September 1st 2022

[Dave at kelton]

I will be out for my first day picking up then it’s three times a week. Prefer to save the fowling until the weather hardens and/or the pinks arrive. I can pick and choose as it’s on my doorstep and will be out helping warden the Reserve come October.

[marsh man]

Well another first morning have come and gone , walking my dog around our cresent late last night I had my eyes looking towards the sky and seeing the clouds sailing by with a slight chill in the air , part of my mind was asking , shall we give it a go in the morning ?, then after a few seconds to think about it the rest of my mind said no , you won't no longer enjoy it and my aging body is not really up to it , so just look back at the many first days when you did .

So this morning I got up a little earlier than normal and just took my stick instead of my gun and had a walk down to the river , it might had been a little late but the shots were far and few in between , these shots might well had been at Pigeons leaving the woods to go to the late Wheat stubble's , I went past one or two parking places and there wasn't one single car , or going back in the past , a bicycle , this wasn't a surprise as the marshes are still full of livestock rather than grain stubble's and grazing fields when I would had been  waiting for the Mallard to be flighting on , or making there way off .

So who was out and how did you do ? , and what are the early prospects ?

 

[Gerry78]

2 hours ago, marsh man said:

Well another first morning have come and gone , walking my dog around our cresent late last night I had my eyes looking towards the sky and seeing the clouds sailing by with a slight chill in the air , part of my mind was asking , shall we give it a go in the morning ?, then after a few seconds to think about it the rest of my mind said no , you won't no longer enjoy it and my aging body is not really up to it , so just look back at the many first days when you did .

So this morning I got up a little earlier than normal and just took my stick instead of my gun and had a walk down to the river , it might had been a little late but the shots were far and few in between , these shots might well had been at Pigeons leaving the woods to go to the late Wheat stubble's , I went past one or two parking places and there wasn't one single car , or going back in the past , a bicycle , this wasn't a surprise as the marshes are still full of livestock rather than grain stubble's and grazing fields when I would had been  waiting for the Mallard to be flighting on , or making there way off .

So who was out and how did you do ? , and what are the early prospects ?

 

MM I didn’t bother over here in Belfast like a summers day the club posted 1 duck at least 10 Fowler’s out 🤷‍♂️

[Sweet11-87]

i was out this morning  and even though where i am the tide and sunrise married up perfectly, its just still to early in the year and i blanked as expected. but its just being out on the 1st watching the sun come up.  wildfowling and nice pleasent weather is a short window

[Poor Shot]

I was out this morning as planned and as predicted I blanked. The high tide was at 10:50 so I was faced with the decision to either get up at 4:00 this morning for a morning flight and face the water being 200m away from any suitable shooting position or go for the tide flight. I chose the later. It was quite a high tide at 11.9m so most of the gulleys and other shooting points were under 12 inches of water by 9:30. A bit of wind but not enough to make roosting out in the channel uncomfortable for the birds with a lot being sat 200m or so out to sea. A lot of mallard flying up and down the tide line which was surprising. No geese though they are usually up and away before the sun his fully risen.

There was a surprising amount of dog walkers and general public about the place which makes shooting near to the seawall or inner splashes quite uncomfortable (not that any of the splashes had water in them). Club must do more to signpost the presence of the club and deter gerry and his dalmatian from taking their morning walks on the private parts of the marsh and to stick to the coastal path where they are permitted.

It wasn't a wasted trip. The dog behaved herself and didn't fidget too much though we only sat for about 40 minutes. I suspect we have more work to do if we are to sit out for 2-3 hours at a time. 

With it being early season and no other shooters around I took the chance to explore the marsh a bit more and scope out some future spots and I've found an area which looks to be a peach for a tide or evening flight with a backdrop to set a hide against (most of the marsh Is flat grass) so long as the tide stays below 11m. It's not always about the shooting..

Nevertheless I enjoyed my morning out and with every trip I learn a little more about the marsh, what it looks like in various states of tide and weather. This isn't something you can really do when being guided by other members as they want to be on, shoot and then get back off again as they know the spots, the tides and the weather.

I look forward to the coming weeks when the weather cools and migratory birds arrive.

[Gerry78]

3 hours ago, Poor Shot said:

I was out this morning as planned and as predicted I blanked. The high tide was at 10:50 so I was faced with the decision to either get up at 4:00 this morning for a morning flight and face the water being 200m away from any suitable shooting position or go for the tide flight. I chose the later. It was quite a high tide at 11.9m so most of the gulleys and other shooting points were under 12 inches of water by 9:30. A bit of wind but not enough to make roosting out in the channel uncomfortable for the birds with a lot being sat 200m or so out to sea. A lot of mallard flying up and down the tide line which was surprising. No geese though they are usually up and away before the sun his fully risen.

