Fowling (/ˈfaʊlɪŋ/) is thehunting ofbirds byhumans, forfood (meat),feathers or any othercommercially value products, or simply forleisure ("sporting") orcollecting trophies. It is comparable towildfowling, the practice of huntingwaterfowls for food or sport. The term is perhaps better known inthe Fens ofEastern England than elsewhere, but was certainly not confined to the Fens. The land margins of the north produceddown feathers fromeider duck for eiderdowns and quilted jackets without necessarily killing the birds. In theWestern Isles ofScotland, seabirds were taken from their nests oncliffs. In The Fens and other similar places, adecoy[1] was part of a landowner's well-equipped estate.
The epitome of fowling was, however, thepunt gunner. He had what amounted to a long,small-boremuzzle-loadedcannon. It was mounted along the centre-line of the forward half of a specially designedboat which slightly resembled a heavy woodenkayak in form. The fowler lay in the after half with paddle blades strapped to his forearms. The skill was to stalk a raft of duck until within the rather short range required and to fire the gun from which small shot scattered. It remained to gather up the harvest and get it to market. In the winter, the punt gun might be mounted on asled and the procedure repeated on the same principles.
Sly, R.From Punt to Plough (2003)ISBN 0-7509-3398-4.
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