fenboy Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 (edited) Well Motty and myself had a memorable flight last night . It started off poorly when I got to the marsh to find I had left my rucksack in the shed containing among other things , my cartridges and coat ! Luckily Motty had spares of both. We go down the marsh early to shoot the tide followed by evening flight. We saw a large bunch of teal a good way off that split , we watched one of the bunches go out of range behind us only to turn around to see the other had flew straight past us , fortunately they turned again and headed towards us , Motty not wanting to shoot into the bunch of about 40 picked out a tail bird an missed ! Not a great start , it soon became apparent things were going to be quiet but after a good wait Motty managed to redeem himself when I walked up and flushed a mallard out of a creek which flew up to him . I could tell from my position the duck was not dead and by the time I got to him it had managed to evade his dog with a single dive and had disappeared , we thought it would resurface but we never saw it do so, we could only think it had found its way up one of a couple of small creeks that ran into the far side. Things continued to be slow , we saw the odd pack of wigeon but none close enough for a shot . Time was getting on and we were beginning to think about calling it a night when Motty spotted a duck heading straight towards us , I put the gun up and as it started to turn I was certain it was a hen pintail , fortunately despite my shooting being poor at the moment I managed to drop it in the creek with my first shot , my lab Milo was out in a flash and sure enough presented me with my first ever pintail , something I was after all last season and I had managed one this with just over a week gone. The tide had dropped by now so I said to Motty to walk along the bank and see if he could see the lost mallard up the side creeks , he had a look but still could not find , then I looked up to see Milo trotting toward me with a lively duck in his mouth , it was mottys lost mallard ! The duck had somehow crept up onto the bank on our side of the creek and made its way out into the marsh. We both agreed now would be a good time to call it a night with my first pintail and mottys first duck from this marsh in the bag. So we slipped our guns and started to clear up when motty said he thought there were some greylag heading our way , I had a quick look and indeed a good sized skein was heading straight at us . Much fumbling to get guns from slips and cartridges loaded but we managed in the nick of time , my first shot missed but a quick second saw a greylag dropping and thudding into the far side creek bank , unfortunately Motty missed his chance . Milo had no sooner got back with my first foreshore greylag when we saw another skein heading our way , this time roles were reversed with me missing and motty hitting one had which planed over the creek and dropped around 80 yards or so away. We thought we best take a walk over and look for it , we had to get over a large creek though by now it only had a foot or so of water in it and the creek bottom was firm. We had only been over a minute or so when Milo found the now dead goose, and motty too had his first foreshore greylag ! So it looked like the night had ended on a real high , unfortunately it did not . On crossing back over the creek and climbing out the other side I hit a patch of soft mud and quickly sank to over my knees , it was impossible to move even with motty pulling me , every time I did manage to get my foot up my wader boot stayed firmly stuck , we had to dig my feet out with our hands only to find the next step I took the same thing happened , by now I was getting exhausted as no doubt was motty ! Eventually I decide the best plan was to did my feet out again and then push myself while on my back down to the creek bottom where it was firmer , this thankfully worked and I finally after about 30-40 mins managed to get out with some assistance from motty , I am sure I taught him some words that he had not heard before in the process !!. If motty had not been there to help I am sure I would have been walking off in my socks with the waders left in the mud, especially if the tide was coming in instead of going out as it was . So all in all a flight not to forget , mine and mottys first greylag my first pintail and a reminder the marsh is not to be taken lightly , so be careful out there guys. Sorry about the poor pics. Edited September 10, 2015 by fenboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Well done Gents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 (edited) Sounds as though you had a good flight. One small thing though, your pintail is a drake not a duck. The wing pattern and blue beak is a give away. Look at the tail feathers , if its tip is sharp and pointed its an adult ( cant tell from the photo , but I suspect it is ) , it the tip has a V notch its a youngster. Edited September 10, 2015 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted September 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Sounds as though you had a good flight. One small thing though, your pintail is a drake not a duck. The wing pattern and blue beak is a give away. Look at the tail feathers , if its tip is sharp and pointed its an adult ( cant tell from the photo , but I suspect it is ) , it the tip has a V notch its a youngster. Thanks answer , looks like I need to brush up on my ducks in eclipse identification , though I should have known about the blue beak ! I have just had a look and it have a v notch , though it is a good sized bird , so a good sized youngster then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 A fine adventure for the two of you. Do you love Milo just a bit more now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konnie Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 You look like