opinion is the start of the season too early?

[Penelope]

3 hours ago, guy baxendale said:

I would willingly trade September for February, although agree that we should give nothing up without a fight. That has been proven with the removal of quarry species off the list never to return. Make no bones about it that NE have their eye on Pintail and Pochard next.

I made a very rare (for me) September outing last week, 23 degrees and thousands of mossies wasnt my idea of fun. Just a tiny handful of Mallard about (i did get one), the marsh seemed quiet without the chorus of waders and didnt even smell 'right' (that might have been my imagination!), i will leave it another month before heading back unless we get an early gale.

I do seem to have a couple of lots of Teal and Gadwall visiting my pond - not sure if they are resident or migrants. They will be left quiet for at least another month as well.

 

The Gaddies are probably natives; their numbers are increasing and are the second largest, if not the largest species, by population on a number of lakes I fish.

Robert Baker, former using of the veritable forum and wildfowl expert made a very valid argument for keeping the status quo on one of the FB wildfowling pages recently.

[greenshank1]

On 06/09/2022 at 18:19, Gerry78 said:

Agree with all the above posts ☝️I use a bit of restraint and don’t shoot to the middle of October It’s the same as fly fishing rivers for trout hot weather I don’t cast a line 

Steady on fella 

I agree not to shoot young ducks or geese but I am still going fishing when it’s warm , how else can work up a thirst before the pub 😉

[Pushandpull]

Tom Cameron (Essex Uni) is now back on twitter. if you google his twitter feed there is a lot about his recent paper with Matt Ellis of BASC on the impact of shooting on wildfowl populations.

[Gerry78]

On 08/09/2022 at 19:33, greenshank1 said:

Steady on fella 

I agree not to shoot young ducks or geese but I am still going fishing when it’s warm , how else can work up a thirst before the pub 😉

True 😃Alcohol very important 😃

[scolopax]

11 hours ago, Pushandpull said:

Tom Cameron (Essex Uni) is now back on twitter. if you google his twitter feed there is a lot about his recent paper with Matt Ellis of BASC on the impact of shooting on wildfowl populations.

I’m not on Twitter but I have read the paper.  Interesting, lots of in depth statistical analysis which to be honest went way over my head, disclaimer that that there is a lack of data for them to crunch numbers with. 
 

but in summary, we may well be shooting too many Mallard, Gadwall and Teal for out take to be sustainable.    Likewise Icelandic Greylag.  Some crazy numbers from what I remember, pre breeding pop 60, 000, annual bag 63,000! 
 

[Pushandpull]

You do not have to be "on" twitter to pick this up. T.C. used to be an excellent contributor to the old wildfowling forum until he grew tired of silly arguments and left.

[bishop]

On 12/09/2022 at 18:46, scolopax said:

I’m not on Twitter but I have read the paper.  Interesting, lots of in depth statistical analysis which to be honest went way over my head, disclaimer that that there is a lack of data for them to crunch numbers with. 
 

but in summary, we may well be shooting too many Mallard, Gadwall and Teal for out take to be sustainable.    Likewise Icelandic Greylag.  Some crazy numbers from what I remember, pre breeding pop 60, 000, annual bag 63,000! 
 

The true stats on icelandic greys , if they were to be in decline , will be ignored or dismissed , ridiculed or washed over.Its been this way as long as i can remember. Anything that stops the trigger being pulled ,or money being made from same  ,is a deniable quantity. You have wildfowlers that are genuine about conservation and you have others who wear the same gear and mimic the actions of conservation but we are not all birds of a feather and i certainly have no wish to flock together with the latter for any reason.

[scolopax]

3 hours ago, bishop said:

The true stats on icelandic greys , if they were to be in decline , will be ignored or dismissed , ridiculed or washed over.Its been this way as long as i can remember. Anything that stops the trigger being pulled ,or money being made from same  ,is a deniable quantity. You have wildfowlers that are genuine about conservation and you have others who wear the same gear and mimic the actions of conservation but we are not all birds of a feather and i certainly have no wish to flock together with the latter for any reason.

 the Orkney goose blasters? No concern that they are sending the Icelandic Greylag into a precipitous decline.

Edited September 14, 2022 by scolopax

[bishop]

2 hours ago, scolopax said:

 the Orkney goose blasters? No concern that they are sending the Icelandic Greylag into a precipitous decline.

I have heard quite a few stories on that can of worms. The truth i could not say .But i do believe that there are liars aplenty in the shooting world as anywhere else