What a week – the highs and the lows have been extraordinary and I have some sweet, and some less sweet, images from last weekend that tell the story.
My youngest daughter and I headed to north west Victoria to join the Coalition Against Duck Shooting rescue team for the first weekend of the Victorian duck shooting season. We set our alarms for 5:15am, which is quite a bit earlier than usual. It was cold. The windscreen took a while to clear and we headed to the local caravan park to meet up with the other rescuers and head to our designated wetlands and lakes. It was still dark when the CADS vehicles started slowly leaving the park. They drove past me as I waited for my daughter. One after another, dozens of vehicles, so many that I lost count. It was wonderfully inspiring – you are legends, everyone of you.
When we arrived at our first lake, above, all was quiet. I photographed the idyllic scene with grebes and coot contentedly dashing around as they foraged.
In previous years duck shooters have been allowed to start shooting half an hour before sunrise, when it is still dark. For this year’s season the start time has been changed to 8am as the decision makers acknowledged that it’s impossible to identify species in the dark; though they are still allowed to shoot half an hour after sunset. Two shooters arrived. I can’t help but hear the theme music from Jaws as I look at the photograph above.
During the shooting season no one other than shooters are permitted within 25 metres of the edge of the water until after 10am – I needed my long lens. Rescuers can be heavily fined for rescuing abandoned injured birds if they breach this regulation.
At 8am the shotguns began blasting. With each shot 150-200 pellets are fired into the air. This lake is heavily wooded so we were spared the sight of birds tumbling from the sky.
The above photograph is of an unusual sight. Grebes generally dive when they are disturbed, they rarely take flight to escape danger or perceived danger. This photograph doesn’t show a bird taking off in its usual, more graceful, way. This bird was panicked by an approaching kayak and its behaviour is testament to the distress that all waterbirds experience during the shooting season.
During the day we checked various lakes and wetlands, and supported other rescuers as required. The grebe above was on a tiny pond. It was restless and swirling around on the water as you can see by the ripples but we saw no sign of shooters so hopefully its home remained safe. I have shared photographs of signs of shooters in previous years, including feather pits and spent cartridges, along with sadder images of killed and injured birds.
I photographed the beautiful White-eyed Ducks above at the lake next to the caravan park, where no shooting is permitted. I was using a long lens and the image is heavily cropped but this pair of ducks still looked a little wary. Many waterbird species mate for life, including White-eyes. The male duck is on the right, with the white eye. This species, and the Australasian Shoveler, were both taken off the ‘game’ list this season – as both species have been listed as Threatened. Arguably Pink-eared Ducks and Grey Teal should have also been taken off the list. Actually Australian Wood Ducks (Maned Duck), Chestnut Teal, Australian Shelduck and Pacific Black Ducks should also be off the list!
The final image of this post isn’t graphic but it is sad, so please close your eyes and scroll past it if you’d rather not see the second pair of ducks.
We saw some beautiful sights during the weekend, and were inspired by some beautiful people. The last lake we visited was tiny and exquisite but had not escaped the notice of shooters. The first thing my daughter found were dozens of spent cartridges, which she picked up so they could be properly disposed of. We were concerned that there could be injured birds to take back to the wonderful Wildlife Victoria vets who had set up their mobile clinic but we found no injured birds, just the two Grey Teal above that had washed up to the edge of the shore. They were very freshly killed when we found them, their eyes were still shining. By the time I photographed them their eyes were starting to change and I can’t help but feel that one of them is looking reproachful while the other looks sad. Such a shameful, brutal, inexcusable waste of their lives.
A highlight of the week has been the number of people who responded to my facebook post and others who told me they have written to the Parliamentary Inquiry at nativebirdhunting@parliament.vic.gov.au – every letter counts. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this is the last shooting season our native waterbirds have to endure? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your letter helped it to happen? I have been working on my submission today, but they don’t need to be long, just a few sentences is ample. If you haven’t yet had a chance to write please do so before 11:59pm on Monday, and please contact me if you’d like help or have questions.
Happy birding, Kim
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