47 



WILDFOWL. 



DUCKS AND GEESE. 



At the right time and at the right places, excehent wildfowl- 

 shooting can be obtained, and there are few spots in the Province 

 where a few birds cannot be bagged. 



The season for wildfowl is opened every year by Order in Council. 

 as is the case with all birds, but. with the exception of A'ancouver 

 Island, September ist is almost certain to be the opening date. From 

 this time until the end of October the best sport is obtained in the 

 interior. After this date the frost usually drives the birds down to the 

 coast. 



In the interior the best shooting is generally obtained about 150- 

 Mile House, on the Cariboo Road, but it varies a good deal, according 

 to whether the numerous lakes and ponds have sufficient water. Other 

 good places are: The Columbia \'alley, in East Kootenay (reached 

 from either Golden or Cranbrook). Salmon Arm. Savonas, Okanagan 

 Landing, Nicola, and Kootenay Landing. 



After October you can get a little shooting almost anywhere on 

 the coast, but if you want really good sport you must go to out-of-the- 

 way places, such as Masset Inlet, on Queen Charlotte Islands, where 

 magnificent sport can be obtained. 



SNIPE. 



There is fair snipe-shooting on the coast almost every year, but 

 it varies a great deal. Some years a man can go out day after day 

 for a month and use up from 100 to 200 cartridges a day; other years 

 forty or fifty cartridges will be plenty. The best snipe-grounds are 

 close to A'ancouver. 



BLUE GROUSE. 



There are also two varieties of this bird ; that on the coast differing 

 from that in the interior. On the coast they scatter all over the 

 mountains soon after the second week in September, and are then hard 

 to find, but sometimes one or two days' excellent shooting may be had 

 before thev go. The best shooting is in the neighbourhood of \'ictoria 

 and the adjacent islands. 



In the interior the blue grouse migrates to the tops of the ranges 

 verv early in September, but any person who has the energy to follo\v 

 them up in October, and the luck to find a good number of birds. 



