THE RUDDY SHELDRAKE. 65 



of their being found away from the coast, but 

 Mr. Webber assures me that they sometimes visit 

 his decoy-ponds at Athy, co. Kildare. They nest 

 chiefly in the north, east, and south-east of Ireland, 

 and Mr. Ussher says he has dug out their nests 

 fully ten feet deep in the sand-hills of Dungarvan 

 Bay. At Ballybunion, in the north of Kerry, I 

 have now and then found a nest, and once saw at 

 that place a Shelduck rise out of the ground ; first 

 the head and neck and then the body, almost under 

 my feet, the sand having drifted over the entrance 

 to her burrow ! Shelducks nest near Malahide, 

 co. Dublin, and all along the shores of Wexford, 

 Waterford, Wicklow, Louth, Down, and Antrim. 

 They also breed in the Moy estuary, Ballina, co. 

 Mayo ; in Sheephaven Bay, co. Donegal ; and 

 about the estuaries of Kerry. 



Roslare Point, the protecting sand-bar of Wex- 

 ford Harbour, is, among others, a favourite spot for 

 these birds. The fowlers who live there capture 

 the young or take the eggs to keep or sell every 

 year. The nest of a Sheldrake is not easy to find 

 (fortunately), but after rain the footprints of the old 

 bird may be seen outside the burrow. I have, 

 indeed, noticed them fly in with a dash, the wings 

 folded at that instant, rather than alight at the 

 entrance and leave a trace behind for plunderers. 



On different parts of the east coast of Ireland, 

 where these birds breed, the local fishermen and 

 shooters who know their haunts rob the nests, and 

 sell the eggs to be hatched out under hens. They 

 also catch and dispose of the young to owners of 

 private lakes and ornamental waters. No wild- 



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