September, 1919 
FOREST AND STREA:\I 
463 
A pair of Canada geese swimming 
hunter will surely shoot behind the bird. 
Swans are sometimes shot by stalking 
them as they are standing on the shore 
of bay or river or in the marsh. This 
calls for extreme caution and skill, and 
the hunter who walks within range and 
bags a wild swan has good reason to be 
proud of his achievement. 
Swans, like the geese and ducks, when 
taking flight are compelled to rise against 
the wind, and the heavy birds then have 
difficulty in leaving the water. Taking 
advantage of this, it was formally a cus- 
tom to sail down on the birds, going with 
the wind. But the shooting of wild-fowl 
from sail-boats and all boats propelled 
by means other than oars is now pro- 
hibited by law. 
The sportsman who owns several guns 
may use the 10-gauge, or even the 8- 
gauge, to advantage in swan shooting. 
The great 4-gauge was used in this sport 
years ago. The birds have great vitality, 
are protected by a heavy coat of feathers 
and are often shot at long range. Heavy 
charges of powder and large shot are re- 
quired to bring them down When so 
large size shot as double B’s, F’s, or 
double F’s are used in a 12-gauge gun it 
is at the sacrifice of pattern, since the 
12-gauge case will not hold a sufficient 
number of the large pellets to make a kill- 
ing spread of shot at average ranges. 
Therefore, the very large shot should be 
used only in the large gauge guns. The 
use of guns larger than the 10-gauge 
is now prohibited in many states. It is a 
question if the better grade of sportsman- 
ship is not confined to the use of shot- 
guns no larger than the standard 12- 
gauge. Swans coming to the decoys are 
within range of the 12-gauge and can be 
killed with a heavy duck load of number 
2 or number B shot, the latter size being 
about the largest that is practical in the 
12-gauge. Birds out of range of the 12- 
gauge are generally out of range of 
any and the lighter gun is better sport. 
Swans are powerful swimmers and a 
wounded bird on the water can distance 
the average rower. 
The wild swans fly in long lines and 
are very beautiful in the air and on the 
water. 
O NE day on Barnegat Bay, a few 
years ago, a bay-man and I lay 
hidden in our grass covered gun- 
ning boats waiting fc-r the next flock of 
ducks. The day was cold and clear, with 
the sun shining brightly. Far to the 
north and high in the air appeared sev- 
eral small, indistinct, moving objects, 
showing dimly white now and then 
against the blue of the November sky. 
The objects drew rapidly nearer, growing 
larger, whiter and more distinct. When 
still fully a mile away we could not mis- 
take their identity. They were wild 
swan, seven of the great birds in the 
flock. 
As straight as an arrow’s shaft they 
streamed through the clear air, one bird 
directly behind the other. In silent ad- 
miration we watched them as they flew 
very high over the narrow strip of beach 
which separates the bay from the sea and 
passed us at a half mile distant on their 
long journey southward. It seemed as 
if an aerial regatta was being sailed over 
head on an inverted sea of azure blue. 
The huge birds, each with a wing spread 
of six feet or more, moved like yachts 
under full canvas. Their beautiful white 
plumage glistened like new snow in the 
sunlight. With long necks stretched 
straight out they seemed to glide through 
the air to the measured sweep of the 
board wings; their every movement was 
one of grace and ease and confidence. It 
was the most impressive sight I had ever 
seen in Nature. They did not appear to 
be moving swiftly, but, with all that, 
they were flying with great speed, and 
almost before we realized it the great 
snowy forms were growing smaller and 
smaller until they merged with the sky. 
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 492) 
A flock of wild swans gathered in one comer of a lake. The young birds can be distinguished by their gray plumage. 