There was a surprising amount of dog walkers and general public about the place which makes shooting near to the seawall or inner splashes quite uncomfortable (not that any of the splashes had water in them). Club must do more to signpost the presence of the club and deter gerry and his dalmatian from taking their morning walks on the private parts of the marsh and to stick to the coastal path where they are permitted.

It wasn't a wasted trip. The dog behaved herself and didn't fidget too much though we only sat for about 40 minutes. I suspect we have more work to do if we are to sit out for 2-3 hours at a time. 

With it being early season and no other shooters around I took the chance to explore the marsh a bit more and scope out some future spots and I've found an area which looks to be a peach for a tide or evening flight with a backdrop to set a hide against (most of the marsh Is flat grass) so long as the tide stays below 11m. It's not always about the shooting..

Nevertheless I enjoyed my morning out and with every trip I learn a little more about the marsh, what it looks like in various states of tide and weather. This isn't something you can really do when being guided by other members as they want to be on, shoot and then get back off again as they know the spots, the tides and the weather.

I look forward to the coming weeks when the weather cools and migratory birds arrive.

That’s the whole essence of Wildfowling being out on the marsh enjoying the sights and sounds a shot at the ducks a bonus but with experience comes rewards well Most of time 😊😊😊

[marsh man]

4 hours ago, Poor Shot said:

I was out this morning as planned and as predicted I blanked. The high tide was at 10:50 so I was faced with the decision to either get up at 4:00 this morning for a morning flight and face the water being 200m away from any suitable shooting position or go for the tide flight. I chose the later. It was quite a high tide at 11.9m so most of the gulleys and other shooting points were under 12 inches of water by 9:30. A bit of wind but not enough to make roosting out in the channel uncomfortable for the birds with a lot being sat 200m or so out to sea. A lot of mallard flying up and down the tide line which was surprising. No geese though they are usually up and away before the sun his fully risen.

There was a surprising amount of dog walkers and general public about the place which makes shooting near to the seawall or inner splashes quite uncomfortable (not that any of the splashes had water in them). Club must do more to signpost the presence of the club and deter gerry and his dalmatian from taking their morning walks on the private parts of the marsh and to stick to the coastal path where they are permitted.

It wasn't a wasted trip. The dog behaved herself and didn't fidget too much though we only sat for about 40 minutes. I suspect we have more work to do if we are to sit out for 2-3 hours at a time. 

With it being early season and no other shooters around I took the chance to explore the marsh a bit more and scope out some future spots and I've found an area which looks to be a peach for a tide or evening flight with a backdrop to set a hide against (most of the marsh Is flat grass) so long as the tide stays below 11m. It's not always about the shooting..

Nevertheless I enjoyed my morning out and with every trip I learn a little more about the marsh, what it looks like in various states of tide and weather. This isn't something you can really do when being guided by other members as they want to be on, shoot and then get back off again as they know the spots, the tides and the weather.

I look forward to the coming weeks when the weather cools and migratory birds arrive.

Excellent write up Poor shot , and by the sound of it you done everything right , 11 mtr tide is very big tide and until you know every inch of the marsh and where all the access points are you are better off sticking to above the high water mark until you are happy with knowing you can get off the marsh in a hurry if the wind get up and push the tide up even higher than the predicted height , the last major flood warning we had here in Yarmouth was a few years ago , and believe it or not I was down the marsh that night and it was blowing a gale and as we say , it was a rough ole night , the duck were coming into a flooded bit I had on the marshes where I shoot it by myself , as the estuary was so rough the duck were coming in for shelter rather than feed , I was in the right place and the duck were coming past me in the front and battling into the wind , the only problem I had was trying to hold my gun straight as the wind was so strong , I knew I was safe as the top of the tide was around 10 .30 pm and at 5 pm when I was shooting the tide should had been near the bottom , but it wasn't , the tide was already high as the gale force North / Easterly wind was holding the tide up from the morning and the second tide was now on it's way , still I was getting a nice bag and I wasn't to concerned about the flood warning , I had just about got all I wanted when my phone went off , with the strong wind making a loud whistling noise I couldn't make out what my wife was saying , all I heard was something about the police coming down our road , as the wind was getting stronger I thought it was best if I made a move and get back home , the walk off was a nightmare as it was a job to stay upright let alone walking head on into what was now getting near storm force , anyhow I finally got back to my car and sat there for ten minutes to get my breath back , I then made the short trip back to my village and the first thing I saw were Blue lights going off all over the place , when I got home I asked my wife why did you ring me up , she said the police had just knocked on our door and advised us to get out as we were on a Red flood warning and as we were both pensioners they were willing to take us to higher ground , my wife didn't tell them I was down the marsh shooting in case they sent a helicopter to come and look for me , after I had my tea I walked up to the river and the tide was still two foot from the top so it was going to be close but I had seen it higher , again I looked at the predicted time and part of the quayside was flooded and the police stopped you from going to near the river in case the banks broke , but as it turned out it got to about six inches from the top so we were dead lucky and didn't get flooded but some of lower areas did and at Hembsy , just up the coast from us had a lot of cliff side houses fell into the sea.

