Skill, patience and resolve

Flighting pinkfeet in the sub-zero dawn offers plenty of chances, but marauding barnacle geese provide an unwelcome distraction on the freezing creeks

- JACK BELL

It was well before sunrise as I packed my car in preparation for a morning’s wildfowling on the Solway Firth. A hard frost covered the ground and the dashboard thermometer read a chilly -8°C. Fortunately, I live only a few minutes’ drive from the coast but the sub-zero temperatures and sheet ice still made for an interesting journey.

I parked up in a coastal layby and clambered into my chest waders. I had already been out twice that week scouting for the best locations for this outing, so my waders weren’t fully dried out and I had to mould the frozen boots to get my feet in.

Acrobatics

The walk from the car to the suitable section of foreshore is just over half a mile and must be done without the aid of a torch in order not to disturb the roosting waterfowl. Chest waders present so many benefits when on the foreshore, but walking on frozen ground — as demonstrated by my acrobatics — is not one of them.

“A brace of mallard on a creek was well within range”

A small crescent moon and a thick blanket of cloud cover made the walk more difficult than it had been on my previous trips. The temptation to turn on a torch was high, but the sounds of waterfowl being moved by the incoming tide reminded me why I needed to walk covertly, using only identifiable features to navigate.

“Geese that had left the bay returned, being pressured by other shooters”