I have enjoyed many evenings at various venues around the Wash from Heacham to Boston, listening to wildfowlers telling their tales. Indeed, I learned so much about tide, marsh, wildlife and their ways both on and off the Marsh. The wildfowler had a tradition of observing natural history and they often morphed into naturalists. Obviously the most famous of these being Sir Peter Scott who describes his epiphany moment of seeing the suffering of a wounded goose on the mudflats of The Wash in his book The Eye of the Wind. He became possibly Britain’s greatest conservationist and environmental campaigner. I have had the privilege of meeting many wildfowlers that have worked equally hard for the environment using their knowledge, skills and talents.
Nowadays we have cheap photography and lightweight cameras. In the past photography was expensive and cumbersome, and prior to photography it was often only by shooting a bird that it could be studied or identified, and perhaps preserved by a taxidermist. Indeed, although it is hard to believe today, Tony Creasey shot his first mallard not knowing what it was until the local taxidermist identified it for him. Thus a view that would be appalling to a modern day sportsman was, “What’s shot is history, what’s missed is mystery.”
We see such things as this in the Lincolnshire Naturalists Union records:
“Mr F. Kime of Boston writes: A Gadwall (Anas Strepera) was shot in the Welland Channel in November 1924. It was sent to The Field for identification and thence to the Natural History Museum, South Kensington. On account of its rarity, the Museum Authorities asked to be allowed to retain it . So far as I can remember, I never saw one before.”
The Gadwall is easily mistaken for a female mallard with a similar flight pattern, it is only a white flash at the rear of the wing and its call that distinguish it in flight from a mallard. Twice I have reassured wildfowlers that they have not shot a protected bird, but rather a Gadwall which is on the list of permitted quarry. It was originally only a migratory species breeding in Poland, Russia, The Baltic and migrating to north east Britain and Ireland and more commonly into northern India in the winter. The UK breeding stock of Gadwall was started in Norfolk artificially in the 1870’s and the population spread out from the Narford area hence is relative rarity in 1924. The origins of the native Gadwall are recorded by Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey in his 1887 book Shooting Moor and Marsh:
“It (the gadwall) is a rare duck in every part of our islands , save in Norfolk, in which county its abundance is the result of a pair of these birds caught in the South Acre Decoy that were pinioned and turned down on the lake at Narford, where they bred freely and attracted may others, which also remained to nest on this lake.”
The number of Gadwall counted on one private lake at Narford in 1886 amounted to between 1400 and 1500 birds.
Some observations of wildlife however belong in the freak show:
“ Mature rook with three legs, third leg behind right one has five toes – shot at Sutton Bridge near the Nene outfall – preserved by taxidermy in the Wisbech Museum.”
The Fenland, S. H .Miller & S.B. Sketchly 1878.
Natural history, the conservationist and the wildfowler or shooting sportsman have often been deemed in conflict with each other. But they also share interests of observation and protection of the environment. In the early twentieth century accomplished naturalist Mr H.B.C. Pollard stated the following:
“ It is rather a blow to one’s finer sentiments when one reflects that, in nine hundred and ninety-nine cases out of a thousand, the only people who really observe birds with scientific precision are those whose object it is to shoot them. Natheless, experience has taught me that, if you want to get at the facts, seek the gunner rather than the sentimentalist.”[i]
Wildfowlers have a great love of nature and observe it with interest both within and outside their shooting activities. Ken Burton, one of the founding members of Spalding Wildfowlers Association illustrates this in two different articles that he wrote for the club newsletter:
“ Woodpigeons and Ducks
The last two or three weeks quite a lot of us have had some good shooting over at the woods, and I have taken quite a lot of interest in the difference of the crops. I have shot pigeons at Deeping, Bourne Fen, Aslackby and also at Crowland, and each lot have been different. The pigeons at Deeping are real big heavy birds, quite dark fleshed and the contents of their crops consist of clover, potatoes and some barley. The Crowland pigeons are very much the same. A lot of these birds could be local as I have two birds which had been rung by Tony Cook at Newborough.
The Bourne Fen birds are quite different, the flesh is not so dark, more of a pinky colour and the crops consist of chickweed, seeds, potatoes and quite a lot of broad beans. Now the birds at the woods are much leaner and also darker fleshed and darker plumage. These birds I think could be quite a big percentage of migrated birds. The contents of their crops varies quite a lot, for a start it was mainly clover and pieces of sugar beet but now it consists mostly of clover, buttercup leaves and some potatoes.
The little bit of information I can give you about ducks is that on March 5th I found a mallards nest on Cowbit Wash with 3 eggs in it, also, two or three species in my collection have mated up. I also have been watching a swan at Market Deeping mill, she has completed her nest and is now sitting tight.”
Ken Burton March 1967.
In July 1967 Ken wrote this:
“ This week I am going to write about the very high mortality rate of birds and animals on the roads. On my job I travel early and far. This particular journey that I made, a count was made between Spalding to Stoke via Nottingham and Matlock, total miles were 402. I started about 5a.m. It was quite a nice morning. The first victims were two moor hens and one blackbird, that was in the first 10 miles. The first animal was a sow badger near Threekingham cross-roads, then two hedgehogs, as I got out of Lincolnshire into Derbyshire the trend seemed to change a little, more sparrows, one skylark, a brown linnet and of course blackbirds. Blackbirds and moor hens always seem to fly into a moving vehicle instead of away from it.
I would not have enough space to mention all the victims so I will give you the count I made in 402 miles: 4 Moorhens, 1 dog, 9 blackbirds, 1 Skylark, 3 tame pigeons, 2 woodpigeons, 2 cats, 2 badgers, 1 brown linnet, 5 pheasants, 11 sparrows, 3 hedgehogs.”
Ken Burton July 1967.
In 2008 I made a similar note of road kill with no hedgehogs, of notable increase were badgers, roe deer and muntjac with blackbirds and woodpigeons also dominant victims. Nowadays people can report roadkill onto a central database via Twitter, providing a wider record for the future.
Comments