WILD-FOWLING AFLOAT BY NIGHT 193 



doubtless disregard their presence when in quest of 

 the more highly-prized duck species. Wild geese are 

 seldom seen in our bays and estuaries after nightfall, 

 but on the Essex coast heavy shots have from time 

 to time been recorded on the great Blackwater flats 

 during severe winters. The only locality in which I 

 have personally observed brent on the flats by night 

 was in western France, where the bays which they 

 frequented were so wide and exposed that they 

 must have felt themselves as safe as on the .open 

 sea. 



Under favourable conditions the most wary and 

 vigilant fowl are more accessible by night than in the 

 daytime, and a punter who thoroughly understands 

 his work can then steal upon his victims unseen and 

 unsuspected. One of the chief difficulties with which 

 he has to contend lies in finding his fowl in the dark- 

 ness, and in locating their exact position prior to 

 putting his plan of attack into operation. Widgeon 

 are, perhaps, more talkative than other species of the 

 duck family at night, and it is their loquacious dis- 

 position which renders them an easier prey to the 

 prowling gunner. Generally speaking the punter is 

 first attracted to the spot where the fowl are assembled 

 to feed by their incessant cries, which are audible at 

 a considerable distance in calm weather, and on bright 



o 



