THE WILSON QUARTERLY. 15 



Before the men had time to leave the blind and take out 

 their boat after the cripples, a large Bald Eagle swept over 

 the water, picked up one of the ducks, brought it to the 

 Island close to the blind, there to be discussed at leisure. 

 This was too much for the gunners ; the Eagle was prompt- 

 ly laid low and left where it fell. It was some days before 

 I heard of this, it being too common an occurrence to be 

 thought worthy of special mention. I went out to "Five 

 Islands"' as soon as I 'could after hearing of it, but found 

 the specimen too far gone to be saved. It was a very large 

 female in adult plumage. I saved one of the claws, and 

 some New Yorkers who came along about then in the light- 

 house tender, saved the other. 



As near as I could estimate, there were not less than two 

 hundred professional gunners shooting on the Sound, and 

 besides these there are the members of some seven or eight 

 ducking clubs, as Avell as a number of individual sportsmen. 



The immense amount of shooting done by this army of 

 hunters results in thousands of crippled fowl, and on these 

 the Eagles feed and grow fat. Although I have never been 

 there in Summer time, I presume the Ospreys keep the 

 larder supplied then ; in Winter their services are not 

 required. 



Once, when weary of waiting in a blind for the fowl that 

 did not come, I had a good chance to watch the perform- 

 ances of an Eagle in persuit of his dinner. Several hundred 

 yards away was a large flock of Coots feeding, diving with 

 an effort and a splash, as these birds do ; the noise of their 

 movements being distinctly audible where I stood. Sud- 

 denly a Bald Eagle appeared on the scene, sailing low over 

 the Coots, not more than three or four feet above the water. 

 The birds in his immediate vicinity dived or flew on a few 

 yards and always, for a small space around him, there was a 

 patch of clear water, while beyond that the Coots were as 

 thick as fleas on a white dog in Summer time. The Eagle 

 kept quartering back and forth for some time, occasionally 

 making a dash at a bird that had let him get a little too 

 close,* but always unsuccessfully. This was kept up for 



