The Divers of Lough Neagh

All ready my first trip to Ireland was better than I could have imagined. My first day shooting with Mark bagged me my first green wing teal, and a pair of mallards. I also managed to bag my first Diver - a Tufted duck. I couldn't wait to get out with Ross to his spot on Lough Neagh, where this time, divers would be the target species. Lough Neagh is one of the largest lakes in the United Kingdom and having experienced a wide variety of shooting since leaving New Zealand, I was loving getting back to my bread and butter - open water decoying. The fact that today we would be targeting divers was the icing on the cake.

Alarms blaring, dogs barking and vehicle lights spilling through the windows signalled the start of the days shoot. Matthew, Richard and Dean would be joining Ross, Mark and I for the day spread out on a couple of shooting spots. First up, Ross and Mark grabbed the boat, fired up the outboard and started setting a good sized decoy spread as the sun started rising over the horizon..

We all started off together in the main hide, telling yarns, getting to know one an other and taking turns to shoot. The first mob of the day gave me yet another new species and another diver - the Scaup. We have a type of Scaup in New Zealand, but they are protected, so to be able to hunt this bird here was a nice change. Scaup provided the bulk of the days bag, and we saw literally hundreds, as they swooped around in large mobs. Ross told me that numbers were actually down, so the crew he hunted with had self imposed limits to help protect the their harvest for the future.

Ross and Richard doing the grunt work

The boys were quick to point out to me any other species they saw and among them were Goldeneye. This was probably my number one diver that I had hoped to get in Ireland, but they just wouldn't quite commit to the decoy spread. The next flock of Scaup came in, just after a Goldeneye had once again ignored us. They were just on the edge of range and ordinarily the boys would let them come round again, but Mark with a sudden start was up in a flash, targeting one particular bird. He bagged it with a great shot and immediately Ross and Mark exchanged a glance. After the retrieve, they showed me another new species that I had not seen before - another diver called the Pochard. The Pochard is cut from similar cloth to the North American Red Head and Canvasback and is a beautiful bird. I had no idea that Ireland even had them. They both apologised to me that Mark had seen it at the last second, otherwise they would have told me to try and bag it. I laughed and said we are all there to shoot ducks, so get stuck in. Still, the fact that these guys were willing to let me shoot their trophy birds that they themselves were clearly passionate about, was something special - its just the kind of guys they are.

Mark doing what he does well

Not long after this, Mark decided to try something new with the Goldeneye decoys, as they just didn't want to commit. He moved them slightly further out and to the side of the main spread, so that they would show as their own small group. Mark then took cover in the drooping willows. He had been there less than 5 minutes when a single Goldeneye drake came round the point, saw the decoys, and cupped down right into them. Mark had our first Goldeneye on the board. He asked me if I wanted to have a turn - 'absolutely'

Typical to bird hunting, the Goldeneye had other ideas. The boys continued to get good shooting over the main spread, and after 45 min, Ross came over and asked if I was ok, or did I want to come back? The words were just out of his mouth when I pointed and said 'is that what I think it is'? He nodded, and we both watched a single Goldeneye drake drift round a few feet off the water and slide into the decoys. My first shot from the A5 was high, but I collected him with my second. Ross whistled his Chessie out and I had my first Goldeneye in my hand. Ross was as happy as I was, which is saying something for the guy.

Arriving back at the main spread, I noticed that the change in wind was pushing some birds just outside the spread, and Matthew had headed to another hide in the hopes of cutting them off. True to form, while he was there, nothing really flew that line, so he returned. I then offered to go round and take Matthews place, as I was all ready happy with the day, so figured id leave the main spread and shooting to the others.

Diver shooting at its best

My luck continued and it wasn't long before a single bird came down my line. The Redhead told me all I needed to know. I had another diver and my first Pochard! Not long after that, I got my second. Ross pulled the pin around lunch time. We had a good bag of Scaup, along with the trophy's of the day - Two Goldeneye and three Pochard.

Back at Ross's place we got stuck into fresh duck cooked on the grill, along with Fallow venison that the boys had just knocked over. It was nice to not only be hunting and shooting again, but also being in the company of people who live off the land like I do back home in New Zealand. It was a great way to end the weekends shooting, and the following day, I said goodbye to some of the nicest guys I have ever met.

The Kiwi contingent - Emma, Caitlin

Bailie and myself

I hadn't been back in London long when Ross told me about a wild food day they were hosting as a fundraiser. I said I would love to come over with Bailie and could we bring some other friends of ours from New Zealand to support it? 'More the merrier' was the answer, so the Kiwi contingent headed over to the wild game night. The girls did their thing, while I helped Ross and Mark prepare the food. Partridge, Duck, Venison, Goose and Rabbit were all the menu. Over 50 people turned out in support of Ross and his Judo club for their trip to South Africa to compete and we all had a great weekend, with live music. Richard even got into the spirit of things and treated us to ACDC - played on bagpipes! It was just awesome. The only low light was that we drank Matthews bar dry of Guinness!

To have a dinner like that, with the game that I helped harvest and prepare, then share it with Bailie and my friends was a great way to finish off and celebrate my shooting in Ireland for the season. As great as the shooting was, meeting some fantastic people turned out to be the real highlight.

The last shot of the day at the magic Lough Neagh