62 THE OSPREY. 



freeze over, and by the first of January only one or two open spaces or holes 

 were left. On the 2nd of January my assistant, Mr. H. Walton Clark, who 

 remained at the lake all winter, and who is the best field naturalist I ever knew, 

 went out on the ice to the largest of those open spaces, which he found pretty 

 well filled with coots and ducks, and a good many sitting on the ice at the 

 edge of the pool. Upon firing among them, instead of rising and flying away, 

 they attempted to get away by running on the ice. This they could not do 

 very well, so he ran in among them and caught with his hands 3 canvas-back 

 ducks, 1 ruddy duck and 1 coot. 



There was no wind and the ice was very smooth, conditions which, Mr. 

 Clark thinks, made it difficult for the birds to rise. 



I can easily believe this to be true for I have seen a duck, which was 

 merely able to walk slowly while on the ice, rise and fly when it reached the 

 shore, where its feet would not slip. When the ice is very smooth, the ducks slide 

 along in a most ludicrous and helpless manner. It had become suddenly very 

 cold the preceding night, and these birds, sitting on the ice for some hours, had 

 doubtless become benumbed and inactive, and this is probably one reason why 

 they were not able to rise promptly when first disturbed. 



Mr. Clark states that the coot was the best runner on the ice, and that the 

 canvas-backs were the poorest. The little ruddy duck proved a great scrapper. 

 When he found he could not get away, he turned and charged Mr. Clark with 

 open mouth and most savagely. 



Later the same day Mr. Clark visited another open pool, perhaps ten to 

 twenty feet in diameter, which he found filled with coots and several species of 

 ducks, among which were one wood duck, several mallards, one ruddy duck, 

 several butterballs, one merganser, and three canvas-backs. On the ice near 

 the pool were a great many ducks which arose and flew away upon his ap- 

 proach . Those in the pool were slower to leave, but as he came nearer, the 

 butterballs rose first, then the coots got out upon the ice and scrambled away. 

 The canvas-backs remained in the pool longest of any, and Mr. Clark is of 

 the opinion that this species stands the poorest chance when the waters 

 tighten up. 



The next day (January 3) Mr. Clark visited the larger pool again; and 

 that he might get as close as possible to the coots and ducks without frighten- 

 ing them, he wrapped himself in a white sheet. Lying down upon the ice, he 

 was able to crawl to within two feet of the water's edge without scaring the 

 birds away. There were in the pool three canvas-backs, three little bluebills, 

 one ruddy duck, and four coots, and Mr. Clark lay there on the ice during 

 most of the afternoon watching them. He remarks in his letter to me that he 

 is not sure what effect this will have upon his health, but he never did anything 

 in his life more interesting ! He says, ' 'The birds, especially the coots, were 



