Making your way across the marsh for an evening flight, knowing it will be the last, is bittersweet but it sends a vital message.
Twice in the 45-year span of my wild fowling career I have had the bittersweet experience of taking the final shot on a marsh that was destined to be lost to the sport forever. On 20 February 2008 I parked my Land Rover close to Aldeburgh fire station and made my way on foot out across the Town marshes to the broad expanse of the Alde estuary. I walked in the evening light towards a favourite little spit of salt marsh jutting out into the river known as Westrow Point.
A long association between my club, the Alde & Ore Wildfowlers Association, and Westrow saltings was about to come to an end. The saltings and the adjoining fresh marsh behind the river wall had already changed hands. While the new owner had made it perfectly clear that he would no longer be leasing the sporting rights, he was prepared to allow us to see out the 2008 season to its close. This was to be the final flight.
With my fowling bag over my shoulder and my Labradors, Wigeon and Pintail, trotting at heel, I scanned the edge of the tideline where the water rippled under a light westerly breeze and spotted the unmistakable silhouettes of a group of wigeon. Sitting both dogs under the shelter of the river wall, I moved as quietly as I could down on to Westrow saltings, creeping along the line of a narrow creek to stalk within range of the birds.
Sometimes creek-crawling works and sometimes it doesn’t but on this occasion I got to within 50 yards before the little group sprang. I swung on to them and a cock wigeon tumbled into the edge of the tide, to be quickly retrieved by the dogs.
Denne historien er fra March 1,2017-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra March 1,2017-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside