Suns out.

[stealthy1 3,964]

Woke early to a stunning sunrise, so decided to make the most of it. The place I fancied ferreting today would have the sun on my back with a mixed planting of small tree's sheltering us from the cold breeze that was stopping the frost from thawing in the shade. We only had a couple of hours to be out because we were out at friends for Sunday dinner in the afternoon, and did'nt want to miss it. This place is a natural pit that is formed by water seaping through the chalk and creating underground streams and wells which in the end flow out into the local rivers, this has the habit of forming these pits, the landowners normaly fill them in with any old inert crap they want to get rid of from the farms, but this one is planted for wildlife. The firs pick is the pit with me putting out the longnet, I'm in the trees putting the net out, on ground like this I like to peg the net out, then walk round and tention the net after, on flat ground I would tention and peg as I went, but on this ground you cant get the bottom line to follow the contours of the ground and and growth without tightning the topline and leaving your bottom line slack to follow the contours, so I find it easier to peg out, then sort the tention

 

 

While the longnetted bank settles, I put out some purse nets on the opposite bank, and some around the base of a tree.

 

 

 

We were now ready to rummble Ferrets in. Notice the birdshit on the dogs collar where she had a mad moment and decided to chase a large gull, which did an even larger dump on her as it took off across the fields, and boy did she stink until it dried

 

 

Now its up to the mutalids to sort their side of the job out It was'nt long before the dog was keeping an eye out for runners, BANG! the first bunny tries its luck in a bid to make freedom, but its not to be as the dog pick up the escapee

One nil to us. It was looking like it could be a productive couple of hours. BANG! another bunny hits the longnet, grabbed and dispatched, and we're two up Two more came from the longnetted bank, which made it four nil to us So a move over to the other bank, time was ticking. So while I gathered in the longnet the Mrs and the dog entered the ferrets to the other bank.

 

 

This bank only produced one rabbit before the dog and ferrets were looking for more action So with five in bag we moved onto the tree warren

 

 

Ferrets in, thump thump Bang! And a bunny bounces off the net and back tracks into the warren we have just done, much to quick for David Seaman, so to quick for me the second runner came from and unseen bolt hole and thought it had it made, but the dog was on step ahead, and was quickly picked up and retreived Six in the bag, and my phone alarm was ringing to tell me it was time to head off for dinner here is the six, had to take the EOD shot when we got back home after dinner, you know the score, should have packed up ten minutes earlier and all that

 

 

The only other thing of note was that the last doe had five young in her, so the end of the ferreting seaon is close, by the end of March all the doe's will probably be full of young.

 

 

Three were evident when I paunched the doe, the other two are still in the womb on the right of the pic.

 

Not long until the end of the season folks, so hammer them while you can.

 

atb

stealthy.

[tb25 4,627]

NISE READ MATE AND PIKS ATB

[The one 8,588]

Nice read and picts mate were maybe two weeks later than you so we should get ferreting till april

[max abell 198]

Nice one there stealthy as you say the end if the season is nearing

[paddywack 3]

Nice write up and pics.

 

We had to finish 3 weeks ago as young everywhere

[stevethefish 80]

Good write up mate, nice pics too, where in lincs are you I am just south of Lincoln maybe we could meet up next season and have a bash together. I have a large area of land to cover and its crawling, longnets maybe the way forward on some of it thats hard to use purse nets on.

[stealthy1 3,964]

Good write up mate, nice pics too, where in lincs are you I am just south of Lincoln maybe we could meet up next season and have a bash together. I have a large area of land to cover and its crawling, longnets maybe the way forward on some of it thats hard to use purse nets on.

 

 

East of Skegness

[chameleon 26]

Nice write up, nice looking dog.

[theferreter 311]

good write up mate and well done had to stop about 3 weeks ago myself young everywhere

[camelion 4]

Thought it was funny about the gull, and they do stink

[Kay 3,709]

Nice one Saff looks in tip top condition

[lamping boy 2]

enjoyed the read mate and some great pictures mate