154 SHOOTING THE GOOSE 



been tamed as a decoy for the wild birds. The 

 decoy is pegged down in a suitable place in the 

 hope that a stray gaggle may be attracted to it, whilst 

 the fowlers retire to a distance and await the course 

 of events. As a rule, I think grey geese prefer to sit 

 dry and roost on dry ground, but they will neverthe- 

 less take to water when compelled to do so by force 

 of circumstances. 



Some years ago, when fowling on the north-east 

 coast of Aberdeenshire, I discovered that large 

 numbers of greylags were in the habit of visiting a 

 certain well-known loch near the sea for roosting pur- 

 poses. Hearing their noisy cackling one night as 

 they flighted in from the uplands, I put off in my punt 

 to try for a shot at them, but as they sat on the water 

 without uttering the slightest sound, I had great 

 difficulty in locating their whereabouts. After search- 

 ing for some time I suddenly fell in with them in a 

 shady corner of the loch, from which they rose with 

 a mighty splashing and battering of their great wings. 

 Being just able to distinguish their shadowy forms 

 in the gloom, I ' tipped ' my punt gun and fired in 

 the direction which they appeared to be taking. 

 Evidently they had cleared the water quicker than 

 I expected, and, instead of a score which I must 

 have killed had I fired a moment sooner, I dropped 



