Alan Jarrett is Chairman of the Kent Wildfowling & Conservation
Association and author of several books on wildfowlingWILDFOWLING WITH ALAN JARRETT
Wildfowling bucket list
He may be steadily ticking things off, but there are still plenty of goals for Alan Jarrett to reach
in his wildfowling career – not least, the elusive eagle-head goose
M
ost of us have our own bucket list.
Whether it relates to our personal, family or
professional lives, there are usually horizons to be
reached, new things to experience. In that,
shooters are probably no different.My wildfowling bucket list is shorter than ever
after all these years, but there is still plenty to aim
for. Sometimes, the list has developed organically
by chance encounter, while at other times there
was a premeditated plan. Sometimes, the goal is
a modest one, while at others it may be exotic or
difficult to attain without huge effort and expense.
The list of ‘firsts’ at home in the UK was, of
course, long and almost daunting to start with, but
over the years has been achieved. Very seldom
are those achievements readily forgotten.
I can recall my first European white-front as
though it had happened yesterday – shot in a
blizzard by chance while searching for a lost teal.
And the first pintail drake – shot in broad daylight
as I was coming off the saltmarsh.
The first right-and-left at this species or that.
And once the semi-automatic became the
weapon of choice, there were the first trebles,
although they still remain uncommon enough to
remain remarkable.
After many years of wildfowling at home, my
thoughts eventually turned to foreign parts; to
enjoy the sights and sounds of birds that we do
not regularly get here in the UK, and to experiencedifferent places and different cultures. They have
been adventures one and all, and each cherished
in its own way because of that.
This October, I will be renewing old
acquaintances in a trip to Canada, and there is
one bird that has eluded me these past 15 or so
years since I last lay out on the prairies of
Saskatchewan. There, over two successive
winters, we shot a variety of birds and marvelled
at the sights and sounds.
The sight of packs of mallard in excess of 100
birds; the harsh cackle of lesser Canada geese;
and the far-reaching trill of flighting sandhill
cranes. But most of all the sight and sound of the
mass flighting of snow geese, as they swept
across the sky in seemingly never-ending wave
after wave.
It is the snow goose flocks that I will be looking
for to fill my bucket list a little more. During those
two trips, my bag included snow geese and
Ross’s goose (a diminutive cousin of the larger
snows); it included young blue phase snows, but
never the adult blue phase snow – or eagle-head
as it is known. The bird is aptly named for its dark
plumage and snow-white neck and head.PICTURE:
TIDEPOOL
PICTURES:
ALAN JARRETT
Over the years, Alan has ticked plenty off his listBeauty for the bucket list: drake shoveler