Morning flight

[anser2]

After a run of blank flights it’s about time my luck changed. They were not just blank flights , on a number of flights I never even saw a duck and only a pair of mallard on the last one. They should have been a gift , but I had muddled up my duck and goose cartridges and was caught sorting a hand full of shells as the mallard materialised out of the gloomy dusk.

 

The mornings are pulling in now in early December so there was no need to get up at some ungodly hour for the drive down to the coast. I intended to try some duck decoying on the rising tide , but had half a mind to see what the geese were up to at the other end of the marsh. But with a half moon peering through thin broken clouds I expected many of the geese to have flighted during the night and in any case there was very little wind, so duck decoying it was to be.

 

A duck mallard lifted quacking into the darkness as I arrived at the wide creek. The tide was still a couple of hours from flooding up this creek so I just set a handful of decoys in a sandy pool and stood back to await the dawn. If I decided to stay for the whole morning I would add another dozen to the pattern. I did not have long to wait before a pair of wigeon appeared high , following the creek. They passed a little wide of me , but a couple of whistles turned them into the decoys. They came just right and one fell to my first shot. I felt well on with my second shot as the duck disappeared into the darkness. Meg my lab quickly had a hen back quickly , but despite a through search across the creek there was no sign of the second duck. I most properly missed it anyway.

 

Slowly the light grew out of the east opening up the greyness of the marsh. A few gulls started to come in from the sea and some quite big herds of curlew came twisting up the channel. Odd single teal kept flashing past across the far side of the creek a little out of range and another pair of wigeon came into the decoys , but landed a little short. I tried a simple stalk along a side creek , but a redshank flew up in alarm taking the wigeon with them. More teal , this time on my side of the creek , but they were so low it was almost impossible to pick them out against the far bank and they passed unshot at. Suddenly eight wigeon lifted out of the decoys , having arrived unseen. They were a long shot , but a single young drake wigeon fell 40 yards out onto the sand.

 

Now the marsh started to come alive. Pinks , about a hundred of them passed high overhead, stacks of brent came pileing in off the sands along with hundreds more curlew. There were birds everywhere except for duck. It was not until the tide started to run up my creek that I saw any more. Small bunches of teal kept flighting past , but all across the far side of the creek, dropping a few hundred yards further up the creek until at least a hundred had gathered there. I could have crept along the bank and walked right on top of them , however I left them hoping that sooner or later some would see the decoys and drop into to them. Thirty wigeon joined them and then a pair split off the flock and came my way. Peering through the spartina I thought this pair looked rather bulky for wigeon and as I broke cover realised they were mallard. The duck fell to my first shot , but the drake was a very long shot , but at the perfect angle. He too fell and never moved a feather after he smacked into the sand. At my shots the creek erupted with duck. There were many more than the hundred teal I thought had dropped in. Three big bunches swung around the creek for quite some time but never offered a shot. Another pair of mallard came in , but caught me at a difficult angle with my feet stuck in the mud. Both shots went wide. Hardly had I reloaded than seven wigeon powered down the creek and one bird set its wings and planed down a very long way out onto the marsh. Meg did not see the fall having watching a flock of 50 teal that flared behind me.

 

I did not hold out much hope of getting this bird , but I sent her out across the now rapidly flooding creek. She hunted the far bank for a couple of minuets before finally responding to my hand signals and cast well out across the marsh. I finally got her going in the right direction , but the wind was wrong for her to catch the scent and in any case the bird was so far out that I only had a hazy idea where it landed, indeed I was not 100 % sure it had landed. Meg started to come back empty handed , but turned out across the marsh again. She was so far away that all I could do was leave her to it and hope for the best.

 

I had intended to stay until the tide ebbed again , but I was satisfied with four birds in the bag so started to pack up. Stowing the last decoy I looked for Meg but there was no sign of her. I might have been worried with a younger dog , but Meg is in her ninth season and knows the marsh pretty well. Finally she appeared 400 yards out across the marsh. She was walking quite slowly , did she have the duck? As she came nearer it was clear she was carrying something, but what ? some how it did not look like a duck. I need not have worried , by the time she started to swim across the main creek it was clear it was a wigeon and she delivered a very muddy cock bird into my hand a minuet later.

 

In the last fortnight I have been flighting in gales with at times heavy rain and all I had to show for my efforts was four duck for a dozen flights , yet this morning had been almost spring like with just a light south west breeze yet the marsh had yielded five birds. Fowling is a funny old game.

[fenboy]

Your usual excellent read .

Well done on your flight , as you know I am fairly new to wildfowling but one thing I have already learned is that as most things in life effort equals reward and sooner or later all those blank flights become forgotten when it comes right.

[Penelope]

In fact the blanks add to the spice of a good flight.

 

Thanks once again R. for an entertaining read.

 

Your usual excellent read .

Well done on your flight , as you know I am fairly new to wildfowling but one thing I have already learned is that as most things in life effort equals reward and sooner or later all those blank flights become forgotten when it comes right.

[under the moon]

Thank you I can even smell the saltings.

[Wildfowler12]

I do enjoy your write-ups. Thanks for sharing.

[marsh man]

Glad the tide has changed in more way than one anser2 and lets hope you have got plenty more of those sort to come , another one of your excellent write ups enjoyed while having a cup of tea .

[POPPY-72]

nice read

[Tony G]

Lovely read as usual

[JDog]

Your exploits are well documented and a very good read. I can normally imagine you getting cold and wet and muddy and miserable. Today was different it seems.