Garganey

[Walker570]

I have never seen this species mentioned on here, are these ducks still about. Drawn to the question because some table mats we have show the duck species in the UK and the Garaney is one of those depicted.  I must admit I have never come across one in close to 60yrs duck shooting.

[6.5x55SE]

14 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

I have never seen this species mentioned on here, are these ducks still about. Drawn to the question because some table mats we have show the duck species in the UK and the Garaney is one of those depicted.  I must admit I have never come across one in close to 60yrs duck shooting.

Definitely still some get to UK. At the moment Ouse washes and Norfolk coast has some

[twenty]

12 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

I have never seen this species mentioned on here, are these ducks still about. Drawn to the question because some table mats we have show the duck species in the UK and the Garaney is one of those depicted.  I must admit I have never come across one in close to 60yrs duck shooting.

Only a summer visitor to these shores I'm afraid, arrives from Africa in March to breed, and leaves again in Aug/September..............Central and southern England mostly.

[marsh man]

These were and still are rare visitors , around here there were no known pairs that have bred in recent years , but that is not to say the odd pair have bred and if it was known they have been kept secret to be left alone to get on with it .

We had Cranes here in Norfolk in the 70s on a private Broad that no one knew about until they bred and started to cover a bigger area , so if a big bird like the Crane can go undetected I am sure a Garganey Teal can get away without been seen .

[6.5x55SE]

16 minutes ago, marsh man said:

These were and still are rare visitors , around here there were no known pairs that have bred in recent years , but that is not to say the odd pair have bred and if it was known they have been kept secret to be left alone to get on with it .

We had Cranes here in Norfolk in the 70s on a private Broad that no one knew about until they bred and started to cover a bigger area , so if a big bird like the Crane can go undetected I am sure a Garganey Teal can get away without been seen .

And you know how secret some ole Wildfowlers can be John 🤫

[marsh man]

59 minutes ago, 6.5x55SE said:

And you know how secret some ole Wildfowlers can be John 🤫

Certainly do Boyd , I was thinking of writing a book titled , The Secrets Of A East Coast Wildfowler , but after thinking about it for years I have only got the covers done , the inside is still a secret 

[6.5x55SE]

27 minutes ago, marsh man said:

Certainly do Boyd , I was thinking of writing a book titled , The Secrets Of A East Coast Wildfowler , but after thinking about it for years I have only got the covers done , the inside is still a secret 

Very good John made me laugh. Hope you are keeping well 🙏

[Walker570]

Learn something every day on here no matter how old you are. I did not realise it was a visitor. Tidy looking bird....size   I see reference to 'teal'  Tufty size ??

It's no wonder I have never come across one. 

Also had a chuckle at The Secrets of a East Coast Wildfowler

Edited April 18, 2020 by Walker570

[marsh man]

10 hours ago, 6.5x55SE said:

Very good John made me laugh. Hope you are keeping well 🙏

Morning Boyd ...... Yes we are keeping as well as can be expected in these un certain times , the self isolating isn't any problem what with nearly sixty years isolating from 1st of September until the season finish I should be getting used to it by now 

I have to smile sometimes when you hear from the parents after there boy had got in a spot of bother, they say he had been mixing with the wrong company , well a few years before I bought my first gun in 1960 I would spend most of my free time and a lot of the time when I should had been at school up the boat sheds where all the old punt gunners kept there punts , and even at that early age I was fascinated by all the yarns they spoke of and the way of life they led , I would often see them come back after a successful trip and help them to carry the duck and whatever else was in the boat , these were hung up on some nails until the boat was cleaned and all the gear was neatly stowed away , the only duck we never hung up was a Shelduck so I was led to believe that any duck apart from the Shelduck was fair game , in that bad winter 62 / 63 our estuary was like the Arctic with ice packed in the river and on the mud flats sometimes four or five feet high , we had just about every known species of duck in the U K come to what little open water that wasn't froze over and I am sorry to say one or two duck found there way in the bag that I had never seen before or since come to that , there was no such thing as a hard weather ban so we carried on until we called a truce when things got really bad when hundreds of Waders were dead and dying because the mud was like concrete , so whatever bad ways I had I could blame it on the company I mixed with and to tell you the truth , if I had my time over again I wouldn't have changed a thing , they were the salt of the earth and now I am a lot older I am also a lot wiser when it come to what you can and can't shoot  .

STAY SAFE  Boyd and your family .

