THE STATUS OF CERTAIN DUCKS AT WENHAM 
LAKE. 
John C. Phillips. 
In the period covered by my Wenham Lake shooting 
records, 1899 to 1920 inclusive, there are twenty years in 
which accurate notes have been kept of all water-fowl seen 
and shot at the Lake during the autumn flight. Previous 
to 1899 only scattering records are available. During the 
year 1911 no shooting was done, and that year marks the 
only break in an otherwise continuous set of observations. 
Although most of the ducks seen in Essex County are 
common species and of no special interest to ornithologists, 
I have thought it worth while to summarize the whole 
twenty years, because the exact status of any species at a 
particular time and place is worth putting on record, no 
matter how common it may be. 
As all water-fowl are subject to natural fluctuation in 
numbers, besides the changes in status due to the spread 
of population pressing upon breeding grounds, and to 
over-shooting, it will be necessary in the future to have 
very comprehensive state reports of the total number of 
ducks and game birds taken during any open season. In¬ 
deed Game Commissioners are already beginning to con¬ 
sider this matter, and several states have accomplished 
something already, but Pennsylvania and Minnesota have 
gone farthest in requiring detailed reports from every 
license holder. Such reports are, of course, in respect to 
the totals, wholly inaccurate, for only a small percentage 
of shooters have thus far actually handed in the required 
list: but an attempt has been made in these two states to 
estimate the total amount of game taken, and these first 
attempts are of especial interest. The relative numbers 
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