Doing the rounds

Tom Sykes focuses his attention on the estate ducks. His aim? To fill up the freezer before the end of the season

Ispend a lot of my time on the local estate, undertaking a variety of jobs throughout the year. I help to manage the vermin, especially crows during the summer months. I also do my bit during the season with a mixture of beating, picking-up and loading. I am fortunate that the result of my hard work allows me to have full access to the large, natural flood that appears on the outer perimeter of the estate. I also like to expand my shooting opportunities by striking up a deal with the boss to have a go at his three duck ponds, which are wellstocked with hordes of wild mallard and teal towards the end of the season.

This year, the deal was settled after I offered to photograph the syndicate Christmas shoot for a reduced fee in return for a chance to shoot the three ponds.

I have shot the ponds over the past few years and discovered there is definitely an order in which to shoot them. All three are different and produce varied sporting challenges. I normally start with the smallest, which is a teal haven. This makes for a moderate bag with some of the most challenging shooting. The second pond is located near my flood and can have a good show of mallard if the conditions are right; normally when the flood is dry. The third stop is the aptly named ‘Big Pond’. This is located near the big house and has been prime real estate for ducks since it was dug many years ago. After having a successful start on the first two ponds, I started to work out the date and the plan to shoot the Big Pond.

The third stop

The Big Pond used to have tall, sheltering fir trees on one side until it was clear-felled a couple of years ago. A few hardwood trees were left around the permanent hides that the keeper has maintained. However, gales had uprooted some of these and left the hides in need of repair. The upside to this is that they provided an abundance of natural cover to conceal me from any approaching ducks, which can circle the pond before committing. This is OK but I wanted to get the ducks to come straight in to give me