284 THE GUN: AFIELD AND AFLOAT 



" The difficulty was not so much to shoot the ducks, as 

 to get them home when shot, for I was alone and had 

 about five miles to walk." 



Wild-fowl resort to their favourite feeding-grounds 

 with unfailing regularity, and from thence no ordinary 

 amount of persecution at the hands of shore-shooter or 

 inland wild-fowler can entirely drive them ; although, 

 as remarked, much shooting renders them extremely 

 wary. It is the flight-shooter's first care to ascertain 

 the position of such favourite spots, and this knowledge 

 obtained, he may proceed to the enjoyment of some 

 sport with the fowl with almost absolute certainty. 

 Although few birds observe greater regularity with 

 regard to the time and method of their flight, it is not 

 alone to the wild-duck that we must look for sport at 

 evening and morning flight. At certain times and 

 seasons wigeon, pochard, wild geese, green plover, and 

 curlew afford many favourable opportunities which the 

 observant flight-shooter is not slow to seize upon. 

 Inland-feeding fowl, such as certain of the grey geese, 

 are remarkably methodical in their habits ; and so too 

 are the wigeon in many situations along the coast. 

 Whilst lumping shots may now and again be made 

 with the shoulder-gun into the close ranks of the 

 dunbirds (local name for the pochard), as they rattle 

 overhead on their way from some pond in the vicinity 

 of the sea-coast. 



In August the flight-shooter may spend many pleasant 

 evenings with the ducks, but it is with the arrival of 

 the foreign fowl in October that the more serious and 

 enjoyable form of his sport commences. By that time 

 the quarry, being fully fledged, and the young having 

 acquired full strength, call for no mean display of skill 



