Wild Fowl and Men 



261 



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I suspect that it is well that wild fowl have developed 

 this alertness and speed, for they have never been free of 

 severe hunting pressure. Wherever there are coast lines, 

 lakes, and sedgy rivers, the birds have congregated, and 

 wherever they have collected they have been preyed upon 

 by hawks, owls, and other birds, by foxes, minks, by men, 

 and other mammal predators. The tremendous extent of the 

 predation indicates how highly their fat and tasty bodies are 

 esteemed. Even the pike, pickerel, bass, and turtles are said 

 to take the young whenever possible. 



In the marsh shooting is prohibited, but ducks are not en- 

 tirely free from molestation. Boys with airguns or small cali- 

 ber rifles occasionally run wild and shoot at everything they 

 see. Rarely the birds are poached by men in boats. They 

 take one or two shots into a flock, pick up the victims, and 

 leave immediately. Traps set for muskrats and baited with 



