Rice fields in Arka nsa s 



In the Arkansas rice fields large numbers of mallards had "been feed- 

 ing at night on the domestic rice. These depredations were reported to 

 have been stopped by the use of a moving bean from an automobile headlight 

 mounted on the frame of an oscillating electric fan and placed on top of 

 a 15-foot wooden tower. This equipment could be used only where a power 

 line was available to supply the current. In that region power was usual- 

 ly available, however, because many of the rice fields were equipped with 

 electric pumps. \ 



Lettu ce Fields in Washingon tf 



The damage by baldpates to lettuce fields in Washington was prevented 

 by the use of reflectors made from 7-inch squares of saining sheet metal, 

 each piece being suspended by a buckskin thong tied to a split ring on one 

 corner. The reflectors were suspended in pairs about 3 feet off the ground, 

 from T-shaped cross bars placed, at favorable points, the thongs being cut 

 long enough to permit the squares to twist and swing in the breeze. The 

 sunlight reflections were reported to have frightened away all ducks that 

 attempted to alight in the fields. In small fields ordinary kerosene lanterns 

 were placed near the center to make the raflectors effective at night . 



Damage by D ucks to Field Crops in Michigan 



The greater proportion of damage by waterfowl in grainfields occurs 

 after the grain has been cut, frequently after it is shocked, and is most 

 severe during rainy seasons when excessive moisture delays trashing. 



Along the southeast side of Saginaw Bay, Mich., during the autumn of 

 1937, black ducks were reported to have completely destroyed the buckwheat 

 crop in certain fields where the harvest had been delayed. With the ap- 

 proach of the harvest season of 1S38, black ducks again concentrated along 

 Saginaw Bay and began to feed, first on the barley and later on buckwheat. 

 Most of the fields in that vicinity range from about 4 to 15 acres in ex- 

 tent. A buckwheat field with an area of a little less than 10 acres was 

 selected for the first experiment, because its crop had been entirely de- 

 stroyed after the preceding season' s cutting, and the ducks had again begun 

 to feed in it more extensively than in any of the surrounding fields. They 

 were permitted to feed there in considerable numbers for 3 days before any 

 frightening devices were installed in order to provide a throrough test of 

 the effectiveness of the devices. During the preceding harvest season the 

 firing of shotguns had failed to drive the birds from this field and they had 

 learned to keep out of range soon after the opening of the hunting season. 



The ducks would begin to arrive in the fields about half an hour before 

 sunset, but the bulk of the feeding was done at twilight during the course of 

 "these experiments. In former years feeding also was reported to have occurred 

 on moonlight nights. In the morning the ducks would fly to the fields at dawn 

 and continue feeding until shortly after sunrise, after which they would re- 

 tire to adjacent marshes or open bays. Each of those two feeding periods last- 

 ed about an hour. The arrival of the larger flocks was almost always preceded 



