David A Broad
A personal story
More than 40 years, told day by day
Caithness to Cambridgeshire via Edinburgh with my trophy head in the pouring rain and snow to find widespread flooding in Norfolk with Wroxham unpassable and half of the Horning riverfront properties flooded but not Harnser. Tired to bed
Up at 4.00am for the long journey home by car. We had a slight delay trying to pack up all of our stuff and stow it into the car and its roof box and the pouring rain and wind did not exactly help us. The rain soon turned to snow flurries and then a serious snow fall started and soon covered the road. It was difficult seeing through a blizzard in the dark as full beam headlights were of no use.
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Our final day staking out Broubster before breakfast and trying to use the dogs to help find grouse. Then later a great day on Loch Saorach for Greylag Geese with the geese arriving in the windier and wet weather attracted by the goose call
It was another early morning as we got up to Broubster before breakfast and this time we were trying to use the dogs to help find grouse. having not found any during the day, we reckoned that the first hour after dawn should have given us the best chance. I did not do very well as Sam immediately run off over the hill and I lost the others trying to regain him. Nigel strode off on his own, reckoning to do better without the dogs and got nothing but Jim had more luck.
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As our Discovery got bogged down and Charlie Sutherland rescued it, Jim and I were dog training whilst Nigel was off deer stalking with Chris for Red and then Malcolm for Sika.
It was my temptation to emulate the off-road driving feats of Chris today but soon became bogged down! This came late on a less-than-successful day. Nigel was off deer stalking today after Red this morning with Chris and then Sika this afternoon with Malcolm near Lairg, having hired a Land Rover from Charlie Sutherland for the day. I took Jim after some grouse and we trained the dogs together trying to find them roosting up on the roadside banks. This was pretty unproductive as we found none at all. Instead, we took things fairly easy, having brought a vacuum flask and some snacks.
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Dropping Nigel off at the Hallerdale turn and then going on with Jim Bird to Broubster for another attempt at that red stag which was patrolling the fence.
We then bagged the 13-point Imperial Red Stag in a text-book stalk and then went on to shoot geese in the evening on Thormaid and Saorach
A second early morning, this time dropping Nigel off at the Hallerdale turn and then going on with Jim Bird to Broubster for another attempt at that red stag. I had no sooner driven up to the vantage point for spying and Jim had let out the dogs than I heard a lot of roaring by the fence and used my small binoculars to spot our beast patrolling the fence a mile away. We put the dogs away quickly and then embarked on a long stalk, keeping low and out of sight and the breeze into our faces.
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Charlie fixed my Discovery as we unsuccessfully stalked the large stag, but found many signs of him having paced along the fence. This evening we spotted geese landing but failed to get a clear shot. We also managed to hear from Chris and Malcolm to arrange for stalking for Nigel for the next few days.
We were up early at 5.00am and out to stalk at Broubster. I had heard red deer stags roaring in the vicinity of Broubster both yesterday and the other week and worked out that if there was a couple of stags inside our fence and no hinds to go with them (which was the view of ranger Chris) then they would be pacing the fence to try to get to those the other side as they were rutting. It was a wet morning for us to get soaked and Nigel was complaining that we were too early but I wanted to get into position downwind so as to give us a long stalk along the fence to try to find the stags.
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Recovering in The Forss House Hotel after a night of drinking and some time with the locals before we re-laid the decoys at Saorach and walked up to The White Loch before dusk and was amazed to see some geese had landed on my loch. Around five skeins and over fifty geese settled in all
A lay in after a poor night, having drunk too much alcohol and eaten too much food. There was heavy rain overnight and again this morning, but I still gave the dogs a run before breakfast. They had settled well into the car and were really no trouble considering Ben does not usually like being separated from his mother and Sam was not used to sharing. The meal with the others but a little later than usual. Then time for some training on the lawn and I was surprised to find that Sam was by far the most cooperative and obedient but then I supposed that he was beginning to regard The Forss House Hotel as one of his homes!
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