Day Old Mallard Sponsorship
Country member Robert Griffin of Direct Shooting Supplies Ltd www.directshootingsupplies.co.uk has kindly sponsored the Westmorland Wildfowlers ‘Day Old Mallard’ rearing program this year by donating 130 day old mallard ducklings. Robert and his keen wildfowling son Sam, and Stotty collected them from Hy-Fly Game Hatchery www.hy-fly.co.uk on the 21st May 2012 and these were delivered to the WWA members who have generously offered to rear these birds at home, just like the old days. Darren and Bob Barber, Callum Graham, Robert & Sam will raise these 130 day olds to 6 weeks old prior to the WWA ringing officers fitting them with BASC leg rings and releasing them around the Kent Estuary. They will be then fed until free flying. Mark Eaton kindly supplied us with another 29 early season mallard eggs from his stock birds which have been successfully incubated by the Secretary and raised to 6 weeks by our Chairman Mark Shaw and Stotty. Country members Stuart Martinez and Mick Kay are also rearing some mallard at home for the club release programme. All these mallard will supplement the 300 six week old WWA mallard that will be tagged and released in June. Our restocking policy vows to replace a minimum of 1 mallard for every duck shot on the estuary. This year we will exceed the restocking target yet again, by tagging and releasing at least 467 mallard into the environs of the River Kent estuary.