a couple of mud wrestlers, Motty has quite a sweat on there. Well done you two. Jdog must really be up for a trip now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted September 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 (edited) A fine adventure for the two of you. Do you love Milo just a bit more now? He did very well last night JDog , we would have certainly lost the mallard. I love him certainly but he is still able to do my head in on a regular basis , he never lost a bird on the marsh last year though and has started in a similar vein this season so I will live with his unpredictability . Edited September 10, 2015 by fenboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted September 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 You look like a couple of mud wrestlers, Motty has quite a sweat on there. Well done you two. Jdog must really be up for a trip now.... You look like a couple of mud wrestlers, Motty has quite a sweat on there. Well done you two. Jdog must really be up for a trip now.... He has , a combination of trying to pull me out of the mud and wearing neoprenes in September I suspect ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 You look like a couple of mud wrestlers, Motty has quite a sweat on there. Well done you two. Jdog must really be up for a trip now.... No thanks. Imagine what would happen if an old *** like me got stuck up to my nether regions in the mud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IEH Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Well done both of you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 I will certainly never forget it. God I was sweaty! Well if that's a drake then I've probably shot a few drakes and mistaken them for females. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6.5x55SE Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Well done to you Both on your Firsts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony G Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Fair play for pulling him out Motty After all the mick taking I got for getting stuck last season I would of left him in there a bit longer if it was me ! Any pictures ! ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m greeny Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Now thats what its all about well done on achieving 2 of your goals and well done motty for pulling you out ****. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Now thats what its all about well done on achieving 2 of your goals and well done motty for pulling you out ****.[/quoteHe is one heavy ******! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted September 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 (edited) Now thats what its all about well done on achieving 2 of your goals and well done motty for pulling you out ****.[/quoteHe is one heavy ******! Yes but who's fault was it I was over there Edited September 10, 2015 by fenboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E.w. Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Well done you men a memorable outing and just goes to show the value of working in pairs on the marsh, makes for a safer outing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Good outing boys, shame there no pics of you bogged fenboy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morty Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Great evening out , never a dull moment on the marsh . Well done on your first pintail something I'm still after , and well done for picking the mallard . That's why we take our four legged friends . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry P Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 A great none flowery factual and enjoyable read. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your early season success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 To get most of the species on the shooting list in two seasons is remarkable , with just the Whitefront and maybe a couple of the lesser known duck ( if you havent already got them ) your wishes are nearly complete . You will then have to tick off right and lefts on the different duck and geese , but what you call it with a three shot auto, I don't know. Getting stuck is a warning to new members and people who don't know the area well , get used to the marshes you intend to go on in daylight and not to venture out by yourself in the dark unless you know the area well and you know where the dangers are . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 To get most of the species on the shooting list in two seasons is remarkable , with just the Whitefront and maybe a couple of the lesser known duck ( if you havent already got them ) your wishes are nearly complete . You will then have to tick off right and lefts on the different duck and geese , but what you call it with a three shot auto, I don't know. Getting stuck is a warning to new members and people who don't know the area well , get used to the marshes you intend to go on in daylight and not to venture out by yourself in the dark unless you know the area well and you know where the dangers are . The real danger was the thing i was pulling out of the mud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperGoose75 Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Sounds like a proper Widlfowling Adventure. Well Done on the Pintail..I had to cross a Ocean to shoot that Species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokersmith Posted September 11, 2015 Report Share Posted September 11, 2015 Well done chaps, always nice when something unexpected turns up ....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muncher Posted September 11, 2015 Report Share Posted September 11, 2015 Sorry fenboy ,it only can be ticked of the list if its in full plumage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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