10 BULLETIN 936, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



THE SHOOTING SEASON. 



By referring to the list of breeding ducks given on page 5, it will 

 be seen that redheads and cinnamon teals comprise more than two- 

 thirds of the total number of ducks that breed on the Bear River 

 marshes; those familiar with conditions during the hunting season, 

 however, recognize that these two species furnish a very small per- 

 centage of the ducks that are killed each fall. The bulk of the red- 

 heads leave as soon as the adult ducks have completed their molt 

 and are able to fly, and by September 15 the greater part of them 

 are gone. Most of the cinnamon teals leave at the same time and 

 few of these are killed. The birds that remain during the hunting 

 season are immature birds from late broods, unable to fly at the time 

 of the great migration of their fellows. These stay until late in the 

 season and may be present until the bays are closed by ice. The 

 early migration of these ducks has been used by a few as an argu- 

 ment for opening the hunting season during part or all of the month 

 of September. To make the opening date earlier than October 1, 

 however, would be a great mistake, as it would inevitably lead to 

 killing a large number of young ducks before they are in condi- 

 tion, while at the same time many of the adult birds would be molt- 

 ing and so would not offer sport or be of much value as food. It is 

 fortunate that the majority realize this and are content with present 

 conditions. 



FOOD SUPPLIES ATTRACTIVE TO WILD DUCKS. 



In order to attract and support a large number of wild ducks, a 

 marsh area, besides affording a retreat from enemies, must offer an 

 abundant store of food. If attractive food supplies are available, 

 ducks will gather and linger in spite of shooting and other dis- 

 turbances. In the Bear River marshes the two prime requirements 

 of food and shelter are met to the fullest degree. The areas of 

 marsh and open bay are broad enough to harbor a large number of 

 birds in comparative safety and to allow them to shift from place 

 to place when disturbed, while the food supplies apparently are 

 boundless. Collections of plants and seeds were made here during 

 three seasons and those foods that have been found attractive to 

 wild ducks through observations made in the field, supplemented by 

 the examination of stomachs of birds killed in the marshes, are 

 enumerated in the following paragraphs. 



VEGETABLE FOODS. 



There are two plants present in great abundance in the area under 

 consideration upon which ducks depend largely for their staple vege- 

 table food — the sago pondweed and the bayonet grass. Sago pond- 



