I THINK WE ARE BEING SHOT AT!

An echoing boom blasted out, then the follow-on sound of tumbling rock not far away could be heard. We stopped walking and looked at each other. 'What the hell was that...I'm sure it was a gun". As we were taking stock, another boom rung out, then another. Instinct wanted me to drop and lie flat. Instead, I looked around, then turned and said to hubby, "I think we are being shot at". He agreed we had heard gunshots, but did not necessarily agree that we were the target practice. We could not see from where the shots came, and the directional line of shooting was not clear.

I noticed the golden Labrador dog we had passed on a pathway to a house, on the estate we were legitimately walking, was sitting very calmly, apparently no care in the world. Being as calm as it was, it must have been a trained gun dog. A short distance from the house was parked a 4X4 vehicle.

<>/div> Close to where we stopped were two tents, both had closed flaps. The old army tent had a picnic table set up with elements of a snack visible. There were two empty chairs. There was also a pyramid tent with no sign of active life. As we took stock of the scene, another gun shot rang out.   

Looking back at the house, we saw a gun barrel peeping from the now, open front door, directed towards the rock face opposite. It seemed to us that the firearms user was attempting to scare us off our walk. We decided to walk on and visit the historic site at the end of the trail. Half way up a little hill we turned to look back again. This time, we saw five people at the doorway, including children. And still the barrel of what I believe was a rifle, could be seen moving up, down and around. The shooter did not come into view.

Not far from the historic monument, we could hear the low level .22 rifle popping sounds coming from a clay pigeon shoot. There was a warning red flag further on, a warning not to go past that point. There was a brisk warm wind, and the movement of the sea. Amongst all those sounds was the swishing and sotto voce rumble of a dozen large turning windmills.

So much for a walk through peaceful lush pastures with the tinkling of water streams running through, rising and tumbling over little waterfalls.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS AND BIRDS

I got to thinking about the seasonal visits we get from Geese, either going North or South. According to where they rest for any given period, fields can be carpeted in them as the geese stop to rest and feed on their long journeys. The signal defining feature of these birds, (apart from the tremendous and distinctive sound they make) is their pattern of flight. If you see a large number of birds flying in a 'V' formation, (and it can be quite a flock following leader birds)you are probably looking at geese in flight. They are not quiet, they will call in their inimitable manner.

Wild Geese:

Every year sportsmen arrive near where I live, about August-September time, mostly from abroad, in particular, from Italy and France for their hunting and shooting trips. The few that do not go fishing spend their time shooting geese and other birds. It has been true to say that the French shoot anything with feathers, which is why, very few birds have been seen in flight in parts of France.

The Italians did not do much for their sporting reputations either. One year there was a general outcry at what can only be described as indiscriminate bird shooting. Many geese were found dead where they fell. While sporting activities in general are supported in rural parts of the UK, there are rules to follow, like not killing more livestock than can be bagged and used. and certainly not leaving a multitude of dead carcasses littered around the countryside.

Whatever your views are about hunting sports, it is a thriving affair, but, not to the exclusion of appropriate regulations. Complaints were submitted to legal authorities about the amount of indiscriminate shooting, and the complaints were investigated. It was probably hard to deliver particular culprits to answer for their actions, however, the organisers of the events were taken to task. The incident that sparked off the complaints occurred many years ago. Since then, there has evidently been better control of hunting activities as no more complaints have been generated. I can assure you, they would be if the situation repeated itself.