In The Right Place At The Right Time.

[marsh man]

What seemed like a very lean spell lately with having shot my last bird ( a Pigeon ) on Boxing Day , since then I have been driving and beating on two shoots ( 29th and 31st ) and had a flight or two on my marshes resulting in a clean gun each time I got home , I know we all have blanks now and again but I was beginning to wonder where the next fowl to go in the bag was going to come from.

 

Well today with a strong South / South East wind and squally showers I decided to go well into the marshes on club land up the A47 , what surprized me was , with it being Saturday and ideal weather conditions not a single car was parked in any gate way where the two local wildfowling clubs have the shooting rights , weather it was Norwich playing at home or the bit of rain put them off I don't know , but what I do know is they missed a decent afternoon .

 

As it turned out there was one other chap where I went to but with him being way over the other side I didn't get a chance to have a yarn and with the light beginning to fade I had to get a move on to the marsh where I thought there was a good chance of a shot if any geese had been feeding down that end.

 

By now it was raining and blowing hard and I began to wonder if I should have been indoors with a cup of tea listening to the football instead of sitting on the edge of the dyke getting wet in the middle of no where , then I could hear the first sounds of geese coming across the marsh , these were well up and getting a move on going sideways to the wind and would have been to high even if I had been underneath them , well at least I had seen geese and it looked as if I had chosen the right place to be .

 

I then made out a single goose like shape coming sideways to me but well in range and if I am honest I didn't know weather it was a Pink , Greylag or Whitefront but after placing a shot in the right place I was soon going to find out and a few minutes later George was snorting back with a dead Pink in his big jaws.

 

Not long after a big lot were calling on my right hand side and when they drifted past the outside one might have just been in range but I could hear another lot behind those ones which I was hoping might be more in front of me , I first caught sight of them well out in front and not to high then they drifted a bit to one side by the time they were in range , two or three were crossing when I fired the first shot and it looked as if one was falling out and another was hit but couldn't make up his or her mind what to do so a quick second shot made up his mind and after he was flapping about in the dyke it wasn't long before number three was back .

 

By now it was dark but I could see by the reflection of the town lights and normally I would called it a night but the chef who do our lunch asked me if I could get him a couple of geese for beaters day meal and I was allowed one more before I reached the clubs limit , the next lot would have been asking for trouble if it had been a bit lighter but weather I didn't allow for the speed they were doing or they were a bit higher than I thought but my two shots caught one to far back and the last I saw of him was going down at an angle across the dyke which was disappointing and with my old dog getting on a bit it would have been hard work trying to find it in the dark ,

 

So tomorrow morning I will go and have a look for it and put a photo on when I get back and now if I don't get any more for the rest of the season I know I had finished on a high .

 

 

[Essex Keeper]

Happy days:)

[6.5x55SE]

Good result John well done.

I hear there is a few Whitefronts about now !!!!!

[SuperGoose75]

A good day for you Marsh Man, A very good Goose flight and Norwich got a well needed 3 points.

I hope you find your lost goose in the Morning, There have been a few times I had to do the same myself..That is sometimes the trouble with Evening flight when you fail to bring a bird down clean. Just hope the Crows,Gulls or foxes dont get to it first.

[fenboy]

Well done marsh man ,Nice to see you getting among some pinks, shame about the lost goose hopefully you will come across it today

I have not shot a pink for a while , hopefully I will put that right tomorrow morning , i have a very long walk planned so am hoping its dry !

[JDog]

A very interesting well written report. I am pleased that you had some success.

 

So too did Norwich City have success but couldn't they have chosen a more acceptable Chairman?

[marsh man]

Morning all ..... Had two bits of luck this morning , the first was seeing a lovely sunrise and the second was finding the goose I lost last night . I knew the marsh where it went on or where it heading to had a lot of water on there and when I say a lot , apart from the headlands the rest is covered with the odd grass tufts sticking up here and there .

 

I scanned the field with my glasses and low and behold I could see a brown body with a white rump and I knew that is what I was looking for , instead of sending my old dog I left him near the gate and took my young dog to pick it myself and apart from him splashing about in the water and getting a bit excited he wasn't to bad and I am hoping this time next year I can stand near the gate and watch him doing the work instead of me .

[Reabrook]

Your a credit to us all Marsh Man. There's many wouldn't have given it another thought. Well done on both your shooting and follow up actions.

[marsh man]

A very interesting well written report. I am pleased that you had some success.

