Limbourne Creek – 4th February 2012

Out on the foreshore again with Colin for our second attempt to shoot Limbourne Creek. Met up just off the A12 again at 6am. The light dusting of snow overnight was snaking around on the road surface behind him as I followed gingerly through the lanes to park up at the farmhouse. We walked across the frozen fields, over the sea wall and onto the marsh.

Directed to my spot, I stepped down onto the ‘sand’ in a little cut where my right leg disappeared past the knee, the ‘sand’ turning out to be sludge. Somehow Colin managed to walk out to the centre of the Creek and drop a couple of Widgeon decoys. Don’t stop moving is apparently the trick. Very little wind meant it didn’t feel too cold over the next hour as I watched Eric trying to make his mind up whether to get some sleep or watch the tide move in to lift the decoys.

Flying with the tide a small, fast duck landed next to Eric’s decoys, but soon realised something was amiss and lifted. Eric missed and so did I but luckily I hit him with my second barrel, leaving Poppy with the muddy retrieve of my first ever Teal.

A little later Colin managed to bag a Pintail, but Eric failed to connect with anything from a team of Teal that flew around the corner and up the Creek after a stir-up shot.  Not much else moving around so we decided to call it a day.  Walking back across the marsh, a skein of Brent geese flew over and a birdwatcher stopped for a chat and informed me that the bird of prey I’d seen chaced off by a crow was a hen harrier.

Many thanks to Colin, Eric and Poppy for letting me join them to shoot in such a wonderful place.

Bag for the day (1 bird for 2 shots)
Teal 1 (drake)