At some point in his history, man became
a hunter and, undoubtedly, certain areas
proved more profitable than others. The marshland region, despite its lack of any
really suitable mammals, was rich in wild fowl. Although wild-fowling has acquired a
sporting reputation in the second half of the twentieth century, in the past, wild-
fowlers made a living from killing and selling birds, which were an important food
resource.
At that time, the marshland covered a
much larger area, and wild-fowling was much
more widespread. Large stretches of water were shrouded by vast reed-beds,
which were a veritable treasure house for the wild fowl seeking food and for the wild-
fowler seeking his catch. With little else from which to earn a living, the people
living in the marshland made as much use as possible not only of the wild fowl, but
of the fish and plants as well.
It is difficult to imagine the land in
those days, but in Saxon England life in
marshland areas must have been very unpleasant. Houses would have been built
where there were outcrops—perhaps of gravel, or where the land had built up due
to deposition. The whole area was damp and unhealthy, with numerous insects,
including mosquitoes, and, as a result many people died 'before their time'.
Travelling was difficult, since much of the terrain, if not covered with water, was very
boggy. Getting from place to place was originally achieved by boat, although
causeways were eventually built. Some causeways were on stilts, others were
merely plank walkways. The local people, however, had no exclusive rights to the
wild fowl. Many species, such as herons, cranes, swans and bitterns, were
reserved for the King or Queen and the abbeys, which were established in various
places, were charged with providing these birds for royal banquets.
Killing birds for food gradually became
an accomplished art. For example, James I,
during his reign, organised hawking excursions in fenland Britain. The art of falconry
developed, in which hawks and falcons were used to capture such delicacies as
teal, mallard, herons and geese.
The local people became very familiar
with the wildlife of the marsh and gradually
evolved more successful ways of hunting and trapping. They used snares and nets,
as well as bird-lime.
Although there were laws, even in mediaeval
times, which covered the sale of
livestock from marsh and fen, the local people devised their own marketing system
and considered it their right to sell the eggs of water birds, such as teal, moorhens
and a variety of other ducks. Partly-domesticated wild fowl, e.g. geese and swans,
were kept in and around the houses. When fattened, they were rounded up, driven
onto the water and taken to market.
Life was difficult and it is no wonder
that the marshland dweller was a very hardy
character. Those who made their living from the marsh, often did so from a
combination of fishing and fowling. Others found that casual wild-fowling provided a
part-time although somewhat hazardous job. As well as obtaining a free supply of
meat from the birds which they caught, the fowlers made money by selling any
surplus.
Wild fowl, which once were able to escape
their captors, fared less well once guns
and gunpowder arrived in the marshes. Two types of gun came into common use:
the shoulder gun and the punt gun. The punt gun, which was much the larger, was,
as the name suggests, fired from a marshland boat or sometimes from dyke banks.
With the arrival of the punt gun, the stocks of wild fowl decreased. Instead of killing
single birds, as with the shoulder-held gun, the punt gun, rather like a miniature
cannon, had a far more dramatic impact. When fired into sizeable flocks of
swimming ducks, each volley quickly added to the wild-fowler's bag. The size of the
day's haul can be best understood by looking at the records for a day's punt-
gunning. In 1860, a party of thirty-two punt-gunners on the Blackw.ater Estuary in
Essex caused the death of 954 Brent geese.
Although lucrative, wild-fowling was tough;
much of the work took place in icy
conditions in the colder months of the year. The men used to smother their bare
chests with goose grease, which they then covered with brown paper before putting
on their clothes. It took a lot of effort and a lot of grease, and it was just as
troublesome to get the grease off again, so the wild-fowlers often kept the fat on
their chests for a week at a time, sleeping with it!
The punts which the wild-fowler used were
4-9-6-0 m (16-20 ft) long, clinker-built
and without decking. Camouflage was essential and a variety of marshland
vegetation, including sedge and reed, was draped over the bow. At night, when the
ducks were resting, the punt was manoeuvred silently through the water. Two small
paddles were used to propel the boat and the punt-man worked these while lying
flat on the bottom of the boat. His punt gun, 2 m (6-5 ft) long and with 2-5-5 cm (1-2
in) bore, would be put into position with the minimum amount protruding over the
bow of the boat. With a group of resting birds in sight, the punt-man would hit the
boat to make the birds rise a little from the water and then fire low across the water
to ensure a bigger bag. As shot splayed out across the water, the resounding boom
would scatter the wildfowl over a considerable distance. His effort would probably
net him about twenty or so ducks. It would be some time before groups of birds
returned to the water, so that there would be only half a dozen or so chances to
shoot during each evening's work.
