14 THE WILSON QUARTERLY, 



THE BALD EAGLE ON CURRITUCK SOUND. 



BY H. H, BRIMLEY, RALEIGH, X. C. 



On Currituck Sound the Bald Eagle may be classed as 

 common. 



The "Sound" is a stretch of water some forty miles long 

 and narrow in proportion. The water is brackish — I have 

 drank it when pushed — and shallow, and the whole ex- 

 panse is the winter resort of innumerable water-fowl — 

 Whistling Swans and Canada Geese in thousands, and 

 ducks. Canvas-backs and Redheads especially, in tens and 

 hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Deer are found on 

 the ''Banks," and Bear are not uncommon in the swamps. 

 The large growth around tlie shores is mostly pine, and 

 there do the Eagles make their resting place. 



I well remember my first introduction to this bird. Rid- 

 ing along the road fj'om the steamboat landing to my 

 host's house, seated in the straw at the bottom of the cart 

 that was drawn by a festive steer of pig-headed proclivities, 

 when overhead loomed a great, shadowy form tlirough the 

 gathering dusk of the January evening, and my first Bald 

 Eagle passed out of sight into the surrounding gloom. 



To prepare a collection of the water-fow^l of the state was 

 my object, and during the time that I stayed I had good 

 opportunities of studying the habits of the Eagles. It was 

 rarely that a good, searching look all around would fail to 

 detect one or more of these noble birds, and frequently, 

 several would be in sight at once. 



My host owned and controlled quite a lot of marsh suita- 

 ble for point shooting, and also, some of the small, outlay- 

 ing islands much frequented by ducks and geese, all being 

 free to his boarders. He employed some four or five pro- 

 fessional gunners, who killed ducks for the market when 

 not employed in providing sport for the guests of the house. 



On one occasion two of them were shooting over a stand 

 of decoA^s set off the point of "Five Islands." A bunch of 

 Redheads swung down over the stools, leaving several of 

 their number on the water as the gunners let then have it. 



