loo THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 



locate the flight-lines for himself. On still evenings the birds 

 will invariably fly a regular line, but keep high. All that can 

 be done is to wait until the last lots come and chance their 

 being lower, which, as it gets darker, is often the case. On 

 moonlight nights duck will often wait until the moon rises, 

 if about an hour after dark, before they take inland. Clear 

 moonlight nights are useless for duck-shooting ; those when 

 the moon is veiled with patchy white clouds are the right 

 ones, for then the shooter can easily see his birds outlined 

 against the white clouds. For flight-shooting at night the 

 gun must "fit," or the results will be bad, as it is snap work 

 at its best. Unless a good dog accompanies the sportsman 

 the birds are better retrieved as shot, for if wounded and left 

 for a brief moment they will be lost for a certainty. To the 

 beginner, flock after flock of ducks winging inland over or 

 near one particular spot will no doubt stir him to ask, "Why 

 do they all come in at the one point? " This is not a difficult 

 matter to understand. It happens that the small flocks are 

 rising from or about the same spot at sea and making to the 

 same feeding ground inland, taking, of course, the same route, 

 only a brief space of time after one another. 



Flighting at its best lasts but for a short half-hour, so it 

 behoves the shooter to make the most of his chances. Duck 

 will head the wind when practicable. If the wind is blowing 

 strong ahead of them they generally keep lower, but if much 

 shot at, night after night, they will be "up" at any cost. A 

 strong wind blowing with the birds, has the eff"ect of bringing 

 them either very high or very low. They seldom fly at their 

 usual height when the wind is with them. Changes of wind 

 are often instrumental in altering the general lines of flight 

 of the birds, and when strong always result in keeping the 

 ducks low. The changes and strength of the winds as they 

 affect the flight-lines of the birds should be carefully noted, 

 and, should the gunner find from experience that, say, a 



