry to say over the last 50yrs I have shot two which work out one every 25yrs, and there will be people on hear say if you don't know what they are then don't shoot them, but you know as well as I do if your knelling in a creek with the sound of 1000s of Geese calling all around you and out of the darkness come a small skein 30yds above you and all your thinking about is what one your going to shoot. You know there Grey Geese and most likely Pinks with a very slight chance they might be White Fronts or Greylags. The majority of wildfowlers away from East Anglia are never likely to come across one but with more Geese spreading about the country there is always that possibility . So come on and be honest would you know a Bean Goose coming over you in some of the conditions we go out in ?

wE must be careful at all times all parts of the country, we have two Bar headed geese in among some greys at present I am told ( I mean you just don't expect that one do you?) I feel for the guys sorting beans from pinks though

[marsh man]

wE must be careful at all times all parts of the country, we have two Bar headed geese in among some greys at present I am told ( I mean you just don't expect that one do you?) I feel for the guys sorting beans from pinks though

Up until a couple of years ago I thought I had seen most of what you were likely to come across including Bitterns , Storks ,Spoonbills and even Black Swans but one night I had four big birds coming towards me out of the town lights and at first I thought they were Swans then by the wing beats I thought they were some sort of Geese and it wasn't until they turned well in front I saw there long legs and then I knew what they were..... Cranes.

[islandgun]

Up until a couple of years ago I thought I had seen most of what you were likely to come across including Bitterns , Storks ,Spoonbills and even Black Swans but one night I had four big birds coming towards me out of the town lights and at first I thought they were Swans then by the wing beats I thought they were some sort of Geese and it wasn't until they turned well in front I saw there long legs and then I knew what they were..... Cranes.

How far are you from Yarmouth/ Lowestoft docks

[marsh man]

How far are you from Yarmouth/ Lowestoft docks

Well done islandgun .....I knew I could rely on you to be the first one to PICK THAT ONE UP

[kent]

Up until a couple of years ago I thought I had seen most of what you were likely to come across including Bitterns , Storks ,Spoonbills and even Black Swans but one night I had four big birds coming towards me out of the town lights and at first I thought they were Swans then by the wing beats I thought they were some sort of Geese and it wasn't until they turned well in front I saw there long legs and then I knew what they were..... Cranes.

 

That's fowling today, Lord knows i have missed raising my gun to quarry thinking it something else but i have also had a few" half mounts" on stuff like head on Shell duck i could have sworn were pinks for a second or two. I should rather miss a chance then land myself or club in bother though

[Norfolk Rogue1]

did you see them snow geese last year about yarouth

[birdsallpl]

Up until a couple of years ago I thought I had seen most of what you were likely to come across including Bitterns , Storks ,Spoonbills and even Black Swans but one night I had four big birds coming towards me out of the town lights and at first I thought they were Swans then by the wing beats I thought they were some sort of Geese and it wasn't until they turned well in front I saw there long legs and then I knew what they were..... Cranes.

A few years ago on the solway I saw a pelican for about 3 mornings on the trot. Even I couldn't mistake that for a pink though, so no problems in that area.

[Varminator]

Saw three Great Cranes last Thursday at South Walsham. Saw 6 of them 2 years ago when we had the snow. Big birds so wouldn't want to pluck one. Guess they're the ones from Hickling.

[Varminator]

And there was. Ross's goose hanging around with 6 barnacle messing about with the Pinks last year. I saw it on Haddiscoe island and at Burgh St Peter. Hope it's back this year with several thousand pinks.

[Konnie]

one of our members last season saw two police men standing next to his vehicle, thought it had been broken into, as it turned out been reported as shooting brent, showed the officers 3 Canada's. they had to google it to check what they were. Those that report should be made to leave details, until checked out.

[Big Mat]

one of our members last season saw two police men standing next to his vehicle, thought it had been broken into, as it turned out been reported as shooting brent, showed the officers 3 Canada's. they had to google it to check what they were. Those that report should be made to leave details, until checked out.

 

If i recall they were armed police as well?

 

Given where he was parked i am not completly surprised that someone decided they didnt like the shooting and reported him!

[Varminator]

Hi marshman, I only know it was a Ross's as I track the birding websites for tips I thought it was a snow but those twitchers know what they're looking at and when I researched it you could see it was a Ross's. When we had that huge influx a few years ago there was a snow with them then (apparently) but could have been the same goose. I'll positively identify it this year when it's a bit closer

Hi marshman, I only know it was a Ross's as I track the birding websites for tips I thought it was a snow but those twitchers know what they're looking at and when I researched it you could see it was a Ross's. When we had that huge influx a few years ago there was a snow with them then (apparently) but could have been the same goose. I'll positively identify it this year when it's a bit closer

My iPhone has caused a glitch in the Matrix

My iPhone has caused a glitch in the Matrix

[birdsallpl]

. One strange duck that was shot one morning was a Smew , a little Black and White duck with a pointed tail ,

 

I take it no one owned up to shooting it

[anser2]

The simplest way of telling Ross snow geese fron lesser snow geese is size. Ross are about the size of a brent , lesser snows the size of a pink foot. A ross Snows bill is also very small while a lesser snows is larger more like a greylag bill , both are red. However is recent years there have been ross x pink feet in the N Norfolk flocks of pinks.

 

The Ross geese originate from the waterfowl collection at Pensthorpe and a decade ago 4 of them joined the wild pink foot flocks and started to migrate with them. One was shot and only two others have been seen in recent years. Just to complicate matters there are also a few free winged ross snows around the Wash ( Sutton Bridge ) with a flock of feral barnagles and from time to time they wander as far east at cley on the N Norfolk coast. Again there are a few hybrids in the flock.

 

I can never figuar out how to download photos in this forum , but for those of you on the wildfowl forum scroll back a few years and there is a photo on there of a barnacle whitefront hybrid I shot on the Wash.