XIX 



THE SHOREBIRDS OR WADERS 



ALTHOUGH the shorebirds cannot be artificially 

 reared on game farms and preserves as the upland 

 game birds and some of the wild ducks are, much can be 

 done to increase their numbers when breeding wild. Safe 

 nesting places can be provided for the woodcock, snipe, 

 plover, sandpipers and the other species of waders which 

 nest in the United States and Canada, and it is evident 

 that the birds will become more abundant in places where 

 their natural enemies are controlled and where dogs, 

 cats, rats and trespassers are excluded than they are in 

 places where they receive no protection of any kind ex- 

 cepting that afforded by game laws which are not ex- 

 ecuted. I have observed many species of shorebirds 

 breeding abundantly on preserves where the wild ducks 

 are looked after properly, and they evidently respond 

 nicely to the protection extended to the ducks. 



The enemies, furry and feathered, which destroy other 

 game destroy also the shorebirds, or waders, and the 

 common house cat alone is sufficient to prevent an in- 

 crease of the woodcock in many places. When a game- 

 keeper persistently controls the enemies of the wild 

 ducks or of the true game birds on the upland he neces- 



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