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[purdey]

Now as Autumn approaches we are starting to see the arrival of thousands of geese from Spitsbergan. Over the past couple of days I have been awoken by countless thousands flying over our village to feed in local fields.
This morning I sat on out local saltmarsh and witnessed skein after skein arrive and settle for a well earned rest. The noise was deafening with young and old calling each skein in as it appeared on the horizon, a wonderful sight and sound which sums up the British countryside.

[CBBB]

Didn't get your shotgun out?

[purdey]

Not yet CBBB. I will give them another month, they need to put some weight after their long journey. I have laid on a nice spread for them of barley and rotten potatoes.

[CBBB]

That's it, fatten the poor little sods up first!

[bill cobbett]

Try pickling the little bleeders - CY style.

Big jars or maybe in the bath, few gallons of vinegar, a sack or two of spices etc.

[purdey]

It's not as bad as it sounds. yes they a fed but not intentionally. They will clear a few acres in a few weeks but only eat what has been left over from the harvest.
In the middle of October I will shoot 4, then they will be left. In November a further 4 will be shot and then 2 in December. After that the will not be disturbed again. We tend to have upwards of 1,000 still on our fields until March and then they are off home.
I could however lease out my land to foreign hunters from November-January and earn up to £1200 per party per day. But then there would be no geese and none would return year after year as they have done for decades.
So in short yes I shoot them, eat them but I also provide a sanctuary for them while others would rather make a few pennies.

[insan]

It's not as bad as it sounds. yes they a fed but not intentionally. They will clear a few acres in a few weeks but only eat what has been left over from the harvest.
In the middle of October I will shoot 4, then they will be left. In November a further 4 will be shot and then 2 in December. After that the will not be disturbed again. We tend to have upwards of 1,000 still on our fields until March and then they are off home.
I could however lease out my land to foreign hunters from November-January and earn up to £1200 per party per day. But then there would be no geese and none would return year after year as they have done for decades.
So in short yes I shoot them, eat them but I also provide a sanctuary for them while others would rather make a few pennies.

That's what I call a good, sensitive hunter!

[bill cobbett]

Very commendable bit of conservation mate, whilst still having a few for the oven.

To be honest shooting doesn't appeal. It's too noisy. Been taken a few times by a BIL, a fanatical shooter, who's in a syndicate with several farms just north of London here. He's always urging me to go out with him. He's always dumping birds of various kinds and rabbits on us. Wish he'd defeather, skin the bleeding things first mind.

Was taken out on the First Day of the Season one October, back in CY, many years ago. What an experience that was!

[Nikitas]

My first day out this year was a disappointment. Calici virus has hit the rabbits and the population is down by 90 per cent. It will take at least a year for them to recover.

So I am waiting for woodpigeno season to arrive.

Geese and wildfowl are not my cup of tea. Marshy ground, that is where you find them in Greece, is not for me. It is either 20 below, or damp and buggy. The uplands are the place for me.