Geese.

[Sausagedog 7,381]

I always get excited come September in the hope of getting under some geese.

I was banging away at avian pests last night helping themselves to a crop of barley when the greylags came over for some to. I do hope they do that come the first!

Anyone else look forward to downing a goose? They make a good meat loaf!

[Stavross 16,082]

Without doubt they are my favourite thing to shoot with a shotgun, maybe because they are big and I can hit one or two 

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

We are keeping an eye out on a field where the headlands have been left barley stubble and sown with turnips. Been watching for a few nights and a few mallard knocking about plus some geese knocking about too. Hope they start on the field when the turnips come through as were on it last week.

[cragman 2,788]

Love doing the geese

[Dervburner 2,549]

Plenty of greys about as there were this time last year. However, last year they disappeared on 31st August. I think they’ve got a calendar . My cormorant licence starts on 1st September this year. It expired on 15th April and it’s taken all this time to come through due to the Covid-19 , lots of those about too.

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

6 minutes ago, Dervburner said:

Plenty of greys about as there were this time last year. However, last year they disappeared on 31st August. I think they’ve got a calendar . My cormorant licence starts on 1st September this year. It expired on 15th April and it’s taken all this time to come through due to the Covid-19 , lots of those about too.

How did you manage to get a cormorant licence and how many can you cull ? My mate leases a stretch of salmon river and says impossible to get a licence.

[Dervburner 2,549]

32 minutes ago, FOXHUNTER said:

How did you manage to get a cormorant licence and how many can you cull ? My mate leases a stretch of salmon river and says impossible to get a licence.

You need to apply to Natural England for a “Prevent serious damage to fisheries license. Grid references will be required and they will send someone out to assess your application. There will be a limit on how many birds can be killed at given grid reference, the type of guns and Calibre/gauges to be used and the ammunition to be used. Report action taken to kill fish eating birds paperwork must be filled out in the period covered by the license, which normally runs from 16th April to 15th April inclusive.

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

Did you get your licence for a river or lake. They dont like issuing individual licences,  did you get yours ok. What limit is set on yours?

[Dervburner 2,549]

22 minutes ago, FOXHUNTER said:

Did you get your licence for a river or lake. They dont like issuing individual licences,  did you get yours ok. What limit is set on yours?

PM sent

[philpot 5,031]

We already have a number of canadas and greys along the shore of the Humber and dropping into some of the farms, not ours so not sure what they are grazing on yet.  The duck and geese deeks are ready and waiting for right time.

Phil

[shovel leaner 7,650]

We’ve got some reservoirs on the estate which have duck , Canada’s and greylag , I try my best with the Canada’s and keep moving them off . But we always look forward to 1st September and have a go at the greys and duck . But just like Derv said , they seem to have a calendar.

       Normally they will have been on the stubble for a while , but because of the wet winter we’ve still got standing wheat and barley and beans . Be interesting to see if they hang around.

[Alsone 789]

On a local fishing lake I've seen canadas all summer raising young. Started off as 2 adults. Finished up as 2 adults and about 8 youngsters which are now at flying stage. Nice birds apart from they sh*t everywhere. Can't walk around the lake for fighting thousand of pieces of small dog sized poop.

Would need a big frying pan though (for the birds not the poop).

Edited August 25, 2020 by Alsone

[Gav 1,708]

Make nice burgers with a bit of good pork fat, thousands of grey lags and canadas here

[Stavross 16,082]

I went past some fields that I’ve tried to get permission on many times before and there was easily 2000 birds on it, a mix of Canada and lag, the reason I can’t shoot on there is it’s at the back of an RSPB site at the mouth of the river tees, it baffles me that foxes are controlled on there but not the geese, the site is big but not big enough to support flying cows in them numbers, they must see the effect they have on the other fowl, I have to hand it to the RSPB, the site is amazing and the amount of different birds in one area is great but it’s definitely not big enough to support that amount of geese, they paddle up around the water and spend the days grazing off the winter crops at the back of the site

[Sausagedog 7,381]

5 minutes ago, Stavross said:

I went past some fields that I’ve tried to get permission on many times before and there was easily 2000 birds on it, a mix of Canada and lag, the reason I can’t shoot on there is it’s at the back of an RSPB site at the mouth of the river tees, it baffles me that foxes are controlled on there but not the geese, the site is big but not big enough to support flying cows in them numbers, they must see the effect they have on the other fowl, I have to hand it to the RSPB, the site is amazing and the amount of different birds in one area is great but it’s definitely not big enough to support that amount of geese, they paddle up around the water and spend the days grazing off the winter crops at the back of the site

Good luck with that one Stav. You might get mobbed by angry vegans though and severely thrashed with cabbage leaves! Gagged with a Quorn sausage!