WINTER SHOOTING. 343 



There is, in shooting plover, a common remark made 

 by sportsmen, that the second is always the more pro- 

 ductive barrel. The rapidity with which they vary 

 their position when on the ground, seldom admits of a 

 grand combination for a sitting, or rather a running, 

 shot. But when on the wing, their mode of flight is 

 most favourable for permitting the shot to tell ; and it 

 is by no means unusual to bring down a number. When 

 disturbed, they frequently wheel back directly above 

 the fowler, and offer a tempting mark if he should have 

 a barrel in reserve ; and even when too high for the shot 

 to take effect, I have often thrown away a random fire ; 

 for the plover, on hearing the report, directly make a 

 sweep downwards on the wing, and I have by this means 

 brought them within range of the second barrel. 



When the season advances, the number of geese that 

 visit this wild peninsula is astonishing. For miles I 

 have traced their night feedings along a river bank, 

 where the marshy surface afforded them their favourite 

 sustenance. They are far more wary than the barnacle, 

 and are extremely difficult of access in moderate weather ; 

 but chance and storm occasionally favour the sportsman, 

 and in spite of the caution of these birds, the flock will 

 be surprised, and the patient gunner, reap, in a lucky 

 moment, the reward of many a weary vigil and bootless 

 attempt. 



The time that wild geese feed in this country is by 

 night, and particularly during moonlight. I have 

 never known them either netted or decoyed; and all 

 the shooter has to rely upon is patience and a long barrel. 

 Of all the prizes that a wild-fowl shooter could wish to 

 meet with, a flock of teal is the very first. Indepen- 

 dently of their being by far the best birds of the whole 