[6.5x55SE]

18 minutes ago, marsh man said:

Morning Boyd ...... Yes we are keeping as well as can be expected in these un certain times , the self isolating isn't any problem what with nearly sixty years isolating from 1st of September until the season finish I should be getting used to it by now 

I have to smile sometimes when you hear from the parents after there boy had got in a spot of bother, they say he had been mixing with the wrong company , well a few years before I bought my first gun in 1960 I would spend most of my free time and a lot of the time when I should had been at school up the boat sheds where all the old punt gunners kept there punts , and even at that early age I was fascinated by all the yarns they spoke of and the way of life they led , I would often see them come back after a successful trip and help them to carry the duck and whatever else was in the boat , these were hung up on some nails until the boat was cleaned and all the gear was neatly stowed away , the only duck we never hung up was a Shelduck so I was led to believe that any duck apart from the Shelduck was fair game , in that bad winter 62 / 63 our estuary was like the Arctic with ice packed in the river and on the mud flats sometimes four or five feet high , we had just about every known species of duck in the U K come to what little open water that wasn't froze over and I am sorry to say one or two duck found there way in the bag that I had never seen before or since come to that , there was no such thing as a hard weather ban so we carried on until we called a truce when things got really bad when hundreds of Waders were dead and dying because the mud was like concrete , so whatever bad ways I had I could blame it on the company I mixed with and to tell you the truth , if I had my time over again I wouldn't have changed a thing , they were the salt of the earth and now I am a lot older I am also a lot wiser when it come to what you can and can't shoot  .

STAY SAFE  Boyd and your family .

Brilliant John. You and your family stay safe to. I've got a couple of true tales regarding Gargeny but not to sure whether they would be received as ment ( in this day an age ) Secrets of some of us ole Wildfowlers hey 😇

[7daysinaweek]

25 minutes ago, marsh man said:

Morning Boyd ...... Yes we are keeping as well as can be expected in these un certain times , the self isolating isn't any problem what with nearly sixty years isolating from 1st of September until the season finish I should be getting used to it by now 

I have to smile sometimes when you hear from the parents after there boy had got in a spot of bother, they say he had been mixing with the wrong company , well a few years before I bought my first gun in 1960 I would spend most of my free time and a lot of the time when I should had been at school up the boat sheds where all the old punt gunners kept there punts , and even at that early age I was fascinated by all the yarns they spoke of and the way of life they led , I would often see them come back after a successful trip and help them to carry the duck and whatever else was in the boat , these were hung up on some nails until the boat was cleaned and all the gear was neatly stowed away , the only duck we never hung up was a Shelduck so I was led to believe that any duck apart from the Shelduck was fair game , in that bad winter 62 / 63 our estuary was like the Arctic with ice packed in the river and on the mud flats sometimes four or five feet high , we had just about every known species of duck in the U K come to what little open water that wasn't froze over and I am sorry to say one or two duck found there way in the bag that I had never seen before or since come to that , there was no such thing as a hard weather ban so we carried on until we called a truce when things got really bad when hundreds of Waders were dead and dying because the mud was like concrete , so whatever bad ways I had I could blame it on the company I mixed with and to tell you the truth , if I had my time over again I wouldn't have changed a thing , they were the salt of the earth and now I am a lot older I am also a lot wiser when it come to what you can and can't shoot  .

STAY SAFE  Boyd and your family .

Very interesting read that MM. Though I have never done any wildfowling myself, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Colonel Hawker's shooting diaries. Fascinating reading, lots of punt gunning, wildfowling and humorous to boot.

[greylag]

They drop into a local RSPB reserve late spring but are long gone before the cold arrives.Nice little duck the drake is a handsome thing.

 

[twenty]

19 hours ago, Walker570 said:

Learn something every day on here no matter how old you are. I did not realise it was a visitor. Tidy looking bird....size   I see reference to 'teal'  Tufty size ??

It's no wonder I have never come across one. 

Also had a chuckle at The Secrets of a East Coast Wildfowler

Smaller than a mallard, but slightly bigger than a teal............how's that, Garganey 15-16 ins, Teal 13-15 ins, mallard 20-25ins

[marsh man]

8 hours ago, 7daysinaweek said:

Very interesting read that MM. Though I have never done any wildfowling myself, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Colonel Hawker's shooting diaries. Fascinating reading, lots of punt gunning, wildfowling and humorous to boot.

THANKS , I have got both the diaries by Colonel Hawker and several more of the older fowling books , If you want a good read during these times of self isolation I would recommend Wildfowlers And Poachers by Arthur Patterson , the original copies are fairly rare and expensive but you can get reprints , the book is all about the fowlers and poachers that were on my door step in the early 1900s , these blokes were as hard as nails as they made there living by shooting , fishing and a bit of poaching , on one of the photos of the old boy sitting down whose name locally was Pintail Thomas , this old boy blew most of his finger off early on in his life , this didn't stop him as he just put a extra bit of rag around his hand if the weather turned cold .

[7daysinaweek]

1 hour ago, marsh man said:

THANKS , I have got both the diaries by Colonel Hawker and several more of the older fowling books , If you want a good read during these times of self isolation I would recommend Wildfowlers And Poachers by Arthur Patterson , the original copies are fairly rare and expensive but you can get reprints , the book is all about the fowlers and poachers that were on my door step in the early 1900s , these blokes were as hard as nails as they made there living by shooting , fishing and a bit of poaching , on one of the photos of the old boy sitting down whose name locally was Pintail Thomas , this old boy blew most of his finger off early on in his life , this didn't stop him as he just put a extra bit of rag around his hand if the weather turned cold .

