A CLASSIC SERIES REVISITED

As the wildfowling season begins, it’s noticeable that mallard numbers have declined over the years, while those of geese keep going up

It’s been an unusual start to my season. By mid-october, I would have expected to have bagged a few locally bred mallard as well as a smaller number of geese. This season I’ve seen significantly fewer mallard than I would have expected, but many, many more geese than usual. I’m now wondering whether my observations are part of a nationwide trend.

Years ago, one became very aware of mallard towards the end of August, when they’d flight into the stubble fields in the evenings and one could gauge fairly accurately what sort of breeding season they’d had. From mid-august until midseptember, I recall watching echelons of mallard flying over Tremadog Bay every evening, all heading due west. A couple of wildfowling pals and I would try our best to intercept them en route but, while they flew low over the sea, by the time they made landfall most of them would be a couple of gunshots high, so many an evening flight would be spent watching 500-plus duck flying towards the sunset in perfect safety.

Previous patterns

Our best opportunities would come on windy evenings, ideally with a strong sou’westerly, which meant that at least some of the duck would be in range. In those days, duck numbers followed a certain pattern. By mid-september, the local mallard would disappear and we’d wait for colder weather before we saw an influx of migratory mallard, teal and wigeon, which would then remain with us for the rest of the season. In those days, there were very few Canada geese and it was a red-letter day if one made its way into the bag. More recently, however, the growing populations of both greylag and Canada geese are making their presence felt all around the coastline of north Wales, and feature more regularly in the fowler’s bag.

The undoubted highlight of my season to date was being hosted by a very good friend on a morning goose flight on a Scottish firth. The outing was made even more special as my elder daughter joined us on the flight. Conditions were far from ideal as the tide was against us and torrential rain during night meant that the river flowing into the firth was in flood, so we were pushed off our patch of foreshore earlier than planned, before the main body of geese had moved.

Wind conditions varied all night, from a near-gale blowing along the glen where we were staying followed by periods of total calm before another squall came up again. This remained the case as daylight came, meaning that a good number of duck, both mallard and teal, zipped past us in the half-light, offering us some very tempting shooting opportunities. However, my daughter and I both agreed that we’d leave the duck in case it disturbed the geese, as it was a goose we were after that morning. Luck shifted in our favour and the geese, greylags to begin with and then pink-footed, started to move. Several skeins headed our way but kept tantalisingly out of range by flying high over the middle of the firth.

With the wind strengthening, more skeins headed closer to our positions and we both managed a couple of shots at a skein of greylags. There then followed a series of curious events, the precise details of which are perhaps best glossed over lest they read like a fisherman’s tall tale of ‘the one that got away’. However, thanks to our kind host, we did leave the foreshore with a goose in the bag, though not the one that Chester set out to retrieve. All ended well and, having thanked our host, my daughter and I headed into the nearest town for a well-deserved full Scottish breakfast and a piping hot mug of tea. The perfect ending to our wild Scottish goose chase.

“Greylag and Canada geese are making their presence felt around north Wales”

Gethin Jones is a keen wildfowler and rough shooter. He joined BASC (then WAGBI) at the age of 16, the day after he shot his first mallard.

In Wales, Canada geese, as well as greylag, are no longer a rare addition to a wildfowler’s bag