THE BIRD STUDY BOOK 



Of the Wild Ducks which remain North in the 

 winter many die because of the freezing of the water 

 in which they must dive or dabble for their food. 

 On the morning of February 1 1, 1912, Cayuga Lake 

 in western New York State was found to be covered 

 with a solid sheet of ice from end to end. It is a 

 large body of water, having an area of nearly sixty- 

 seven square miles. It rarely freezes over — only 

 once in about twenty years, as the records show. 

 The Ducks inhabiting the lake at this time were 

 caught unawares. Many of them moved quickly 

 to more Southern waters, but others tarried, evi- 

 dently hoping for better times. Subsequently a few 

 air-holes opened and the Ducks gathered about them, 

 but there was little food even here, and numbers 

 starved to death. One observer who went out to the 

 air-holes reported examining the bodies of twenty- 

 eight Canvas-backs and nineteen Scaups in addition 

 to many others such as Redheads and Golden-eyes. 

 His survey was not exhaustive and the Gulls had 

 doubtless removed many bodies from the territory 

 [92] 



