WILD DUCKS AT LAKE MERRITT, CALIFORNIA 



By Joseph S. Rugland 



Oh the fire-flash and the star-dust and the wind among the leaves, 



And the mystery of all the secret night; 

 And the beauty close about us that our mother Nature weaves, 



And the sweetness that she pours for our delight. 



— FisTce. 



fOWA'EDS the last of January each season, as if 

 realizing that the duck season is nearing its end, 

 the great flocks of ducks which make Lake Merritt 

 their winter home annually, are preparing to leave their 

 beautiful haven for the north. Daily large numbers fly 

 off towards colder weather. 



The park directors each year reserve the entire noth- 

 ern area of the lake as the home of the wild ducks that 

 remain here for the winter. Signs are erected across 

 the entrance to the northern arm forbidding hunters to 

 encroach upon the preserve for the city's feathered pets. 

 Employees of the city's park department have fed 

 the birds twice daily until this season (1919). Thou- 

 sands of visitors have been attracted to the lake by the 