So check out your marshes while the weather is nice ,and the day might come where you will be glad you did . GOOD LUCK and hopefully your first duck or goose is not that far away .

[greenshank1]

On 29/08/2022 at 11:03, marsh man said:

I dare say you have tried Whimbrel in your time L B , again very much like the Curlew , after that 62 / 63 Winter we had wildfowl come down on the estuary we had never seen before , we were brought up with the fact that the only duck you couldn't shoot were Shelduck , anything else that resembled a duck was fair game , I shudder to think what went in the bag that last month in 63 , me and my mate were both laid off work as appreniced bricklayers due to the weather as we had nothing else to do all our time was spent around the estuary , wading birds were lying dead around the shoreline as the mud was like concrete and the duck were watcher thin , we were only 16 and hungry to shoot whatever duck came our way , we must have had most or, nearly all the diving duck and the one I do remember which as it turned out was the only one I had ever shot was a Eider duck , these were a sea duck and rarely came in land but the one I got had got it's bearings wrong and sadly paid the price .

How did the Eider taste ? 
We get them coming into the bay to shelter when it’s really stormy . They seem warier of the dogs than other ducks maybe due to them frequenting off shore rocky islands and not being accustomed to seeing folk ?

[marsh man]

9 hours ago, greenshank1 said:

How did the Eider taste ? 
We get them coming into the bay to shelter when it’s really stormy . They seem warier of the dogs than other ducks maybe due to them frequenting off shore rocky islands and not being accustomed to seeing folk ?

Morning greenshank ,  As for the taste of the Eider I can't really remember as it is coming up for 60 years and now I have a job to remember what I had for dinner a couple of days ago  , On a really cold Winter we sometimes get Eider duck swimming about around the harbour's mouth but very rarely see them inland .

It would have certainly got eaten as nothing would have got wasted , in our village we had a coal man who liked a few Starlings , why starlings I couldn't tell you but he cut the breasts off and no doubt stuck them in a pie , we had a another ole boy who delivered the milk on a four wheeled barrow and liked all the small wading birds and would often give my mum a pint of milk in exchange for a few Shanks and any birds that got in the way when a shot was put over them , money was short a very often something that had web feet was often exchanged for another item of food . If you get the chance to read Wild Fowlers And Poachers by Arthur Patterson , this book is all about the punt gunners and the people who made a living around our estuary , there is a mention where the ole boys would shoot Seagulls and mix the meat in the Pork and Beef sausages and no one was any the wiser , told yer , nothing was ever wasted and even now I try and waste as little as possible . GOOD LUCK over the weeks that lie ahead 

[greenshank1]

15 minutes ago, marsh man said:

Morning greenshank ,  As for the taste of the Eider I can't really remember as it is coming up for 60 years and now I have a job to remember what I had for dinner a couple of days ago  , On a really cold Winter we sometimes get Eider duck swimming about around the harbour's mouth but very rarely see them inland .

It would have certainly got eaten as nothing would have got wasted , in our village we had a coal man who liked a few Starlings , why starlings I couldn't tell you but he cut the breasts off and no doubt stuck them in a pie , we had a another ole boy who delivered the milk on a four wheeled barrow and liked all the small wading birds and would often give my mum a pint of milk in exchange for a few Shanks and any birds that got in the way when a shot was put over them , money was short a very often something that had web feet was often exchanged for another item of food . If you get the chance to read Wild Fowlers And Poachers by Arthur Patterson , this book is all about the punt gunners and the people who made a living around our estuary , there is a mention where the ole boys would shoot Seagulls and mix the meat in the Pork and Beef sausages and no one was any the wiser , told yer , nothing was ever wasted and even now I try and waste as little as possible . GOOD LUCK over the weeks that lie ahead 

Thanks MM

My grandfather and his mate told me stories about the country being “hungry” and food shortages after the war. I’ll try and get a copy of the book .

Have a great season yourself 👍