Bog Myrtle & Peat

Just worth mentioning that I shot my first wigeon of the year last night on a flightpond down by the Solway. The same pond has been great over the past six weeks for mallard and teal, and it seems as if some sort of switch has flicked during the past few days which suddenly means that wigeon are interested in flighting. They’ve certainly been present on the foreshore since about the middle of September, but several healthy flights showed themselves for the first time last night, swarming in like bees in the gloom. For some reason, they were totally silent when they came, which was a shame because half the fun of wigeon is hearing that shrill little whoop in the darkness. Still, it hardly mattered as three silhouettes slapped into the mud, and Scoop did a fine job on two of them.

There were several larger flights of wigeon which seared overhead from the shore, but what with waterlogged fields for miles in every direction, they were spoilt for choice and it would have been a tricky job to get them to concentrate anywhere. Quite a nice showing from the mallard and teal, but none fell when the moment of truth arrived. Now I have dinner sorted.