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Night fowling any tips !


islandgun
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I have access to a bit of shore nearby and it has occurred to me to have a look at night, I usually go at sunset and come away about an hour later [lightweight.😀] so was wondering about going later at night, I understand bright moon with plenty of cloud and wind... any tips or encouraging stories to stir me out of a warm place.😕

I know that ducks are sometimes coming to my pond at 2-3 am as ive recorded them on the trail cam, so guess they are moving about all night..cheers 

Edited by islandgun
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Thin cloud cover is best for visibility ...

With duck, you'll need your wits about you if they're just flighting over you as they can be gone before you can get a shot off.

Geese tend to be noisier, and much easier to spot.

The best thing is to get out there ... that's the only way you'll learn what they're really up to ... and I find it a pretty nice way to relax.

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Yes, the key is light cloud cover over the face of the moon so the birds are silhouetted.  Clear sky and you won’t see them. In my experience they will move with the tide so get out an hour before it hits the roost if you are flighting. If decoying on crops it is whenever they are ready to feed again. So they will spend a few hours on the roost and then head back in to feed. My most memorable night was at Loch Leven on a flooded tattie field. I distinctly remember losing a wellie half way across trying to get into position. We shot for an hour from 9.00 pm before leaving them to it as they would have come in all night. The sound as they approached and then appeared above you was amazing.

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6 minutes ago, Smokersmith said:

Thin cloud cover is best for visibility ...

With duck, you'll need your wits about you if they're just flighting over you as they can be gone before you can get a shot off.

Geese tend to be noisier, and much easier to spot.

The best thing is to get out there ... that's the only way you'll learn what they're really up to ... and I find it a pretty nice way to relax.

Cheers, thin cloud with a bright moon behind ? when its dark here you can't see your hand.😀  there are two steep hills about 1000ft and they make it very hard to see anything approaching, as you say geese are always talking but duck are quiet and quick, often my spaniel will draw my attention to birds iv'e not seen, then a look of disbelief when i let them fly off after a shot or two. Your right it is the place to relax. 

Have you [or anyone] a story or two, of nights under the moon that would inspire me to sit out in the cold and dark !

3 minutes ago, Dave at kelton said:

Yes, the key is light cloud cover over the face of the moon so the birds are silhouetted.  Clear sky and you won’t see them. In my experience they will move with the tide so get out an hour before it hits the roost if you are flighting. If decoying on crops it is whenever they are ready to feed again. So they will spend a few hours on the roost and then head back in to feed. My most memorable night was at Loch Leven on a flooded tattie field. I distinctly remember losing a wellie half way across trying to get into position. We shot for an hour from 9.00 pm before leaving them to it as they would have come in all night. The sound as they approached and then appeared above you was amazing.

Great stuff ! Pinks on a flooded tattie field sounds the business. Theres no great draw here other than my little pond [that im aware of] and the greylags seem to be at their roost at dusk, Im fancying something different to my usual evening/dusk jaunt so looking for inspiration

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I have shot many geese under a moon and LIGHT cloud cover is the best. Heavy or no cloud and I used to stay at home. All of my goose shooting was done inland. If the moon was 3/4 plus, I would look out of the door, make a couple of quick phone calls and go, it was always a last minute thing. If geese were going on fields where I had access, I would go in daylight and pick my spot, often making a level platform to shoot from, especially on some of the deeper ditches. As already said, ducks under a moon can be very frustrating trying to see them to enable a shot.

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Its a magical thing to do but the main problem is not knowing when they might turn up. At least for me on an in land splash. The sky needs to be just right to see them as well. Frustrating when you hear ducks wings go over your head and you didn't see a thing. The moon real messes the dawn and dusk flights up. The swap over of light when you would normal get the best action can be hit or missing because they been in and out all night I have found

Edited by captainhastings
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Islandgun. For me shooting under the moon for Geese and Ducks is the best by far it's hard work requires a very good knowledge of your intended quarry . On unfavorable nights I'm still out there enjoying flights . How !!!! Get set up so your birds will be flighting or dropping in moon side of you resist temptation to take over head shots just concentrate on taking sideon under or through the moon shots with practice even can be shot. With Widgeon any shot birds i turn belly up with heads facing roughly into any wind . December moon ( before lockdown stopped us ) as i arrived 8 fowler's left the marsh with various comments about me being mad waste of time at least you're dogs will get a walk  adopting the advice I've given taking single side on shots i had 3 Pink's before most of the 8 fowler's was back in there warm homes. Yes on a good Mackerel Cloud sky i could have been trying for R&L's and also shot a Geese + ducks that passed  shootable height over head. I repeat it's not for everyone it's not easy but so satisfying walking under a moon dog's stretching there legs me carrying a bird or two whilst most think it's a waste of time. Try it be patient the rewards are there with effort if i can still hit em on starlight moon nights at my age having spent 40+ years as a welder I'm you can

