82 The Water-fowl Family 



the feeding-grounds on their favorite marshes 

 only at night. Here pot-hunters keep watch, 

 driving them off, but not frequently killing many. 

 An overcast moonlight night offers the best 

 opportunity for this illegal shooting, as then the 

 birds can be seen at some distance. 



The most popular hunting-grounds for black 

 duck are the marshes near the shallow bays and 

 larger rivers of the Atlantic Coast, from the St. 

 Lawrence to Currituck Sound. The large marshes 

 of Lake Erie and Ontario are famous resorts. On 

 the bays about the Chesapeake they are most fre- 

 quently killed over decoys, placed off the points 

 and islands, where rushes and marsh grass afford 

 good blinds. If the birds are much shot at, 

 live decoys are far the most satisfactory. These 

 can be used jointly with the wooden stool, and 

 ducks with a disposition ' to quack should be 

 selected. Heavy weather affords best chance for 

 shooting black duck. The birds under these cir- 

 cumstances leave the larger bodies of water, and 

 lead up under the lee of points close to the 

 marshes, keeping continually on the move. No 

 wild duck taxes the patience of a gunner more. 

 Suspicious and wary, they often circle about the 

 stool, lighting beyond them, just out of range, 

 watching for the slightest movement, when they 

 jump high in the air with an exasperating quack. 

 If wounded, the bird skulks with head just above 