The book you recommend I have not come across, I did a quick search on Fleabay and found a paperback copy which I have just purchased and look forward to a jolly good read. People talk about the "good old days" but in reality the hardships were many and most of society in those times lived hand to mouth. Not to mention a trip to the local assizes where punishments for poaching were disproportionately harsh.

As you say these were hard people but with a wealth of knowledge which I would surmise that much of that knowledge and skill are now lost to time. There were no accident and emergency departments then and I suppose many injuries were treated as a occupational hazard. If I recall correctly in one of Colonel hawkers diaries he makes an entry on a said day with the usual tally of his game  shot, a succinct penning of the character of the day and on the same day the last entry into the log says something in the nature of the following.

"Oh and mother Hawker blew one of her fingers off today whilst cleaning one of my guns"  It was slightly humorous to me that it appeared to be penned in a way that did not emphasize or reflect any alarm or significance of this most unfortunate happening.

I love the old tales and have read many of the old shooting and country sports books.

Cheers for the heads up on that MM

atb

7diaw

Edited April 19, 2020 by 7daysinaweek

[NatureBoy]

I didn't realise garganey were so rare until a female turned up on local pond a couple of years ago. Farmer/Fowler/conservationist got well excited and was a first for there farm or local in living memory. In an old book i was given on the birds of Suffolk with records going back to early 1800's it refers to them as The Garganey Teal. It has records of them being shot on the river Alde August 5th 1865 (young female) also on 31st July and 8th August 1872. Nests were found and records of them breeding at Leiston in 1873/74. Says they were also considered rare back then as there is little record of them..

Another bird of interest that turned up back then was the Pallas Sand Grouse. A flock of 7 were see flying east from the sea and landing on Thorpeness beach on 22nd May 1883. One female was taken. Several more flocks were seen that year and 88 along the coast from Yarmouth, Breydon Wall, Lowestoft and all down the Suffolk coast. Other flocks were seen in land and may of bred at Newmarket Thetford and Santon Downham in i888. 30 were recorded shot in those years.

My old book was printed in 1931 and cost 24/¬ would that of been a working labours weekly wage back then?     NB

[marsh man]

4 hours ago, NatureBoy said:

I didn't realise garganey were so rare until a female turned up on local pond a couple of years ago. Farmer/Fowler/conservationist got well excited and was a first for there farm or local in living memory. In an old book i was given on the birds of Suffolk with records going back to early 1800's it refers to them as The Garganey Teal. It has records of them being shot on the river Alde August 5th 1865 (young female) also on 31st July and 8th August 1872. Nests were found and records of them breeding at Leiston in 1873/74. Says they were also considered rare back then as there is little record of them..

Another bird of interest that turned up back then was the Pallas Sand Grouse. A flock of 7 were see flying east from the sea and landing on Thorpeness beach on 22nd May 1883. One female was taken. Several more flocks were seen that year and 88 along the coast from Yarmouth, Breydon Wall, Lowestoft and all down the Suffolk coast. Other flocks were seen in land and may of bred at Newmarket Thetford and Santon Downham in i888. 30 were recorded shot in those years.

My old book was printed in 1931 and cost 24/¬ would that of been a working labours weekly wage back then?     NB

I would imagine that a book costing 24/- in 1931 was only for the ones with very deep pockets and well out of farm workers spending money .

My bird book is different from yours and mainly about the birds sighted over the years in the Yarmouth area .

It mention the Pallas's Sandgrouse arriving in a invasion , in 1863 there were over 60 killed in Norfolk , a lot of these were shot during the summer months as close seasons were unheard of and if there were , then nobody took any notice , the Sandgrouse were mainly shot for the collectors and the rarer the bird the better because that would mean the dealer would pay a good price , Harvey the game dealer in Yarmouth had several brought to him and these would have been shot locally , most likely on Breydon Water and the surrounding marshes .

In 1888 a second great invasion took place , Thomas Southwell estimated that 1,100 / 1,200 were seen in Norfolk , mainly in the Horsey area where 186 were obtained , when the next lot came in 1889 , 1890 , 1905 and 1906 very few were shot and only one was recorded . after that there were no more entries ....

[Reabrook]

We see a fair few Garganey in the summer months. The Cotswold Water Park near Cirencester is a real hotspot for them and many other waterfowl. The recent years have seen them stay later and later into autumn. Last October I encountered a small pack whilst sat fishing on a large gravel pit so there is every chance of a mistake being made! Several European countries still class them as legal quarry species.

[mudpatten]

Sometimes called the Summer Teal.

 

[Walker570]

Amazed at what a question about one of our table mats can turn up. PW never fails to astound. 

[Norfolk wildfowler]

I see 2-3 most years between March and September on the North Norfolk coast fresh marshes and a few in the Yare valley. Not many fowlers see them because most are gone before the season starts. 

[JDog]

There is a pair of Garganey on an inland pond about twenty miles from here. I have seen the pictures.

[Bowlander]

you dont see them because the ones that visit us begger off late summer , but just be wary of early teal