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Islandgun  .... Your main advantage is you living local to where you intend to try shooting under the moon , if you are after geese you can check the ground over to see if there are any fresh droppings when the moon is a day or two before full, and you can also go when the moon is a couple of days on the wane , with duck you can check to see if there are any feathers around the edge of the flash where you are going to have a go , as already said , you will need cloud cover and without it you won't see a thing , more so if you are after duck .

If I had a choice between a goose or Widgeon flight under the moon I would pick the Widgeon by a short head , geese are very exciting and you can hear them from a distance , the last time I went after geese was two or three years ago when they were playing havoc on a freshly drilled field that a few days previously was a sugar beet field , I knew they were going on these fields as I had shot a couple when they left the fresh cut fields in the morning , the night we picked , I say we because I asked my mate if he wanted to come as we could space out to cover a bigger area , was ideal with a cotton wool cloud cover , when we walked down the track we could already hear the odd sound of honking coming from the drilled fields , when we got there a large skein took off and went elsewhere , this didn't bother me as I knew several 100 were going on there at some time so it was just a matter of waiting for the next lot , we split up and I went down the side of the dyke where I would be looking towards the moon in the same direction of where I expected the geese to come from , we were both in position when the sound of geese were heard in the distance , as often happen the first lot pitched in the middle of the field without making a sound , these were ideal as they were making very good decoys .

After what seemed like ages I heard my mate have a couple of shots and I could just make out a big lot coming straight in at no more than 30yds up , unlike Motty my first shot didn't connect but the second shot did and the first one was in the bag , over the next hour you could either see them , or hear em more or less all the while and it wasn't that long when I got the clubs limit of four geese a flight and not long after my mate gave me a ring to say he had also got his limit , we left around eleven o clock and the geese would soon settle in peace for the rest of the night .

Duck are different , the marshes I go on under the moon are fresh marshes and on the night of the full moon the top of the tide is always around 11pm , the best time to shoot the marsh is around seven / eight o clock when the tide is pushing up over the mud flats and lifting the duck .

When I was younger I had a big canvas bag that started life in a prison and was meant to hold letters , cards and small parcels , I used it to hold everything but what it was made for , on a moon flight go for duck it would have a lump of Green canvas for me to lay on , 3/4 Mallard decoys and a small flask of coffee , the decoys would be chucked out on a splash of water where I had seen plenty of feathers , the canvas would be laid down in front of the water with the moon rising in the background and the bag had a hand full of straw inside to be put under my chest for a bit of comfort  , the first duck would be expected around eight pm and on a good night the odd ones would keep coming in possibly all night , I would give it till around midnight and then call it a day ( or night ) as in those far off days I had to be at work next morning and even I had to get some sleep . Happy days indeed .

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This evening I went down to a flooded field at dusk, quite an extensive area with a mountain to my left and dunes in front. A bright day followed by a fine evening without cloud😕..  I drove past some resident Greylags feeding [about 100] on my way to the field. They mainly roost about 1/2 mile away over the estuary. I was equipped with a open choke 20g McNab and STungsten 15.

Darkness saw 3 greys come over at a good range, now or never and the last grey folded and dropped into the shallow splash and my spaniel did the honours. A bright moon lifted over the horizon behind me and illuminated the splash, snipe moved and i got colder. Usually i would have headed off before now for a dram and my dinner, I waited and 4 Teal shot past and disappeared into the dark, later another 4 Mallard passed outside of "my" range. another wait and i made the decision to head off.

It had been a worthwhile evening and a short night flight perhaps 1 1/2 hrs longer than i would have stayed, tomorrow promises more cloud and i will go after dusk...... thanks for the advice, cheers IG

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Up date, went tonight but no moon.😀. Bouyed up by last nights goose, I shot long range Mallard with tss [very impressed] it was dark enough for a bunch of Greylag to land in the splash 30m away without being aware of me or dog, stayed around for a good while, very interesting how you tune into the surroundings at night.. cheers IG

Edited by islandgun
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