Skill, patience and resolve
Shooting Times & Country|January 27, 2021
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
Skill, patience and resolve

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”

This story is from the January 27, 2021 edition of Shooting Times & Country.

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This story is from the January 27, 2021 edition of Shooting Times & Country.

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