Wildfowling with the KWCA
The KWCA has some of the most extensive and varied wildfowling available in the UK. As the only wildfowling club in North Kent, it has an unrivalled opportunity to maintain shooting rights and a large membership of over 500.
Shooting rights extend throughout North Kent, with recent expansion into East and Central Kent, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. Kent rights extend from Cooling in the west to Minnis Bay in the east, including the Thames, Medway Estuary, Medway Valley, the Swale, Thanet coast and Stour Valley.
Opportunity
Members can experience seawall flighting, saltmarsh, mudflats, freshmarsh, reed beds, ponds, ditches and fleets. Main quarry species include teal, wigeon, mallard, pintail, shoveler, Canada geese, greylag geese and European white-fronted geese.
Sustainable management
Most KWCA sites sit within Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Special Protection Areas. Shooting levels operate under consents agreed with Natural England, supported by permit data, rotational refuges and protected non-shooting areas.
Methods and fieldcraft
- Flighting: dawn and dusk shooting as duck and geese move between feeding and roosting areas.
- Decoying: daytime sport on saltmarsh and sheltered areas, especially where birds feed and find cover in rough weather.
- Puntgunning: a specialist branch of the sport, mainly on open shore areas, requiring dedicated equipment, skill and patience.
For more detail, visit the Wildfowling Guide page for practical guidance on quarry identification, location, range, dogs and severe weather.