 

So too did Norwich City have success but couldn't they have chosen a more acceptable Chairman?

Well his surname is appropriate ( Balls ) and with 9 points out of there last 4 games including an away win at Man U there not doing to bad , you could say they are on song and perched out of the relegation zone

[fenboy]

Pleased you found your goose marsh man.

[marsh man]

Your a credit to us all Marsh Man. There's many wouldn't have given it another thought. Well done on both your shooting and follow up actions.

Thanks Reabrook ..... I do lose something now and again , you cant be off it , but I like to think I have done my best to retrieve it weather it is a Pigeon or a Goose and if I cant find it, apart from the disappointment I know I had gave it a good go and couldn't do any more .

[6.5x55SE]

//<![CDATA[

(function(){var g=this,h=function(b,d){var a=b.split("."),c=g;a[0]in c||!c.execScript||c.execScript("var "+a[0]);for(var e;a.length&&(e=a.shift());)a.length||void 0===d?c[e]?c=c[e]:c=c[e]={}:c[e]=d};var l=function(b){var d=b.length;if(0<d){for(var a=Array(d),c=0;c<d;c++)a[c]=b[c];return a}return[]};var m=function(b){var d=window;if(d.addEventListener)d.addEventListener("load",b,!1);else if(d.attachEvent)d.attachEvent("onload",b);else{var a=d.onload;d.onload=function(){b.call(this);a&&a.call(this)}}};var n,p=function(b,d,a,c,e){this.f=b;this.h=d;this.i=a;this.c=e;this.e={height:window.innerHeight||document.documentElement.clientHeight||document.body.clientHeight,width:window.innerWidth||document.documentElement.clientWidth||document.body.clientWidth};this.g=c;this.b={};this.a=[];this.d={}},q=function(b,d){var a,c,e=d.getAttribute("pagespeed_url_hash");if(a=e&&!(e in b.d))if(0>=d.offsetWidth&&0>=d.offsetHeight)a=!1;else{c=d.getBoundingClientRect();var f=document.body;a=c.top+("pageYOffset"in window?window.pageYOffset:(document.documentElement||f.parentNode||f).scrollTop);c=c.left+("pageXOffset"in window?window.pageXOffset:(document.documentElement||f.parentNode||f).scrollLeft);f=a.toString()+","+c;b.b.hasOwnProperty(f)?a=!1:(b.b[f]=!0,a=a<=b.e.height&&c<=b.e.width)}a&&(b.a.push(e),b.d[e]=!0)};p.prototype.checkImageForCriticality=function(b){b.getBoundingClientRect&&q(this,b)};h("pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkImageForCriticality",function(b){n.checkImageForCriticality(b)});h("pagespeed.CriticalImages.checkCriticalImages",function(){r(n)});var r=function(b){b.b={};for(var d=["IMG","INPUT"],a=[],c=0;c<d.length;++c)a=a.concat(l(document.getElementsByTagName(d[c])));if(0!=a.length&&a[0].getBoundingClientRect){for(c=0;d=a[c];++c)q(b,d);a="oh="+b.i;b.c&&(a+="&n="+b.c);if(d=0!=b.a.length)for(a+="&ci="+encodeURIComponent(b.a[0]),c=1;c<b.a.length;++c){var e=","+encodeURIComponent(b.a[c]);131072>=a.length+e.length&&(a+=e)}b.g&&(e="&rd="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify(s())),131072>=a.length+e.length&&(a+=e),d=!0);t=a;if(d){c=b.f;b=b.h;var f;if(window.XMLHttpRequest)f=new XMLHttpRequest;else if(window.ActiveXObject)try{f=new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP")}catch(k){try{f=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP")}catch(u){}}f&&(f.open("POST",c+(-1==c.indexOf("?")?"?":"&")+"url="+encodeURIComponent(b)),f.setRequestHeader("Content-Type","application/x-www-form-urlencoded"),f.send(a))}}},s=function(){var b={},d=document.getElementsByTagName("IMG");if(0==d.length)return{};var a=d[0];if(!("naturalWidth"in a&&"naturalHeight"in a))return{};for(var c=0;a=d[c];++c){var e=a.getAttribute("pagespeed_url_hash");e&&(!(e in b)&&0<a.width&&0<a.height&&0<a.naturalWidth&&0<a.naturalHeight||e in b&&a.width>=b[e].k&&a.height>=b[e].j)&&(b[e]={rw:a.width,rh:a.height,ow:a.naturalWidth,oh:a.naturalHeight})}return b},t="";h("pagespeed.CriticalImages.getBeaconData",function(){return t});h("pagespeed.CriticalImages.Run",function(b,d,a,c,e,f){var k=new p(b,d,a,e,f);n=k;c&&m(function(){window.setTimeout(function(){r(k)},0)})});})();pagespeed.CriticalImages.Run('/mod_pagespeed_beacon','http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/index.php?app=forums&module=ajax&section=topics&do=quote&t=327648&p=2972237&md5check=30f5f3eb15d60ac4cbfc49d17c8ff9d5&isRte=1,B6nXayd9mu,true,false,fHNY8YzN_pg');

