78 A BIRD COLLECIORS MEDIERN: 
man rows you out two or three miles to sea, towards some well-known haunt, 
you ensconce yourself in the bows upon a heap of straw, and take your chance 
of a passing shot. Nor is this an unlikely contingency. Divers of various 
sorts, Guillemots, Razorbills, and Grebes all frequent this coast in the winter, 
and a collector may well make some valuable addition to his museum, 
though it is generally a case of kill dead or lose altogether, for chasing a 
wounded Diver seldom brings it to bag, and exhausts not only your own 
good temper, but, what it is far more important to husband, the energies 
of your rower. 
Sometimes, too, a small flock of Duck may be seen floating in the 
distance, and a long shot be obtained. But, on the whole, it pays better to 
make straight for the place where the decoys are to be put down. This is 
often the mouth of an open bay, and if other shooters are about all the better; 
they will serve to keep the Duck on the move, and upon this depends the 
amount of sport to be met with. It is, in fact, a good plan to arrange that 
one boat shall act as driver, and keep well out to sea. The decoys are now 
anchored, and we both crouch down amidst the straw. As soon as the birds 
are put up, the men in the various boats begin to whistle, each trying to 
attract them to their decoys. 
The Duck—which are mostly, but not all, Common Scoters (Black Duck, 
the natives call them, though the epithet is applicable only to the adult 
males, females and immature birds being dark brown with greyish breast)— 
seldom fail to see the dummies. Quite ignoring the presence of the boat, 
they sweep on in splendid style straight for the guns; fifty, forty, thirty 
yards only separate us now ; can they be coming right over? No, they have 
at last seen through the trick, and in a moment they swerve abruptly to right 
and left. The measured sweep is exchanged for a series of short, rapid beats, 
and some most exciting shots are then obtainable, though, owing to the 
rocking of the boat, and the awkward attitudes in which the shooters are 
placed, the whole flock often passes by unscathed, and proceeds towards 
another party, to run the gauntlet of a second fusillade. 
If any birds have been wounded—and the Scoter takes a hard knock to 
settle it—they dive immediately, and come up well out of range. Such as 
are only slightly damaged are most difficult to secure, and if you happen 
to miss seeing them when they first come up, it is long odds against your 
ever getting near them afterwards. It is therefore worth remembering that 
they usually collect together towards the close of the day, and a second 
attempt should then be made to despatch them. 
Under favourable circumstances, and with a boat to drive, eight shots 
