7 8 A BIRD COLLECTOR'S MEDLEY. 



man rows you out two or three miles to sea, towards some well-known haunt, 

 you ensconce yourself in the bows upon a heap of straw, and take your chance 

 of a passing shot. Nor is this an unlikely contingency. Divers of various 

 sorts, Guillemots, Razorbills, and Grebes all frequent this coast in the winter, 

 and a collector may well make some valuable addition to his museum, 

 though it is generally a case of kill dead or lose altogether, for chasing a 

 wounded Diver seldom brings it to bag, and exhausts not only your own 

 good temper, but, what it is far more important to husband, the energies 

 of your rower. 



Sometimes, too, a small flock of Duck may be seen floating in the 

 distance, and a long shot be obtained. But, on the whole, it pays better to 

 make straight for the place where the decoys are to be put down. This is 

 often the mouth of an open bay, and if other shooters are about all the better ; 

 they will serve to keep the Duck on the move, and upon this depends the 

 amount of sport to be met with. It is, in fact, a good plan to arrange that 

 one boat shall act as driver, and keep well out to sea. The decoys are now 

 anchored, and we both crouch down amidst the straw. As soon as the birds 

 are put up, the men in the various boats begin to whistle, each trying to 

 attract them to their decoys. 



The Duck which are mostly, but not all, Common Scoters (Black Duck, 

 the natives call them, though the epithet is applicable only to the adult 

 males, females and immature birds being dark brown with greyish breast) 

 seldom fail to see the dummies. Quite ignoring the presence of the boat, 

 they sweep on in splendid style straight for the guns; fifty, forty, thirty 

 yards only separate us now ; can they be coming right over ? No, they have 

 at last seen through the trick, and in a moment they swerve abruptly to right 

 and left. The measured sweep is exchanged for a series of short, rapid beats, 

 and some most exciting shots are then obtainable, though, owing to the 

 rocking of the boat, and the awkward attitudes in which the shooters are 

 placed, the whole flock often passes by unscathed, and proceeds towards 

 another party, to run the gauntlet of a second fusillade. 



If any birds have been wounded and the Scoter takes a hard knock to 

 settle it they dive immediately, and come up well out of range. Such as 

 are only slightly damaged are most difficult to secure, and if you happen 

 to miss seeing them when they first come up, it is long odds against your 

 ever getting near them afterwards. It is therefore worth remembering that 

 they usually collect together towards the close of the day, and a second 

 attempt should then be made to despatch them. 



Under favourable circumstances, and with a boat to drive, eight shots 



