Local History The Braughing Ducks and Geese | The Braughing Ducks and Geese |
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The ducks and geese by the ford at Maltings Lane have long been a characteristic feature of the scene. Farmyard ducks migrated there from Ford Street Farm in the 1960's and, being fed by Bob Allen, then the school crossing warden, they stayed. The first geese were left there by the owners of Quinford when they moved from Braughing. Birds of several kinds have since come and gone, some being traced to a North London restaurant! Others have simply disappeared, notably the goose that vanished suspiciously just before Xmas 1995, and which attracted the interest of national newspapers as well as of Anglia News on television.
When I was a boy there were no such birds at the ford. Probably there were too many hungry folk who would have no scruples about wringing the neck of a bird. Now there are just two geese, having been reduced from seven, and a flock of some 30 mallards accompanied by an attractively plumaged mandarin duck. Over the years they have been cared for and fed by a succession of volunteers; Bob Allen was followed by Les Mason and Arthur Doughty. Janet Haworth organised a team of volunteers to carry on after them. Nowadays the birds are fed every morning by a small team of volunteers led by David Owen who is well placed to keep a beady eye on the flock. This team is indebted to those of you who put waste bread into the bins at the gateway to the Blue Cross House, home of Marie Sole. Most of the food is supplied by Ian and Peter Jones from the village shop, so you can rest assured you won't be palmed off with stale bread there! Corn is kindly provided by both Ken Vigus and David Roberts. The flock is, of course, fed casually by parishioners and children who get great fun from doing so. There are some who feel this all to be unnecessary and believe the flock to be quite capable of looking after itself. It probably is, but it would be unlikely to stay in Braughing. Others are afraid of the geese and, indeed, they can be intimidating in the Springtime though removal of those we hoped were the ganders seems to have alleviated that problem. And they can be messy! But a survey conducted by the Parish Council in 1997 showed that a large majority of residents were in favour of retaining them. This is a rural parish and a suitable environment for birds and animals of all kinds. Long may it remain so. If you occasionally feed the birds may I ask you not to leave food when the birds are not to be seen or are clearly not hungry? That only attracts rats, to the nuisance of residents in the nearby cottages. Roy Glazebrook |
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