Evidence from Skara Brae shows that wildfowl were being taken for food in the Neolithic period, requiring detailed knowledge of bird behaviour and coastal environments.
By medieval times, wildfowlers had developed specialised equipment, including distinct arrowheads and mist nets. Almost certainly, mud pattens (used to walk across marsh and mud) were in use by then. Meanwhile, legislation recognised wildfowling as a form of hunting associated with ordinary people.
With the introduction of gunpowder to Europe, wildfowling with firearms quickly followed, becoming widespread enough that by 1541 it required regulation.
A 1611 ballad, The Fowlers’ Complaint, protested the draining of the fens in the voice of a wildfowler – demonstrating both the impact on these landscapes and the cultural importance of the practice at that time.
From the 17th to 19th centuries, the clear distinction between high-status recreational shooting and coastal wildfowling remained. Wildfowling was characterised as “poor man’s shooting”; an accessible, everyday pursuit rooted in wild places.
As populations grew and demand for food increased, wildfowling adapted. The emergence of market gunners reflected wildfowling’s role as a source of affordable protein. This period also saw the development of punt-gunning, requiring specialist boats, navigation skills and large-bore firearms.
Wildfowlers themselves responded to these pressures by establishing forms of voluntary self-regulation. The Wildfowling association of Great Britain and Ireland (WAGBI) was formed in 1908 through the initiative of Stanley Duncan and the voluntary formation of a national network of clubs, helping to safeguard both wildfowl populations and the marshland environments they depended on.
Wildfowlers share a strong sense of history, knowledge and identity, built over generations. This is reflected not only in practice, but in the many wildfowlers who have put pen to paper (later, finger to keyboard), documenting their environments, methods and values.
Today, wildfowling remains a living, continuous tradition, shaped by the community which practises it. Experienced wildfowlers act as mentors and custodians of local knowledge, passing their skills and passion to a younger generation.
Current work to recognise wildfowling within the UK’s Living Heritage Inventories builds on this long history.
The material will not only support the submission for inclusion on the inventories, but will also form the basis of an online archive of wildfowling heritage. This will serve to highlight and protect wildfowling heritage, improve public understanding and support the continuation of the tradition for future generations
Examples of stories about wildfowling history we collected in the course of our heritage work can be accessed below:
Examples of websites and YouTube videos connected with wildfowling can be found at the following links:
Living heritage include practices shared and safeguarded by communities. It is seldom passed on through “official channels”. It is held in trust, conserved, developed and transmitted through the communities that value and continue these practices. It follows that the UK’s Living Heritage Inventories process is based on a grass roots approach that requires clear evidence that the inclusion of practices on the inventory
Becoming a wildfowler is not an event, it is a process, shaped by interests, experience, mentorship and love of place. For some, it is inherited through ties to family, nature and landscapes, traditions passed down across generations. For others, it begins with a memorable outing that forges a lasting connection. In all cases, becoming a wildfowler involves more
We invited wildfowlers from across the UK to share their experiences. In response we received accounts that are, at times, almost lyrical in their evocation of dawn, the wonders of nature, the wild birds, and the ever-changing seascapes of our coasts. Alongside poetic reflections, many also spoke of the pride and fulfilment they gain from honing their craft and gathering their own wild