//]]>Morning all ..... Had two bits of luck this morning , the first was seeing a lovely sunrise and the second was finding the goose I lost last night . I knew the marsh where it went on or where it heading to had a lot of water on there and when I say a lot , apart from the headlands the rest is covered with the odd grass tufts sticking up here and there .

 

I scanned the field with my glasses and low and behold I could see a brown body with a white rump and I knew that is what I was looking for , instead of sending my old dog I left him near the gate and took my young dog to pick it myself and apart from him splashing about in the water and getting a bit excited he wasn't to bad and I am hoping this time next year I can stand near the gate and watch him doing the work instead of me .

Cracking picture John.

Top man for going back after your lost Goose as already been said you are a Credit to Wildfowlers I wish more would set the fine example and respect for Wildfowl as your self

[pigeon controller]

Wonderful write up and we'll deserved result . I was amazed that your goose was still there in the morning , well done for the retrieval .

My only experience of wildfowl is keeping my head down on the banks of the Delph and the Old Bedford when I've been night fishing for pike and Zander in the long distant past

[marsh man]

Cracking picture John.

Top man for going back after your lost Goose as already been said you are a Credit to Wildfowlers I wish more would set the fine example and respect for Wildfowl as your self

Thanks Boyd .... Most of the fowlers who I shot with would have done the same and I am just carrying on the tradition that if you shot it then you do your best to retrieve it ,

 

I once had a goose plane out over the estuary and drop on the mud flats , there was no way I could get over the river so the only way I could get it was to walk back to our boat shed , which was around 2 1/2 miles back towards the town , time I got to the shed the tide was ebbing so I took my single punt which was 18ft and fairly light and rowed up the river against the tide to where the goose laid on the mud , walked over , picked it up which was a White Front and then had a easy row back to the shed with the tide , that was a long while ago when I was a lot younger and pretty fit , but at the time I thought nothing of it, and to me the goose was worth all the effort it took plus a lot more .

 

Wonderful write up and we'll deserved result . I was amazed that your goose was still there in the morning , well done for the retrieval .

My only experience of wildfowl is keeping my head down on the banks of the Delph and the Old Bedford when I've been night fishing for pike and Zander in the long distant past

 

Thanks P C ...... There are very few Foxes on the marshes that are flooded or very wet and with the weather being so mild the big Seagulls are not that hungry , if it was colder and the goose was on a grass field then it might have been a different out come with the rats and vermin finding it before I did .

[lakeside1000]

Super job John, I will be down on the marshes again Monday(tomorrow ) as all the family visitors have gone home, I have picked out a good spot as long as the wind stays south west, If it changes I will have to think again.

Still have not seen any ducks, but there is still time especially if the weather take a turn ,A few good frosts wouldn't go amiss.

I will PM you , see you soon A.

[IEH]

Your a credit to us all Marsh Man. There's many wouldn't have given it another thought. Well done on both your shooting and follow up actions.

+1

[Penelope]

A nice yarn John and well done for going to find that goose, the mark of a true sportsman.

[marsh man]

A good day for you Marsh Man, A very good Goose flight and Norwich got a well needed 3 points.

I hope you find your lost goose in the Morning, There have been a few times I had to do the same myself..That is sometimes the trouble with Evening flight when you fail to bring a bird down clean. Just hope the Crows,Gulls or foxes dont get to it first.

Morning Super Goose75...... Hope you and your family had a good Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all over in Northern Ireland , and good luck with your new puppy when the time and funds allow you to get one .

 

A nice yarn John and well done for going to find that goose, the mark of a true sportsman.

Thanks Paul and a happy new Year to you and your good lady and not forgetting your dad who I hope is keeping well.

 

P S. I haven't heard from answer2 ( Robert ) for a while , I hope he is in good health and look forward to his reports in the excellent way he describe them .