February, 1920 
FOREST AND STREAM 
61 
C ERTAIN species of ducks winter in 
this region, and these are some 
that have been observed in the San- 
tee delta: Mallard, black duck, baldpate, 
or widgeon, canvas-back, wood-duck, 
blue-winged teal, green-winged teal, 
shoveller, hooded merganser, American 
merganser, buffllehead, ruddy duck, black- 
head, American golden-eye, scaup duck, 
redhead, pintail, ring-necked, old squaw, 
and the surf scoter. 
Of these the mallard, the black duck, 
and the two kinds of teal are the most 
common. The canvas-back is rare, as is 
also the American merganser. The 
ruddy duck is seldom seen, and when- 
ever seen, is killed. It is a singularly 
foolish or a strangely trustful little 
creature, for it seldom takes wing until 
a boat has approached within forty 
yards of it. 
The only duck mentioned that nests 
here is the wood-duck. Occasionally, to 
be sure, other ducks that have not mi- 
grated, because of wounds or temporary 
sickness mate and rear broods on the 
marshlands of the delta. But in the 
fresh-water ponds and lagoons in the 
pinewoods adjacent to the river, there 
are ideal nesting-sites for the wood-duck. 
The bird sometimes makes its nest in 
the crotch of a tree growing in the 
water, usually a cypress or a black gum. 
Occasionally it nests in a hollow, in de- 
serted holes of the pileated woodpecker. 
From nine to sixteen eggs are laid, and 
the young, almost as soon as hatched, are 
hustled into the water, where, when only 
a few days old, they disport themselves 
with a sort of elfin surety that is beau- 
tiful to watch. In this region the wood- 
duck is increasing. Lately I have seen 
a flock of forty in a small pond. One 
afternoon I counted upward of three 
hundred passing above the delta to feed- 
ing grounds in the swamps. There really 
should be a close season everywhere on 
this most exquisite of American game 
birds.* 
Occasionally wild geese and swans 
come to the Santee delta, but their mi- 
gration route lies to the westward, and 
those that winter on the lower Santee 
are stragglers. They are rather com- 
mon in the Carolinas and in Georgia. 
During the winter of 1918 I had the priv- 
ilege of observing at close range what 
was probably the largest flock of Canada 
geese that ever stopped on the delta. I 
was duck-shooting, with a negro paddl- 
ing me through the marshes. As we 
neared the river, which at that point 
is half a mile wide, we heard the loud 
honking across the delta. Looking back 
we saw the geese coming, flying very 
low. They passed within 100 yards, 
‘There is such a close season. — Ed. 
cleared the marsh-tops, and alighted in 
a stately squadron on the river in front 
of us. We were not observed, as we had 
pulled the canoe under a canopy of 
marsh. Both of us were curious to see 
the behavior of the big birds. There 
were fifty-six in the flock, and all seemed 
of one size save a very old gander that 
kept by himself and seldom ceased his 
strident honking. Once on the water the 
geese segregated themselves into small 
flocks, numbering about fifteen each; 
and I could not help wondering if these 
divisions did not represent families that 
naturally hung together. For the most 
part these geese busied themselves with 
a very ardent preening that they seemed 
thoroughly to enjoy, there in the wintry 
sunshine. When at last I told my pad- 
dler to push out on the river, the old 
gander rose first ; and soon the inevitable 
V-shaped battalion formed itself. The 
geese rose very high, taking a northward 
direction. Had it been spring I should 
have said that they were heading for 
Saskatchewan; but as it was only Janu- 
ary I knew that they would go but a few 
miles up the river. There are depths 
of the great Santee Swamp north of us 
that have never been penetrated by man ; 
and wild creatures can live and die there 
without ever being molested by human 
enemies. 
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 82) 
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Drawn by Wilmot Townsend 
On the brackish marshes and shallow bays along the Carolina coasts wild-fowl gather for their winter sojourn in the South 
