458 The Water-fowl Family 



tate a second for a closer shot. Make the most 

 of every chance, for with low water they shy 

 the points, and follow the receding tide until the 

 furthermost bars are exposed, feeding with the 

 throng of shore-birds at the edge of the flats. 

 If this company is disturbed, the blackbreast are 

 the first to take alarm and leave. A little shoot- 

 ing quickly teaches them danger, and few birds 

 become more wary : flying high between stopping- 

 places, they keep to the open and avoid every- 

 thing in the nature of a blind. Monomoy Island, 

 on Cape Cod, was formerly a favorite resort for 

 these birds. Here at high tide the flocks con- 

 gregated on the high ocean beach in hundreds, 

 leaving for the sand-bars first left bare, about two 

 hours after the ebb, timing their arrival accurately 

 with the tide. The constant gunning of the past 

 few years has greatly decreased their numbers 

 in this location and on Long Island. On the 

 shores of Prince Edward's Island and the adja- 

 cent islands in the gulf, they still occur in some 

 abundance, following down the coast from the 

 breeding-grounds ; and good shooting is had in 

 the first two weeks of August. Here, two sum- 

 mers ago, I enjoyed my last day's blackbreast- 

 shooting. The tide served early, and we sailed 

 across the bay some three miles to an offshore 

 island. Several seal floundered into the water 

 from its farther point. The bars here were cov- 