In winter, when the marshland water became
frozen, the punt-gunner used different
tactics. He mounted his punt on a sledge so that it would move easily across the
frozen surface. He abandoned his oars and replaced them with either knives or ice
picks, to propel his boat forward.
The decoy is perhaps the most interesting
'invention' of the marsh-dwellers. There
are two kinds. The true decoy consists of a long, usually :urved, tube of netting,
known as a pipe, leading to a quiet secluded pond. There are usually several of
these pipes. Wild ducks are attracted to the pond, either by baiting or by tamed
wild ducks specially reared for this purpose. rhe ducks are free to come and go and
to feed on the marsh.
Once the ducks are established on the
pond, the decoy man can begin to :ntice
them into the pipes. This is achieved either by baiting or by using a specially
trained dog known as zpiper. The dog runs alongside the pipe behind i reed
screen. Gaps in the screen make it seem to appear and disappear and his attracts
the ducks into the pipe in an attempt to follow the dog. The ducks ire thus led along
the pipe which gets progressively narrower and eventually ?nds in a keep net where
the ducks are trapped. The ducks can thus be caught vithout disturbing the others
still on the pond. Such a decoy can be used for ome time, as new birds are
constantly being attracted to the pond. Such lecoys are still in use to catch birds for
ringing purposes. In earlier times, the first ducks were usually taken in the colder
months when they could fetch a high price as fresh meat.
The other type of decoy is more primitive
and consists of a funnel-shaped
enclosure over water. When ducks are moulting they are unable to fly and so are a
prime target for the activities of the punt-men. The men in their boats surround the
flocks of flightless birds and drive them into the enclosures, where they are killed.
Flight nets are used for birds such as plovers.
In the past, the species which were shot
included a variety of duck, as well as
geese, coot, moorhen, golden plover, woodcock, curlew, snipe, wood pigeon and
pheasant. Even the less commonly encountered birds were not safe from the wild-
fowlers. Not only would birds suitable for eating be taken, but there was, at one
time, a good trade in interesting species for taxidermists. These were used as
'ornaments' in the home. Nowadays, the variety of species caught is much less,
due, in no small measure, to the reduction in wild fowl numbers. This is a result of
drainage and over-shooting in the past, among other factors. The principal ducks
taken now are mallard, teal and wigeon— m that order. Woodcock, snipe and
pheasant, along with some wild geese and also rabbits and hares, make up the
rest of the bag.
Five methods are currently used in modern
fowling. In rough walking up, the hunters
walk across the grazing marshes or along the marsh walls. Species taken in these
walks include a few duck, some snipe and pigeon, as well as pheasant, hare and
rabbit.
Occasionally there are organised drives
in which groups of wild-fowlers move
across the grazing marshes. The most likely victims here are duck, snipe, pheasant
and hare.
In flighting, a flight pond is used, which
may be either natural or artificial, and
shallow enough for a variety of water plants to become established; this is an
essential pre-requisite. To entice geese and ducks, food is introduced, usually
large amounts of barley, although other grain is used. Various duck and goose
species will come in at dusk to take their fill, providing an easy target. Shoots take
place about once a fortnight. In a variation of this method, wild-fowlers will shoot
ducks which visit corn stubble where grain, dropped by the combine, provides food.
In winter, wigeon, often in large flocks,
come to feed on the grazing levels and they
are driven up, or flighted, from hides made from bales of straw or from the
gateways over the marshland dykes. This is not a particularly effective method and
only small numbers are shot in this way.
In some of the marsh carrs, organised
game shoots take place and the birds are
sent up by beaters and driven over the guns.
Conservation of wild fowl is one of the
aims of certain groups, which rear ducks
especially for shooting, rather than depleting the numbers in the wild. For this
purpose, small flight ponds are excavated in marshland areas. Here ducks are
reared and released. Over the years, this method has become increasingly popular
and most wild-fowling clubs affiliated to WAGBI (the Wild-fowlers' Association of
Great Britain and Ireland now the British Association for Shooting and
Conservation) have the rearing and release of ducks into the wild as part of their
policy.
