Alkborough Wildfowlers and Conservationists (AWAC)
Club History
AWAC was formed in 1971 by a small group of wildfowlers who wished to take a modern and responsible attitude to their sport and to safeguard it for the future. The club is affiliated to BASC and our members sit on the following:
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The South Humber Area Joint Council of Wildfowling Associations (SHAJC) |
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The Upper Humber Wildfowling Committee (UHWC) |
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The Humber Area Wildfowl Liaison Group |
The aims of the club are to:
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Carry out and promote the sport of Wildfowling, |
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Promote the conservation of wildfowl and other birds by any means available, |
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Promote the conservation of Wildfowl Habitat, |
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Ensure that the sport of wildfowling is conducted in such a way that no discredit shall fall on the club or the sport in general. |
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To encourage youngsters into the sport, who will ultimately safeguard its future. To this end, it is club policy to allow juniors/students into the club at absolute minimum cost (i.e. B.A.S.C. Membership + Permit costs). |
Club Shooting
Members of the club are entitled to shoot on the south bank of the Humber at Whitton Sands and Winteringham Haven by permit along with other members of the SHAJC, in addition, members of the club are entitled to shoot on the club's own shooting on the North and South banks of The River Ouse at Ousefleet, Reedness and Yokefleet, more of which will be opened as and when possible.
There are currently a small number of vacancies available for full members, please contact secretary for details. In order to allow close supervision of new members, club membership numbers are kept relatively small.
Waiting in anticipation at Alkborough
The River Ouse and Wildfowling
The lower tidal Ouse has its confluence with the Upper Humber at Trent Falls where intertidal training walls guide both the River Ouse and Trent into the Humber estuary in a manner which permits ease of navigation through a historically treacherous tidal reach.
Between the Ouse southern training wall and the Trent northern training wall lies the Apex mud flat and the lagoon and reed beds of the RSPB Blacktoft reserve. Across the Trent lies the Alkborough flats saltmarsh, a traditional wildfowling marsh frequented by feeding ducks, geese and waders. Across the Ouse is the wildfowling zone at Faxfleet managed by the Upper Humber Wildfowling Committee. Here the reedbeds flanking Faxfleet Ness provide ideal cover for flighting wildfowl.
Leaving the Humber and moving a short way up the tidal Ouse you come to the foreshore shooting managed by AWAC. There is a decline in feeding and roosting birds due to the absence of large areas of intertidal mud and saltmarsh although there are a number of mallard roosts where fresh water drains into the river. What has for many previous years and still does make the Ouse interesting to wildfowlers are the large numbers of wildfowl using the river as a flightpath to inland feeding grounds at dusk and returning at dawn.
The lease managed by AWAC covers a very large area and the club has shown its commitment to conservation by setting aside areas of intertidal mud as non-shooting zones. Traditional wildfowling is carried out over the remainder of the lease area in a responsible and controlled manner under club rules and BASC Codes of Practice.
