CHAPTER SIXTEEN WILD DUCKS 



birds; the others feed atany time of the night or day, being 

 dependent on the stateof the tidetogetatthebanks of grass 

 and weeds, or the sands where they find shell-fish. All 

 ducks are quite as wary in the bright moonlight as in the 

 day time, but at night are more likely to be found near the 

 shore. Between the sea and the land near my abode is a 

 long stretch of green embankment, which was made some 

 years back in order to reclaim from the sea a great extent 

 of land, which then consisted of swampy grass and herbage, 

 overflowed at every high tide, but which now repays the 

 expense of erecting the embankments, by affording as fine 

 a district of corn-land as there is in the kingdom. By keep- 

 ing the landward side of this grass-wall, and looking over 

 it with great care, at different spots, I can frequently kill 

 several brace of ducks and widgeon in an evening; though, 

 without a clever retriever, the winged bird must invariab- 

 ly escape. Guided by their quacking, I have also often killed 

 wild ducks at springs and running streams in frosty nights. 

 It is perfectly easy to distinguish the birds as they swim 

 about on a calm moonlight night, particularly if you can 

 get the birds betweenyou and themoon. It is agreat assist- 

 ance in night shootingto paste a piece of white paper alono- 

 your gun-barrel, half-way down from the muzzle. In the 

 stillness of the night the birds are peculiarly alive to sound, 

 and the slightest noisesends them immediatelyout of shot. 

 Their sense of smelling being also veryacute,you must al- 

 ways keep to leeward of them. The mallard duck is more 

 wary than any other kind in these respects, rising immed- 

 iately with loud cries of warning, and putting all the other 

 birdswithin hearing on the alert. I have seen the wild swans 

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