Part 11 (1/2)

By night ducks feed in the sob shallows and oozes, but concealed by the sarohich flourishes in such places Hence the use of the stancheon-gun is not here available as in the case of bare, plant-free, tidal flats at home and elsewhere

In the dusk the ducks have arrived at these feeding-grounds in quite small trips or bunches But as the stars pale towards the dawn, they depart in larger detach hundreds in a pack Still, such are their enor armies form an almost continuous stream in the direction whither they take their course But where is that? That is the problem on the solution of which the fowler's success depends We will presume that you have so solved it In that case, you will have witnessed, between an hour before sun-up and half-an-hour thereafter, as marvellous a procession as the scheme of bird-life can afford

Let us follow the fowl throughout that ues of eh in air where vistas of brown sa foe, anon lowering their flight where sporadic sheets or lanes of open water break the tawnyaway in open waters like an inland sea, lies a big _lucio_ That is their goal One by one, or in dozens and scores, the infinite detachlassy surface Within brief minutes the whole expanse is darkened as with a carpet

[Illustration: THE STANCHEON-GUN IN THE MARISMA--DAWN]

Upon this _lucio_ the assembled ducks command a view for miles around

Hardly could a water-rat approach unseen If the fowl persisted in passing the entire day thereon, no human poould avail to molest them--they could bid defiance to fowlers of every race and breed Two circumstances, however, favour their hu those floating hosts by birds-of-prey These--chiefly ulls--execute perpetual ”feints” at the swi) are coer The do the raptores (since they are unable to attack the main bodies) is to ascertain if one or more wounded ducks remain afloat after their sound co an easy prey The disturbed foill not fly far, perhaps half-a-ht to catch sight of an attractive fleet of ”decoys”

moored in so circumstance arises from a difference in habit between ducks in Spain and their relatives (even con-specific) inhabiting British waters For whereas the latter, as a rule, will re day, in Spain, on the contrary, by about 11 AM, the force of hunger begins visibly to operate--not in all, but in sections, which, rising in detachments, separate themselves fro the smaller and shallower _lucios_ where food ht slackens off for an hour or so at midday, is renewed in the afternoon, and stops dead one hour before sun-down

To exploit the advantage offered by these habits it is necessary to ascertain to which of the innu Observation will have decided that point, and our expert gunner now (at 11 AM) be concealed with scrupulous care, and his fleet of, say, fifty decoys set out in lifelike and (or) attractive attitudes, exactly in the centre of the particular lagoon, whither, of recent days, the ducks have been observed to resort in greatest abundance frounner lies expectant on the cut rushes which strew the botto by 2-1/2 broad, which is concealed by being thrust bodily in the est samphire bush available The craft nevertheless is still afloat and, though flat-bottomed, is yet terribly crank, and any sudden movement to port or starboard threatens to capsize the entire outfit

To allay the tense suspicion of flighting wildfowl, several of the adjacent bushes for fifty yards around have been heightened by the addition of a cut bough or two--the idea being to induce a theory a ducks merely that this particular spot seeup decoys, while many are posed in lifelike attitudes, it is advisable to hang a few (especially white-plueon-drakes) in al hungry inco-up” to feast on abundant subaquatic plants beneath

This interreater or less numbers on different days; but when it co fro the last hour before he dips not a wingthus resolves itself into two ht at dawn, and later (2) awaiting their incoood shoota broad ”ride”

through the sa an open channel between two _lucios_ Ducks which have hitherto flown sky-high in order to cross the danger-zone will now pass quite low along the neay, and even prefer it to crossing the cover at hazard, however high

A typical day's fowling in ht has been spent in a reed-built hut charly situate on aunequalled views of flooded and featureless ht of a lantern eabbling of flaoes somewhere out in the dark waters My wild co a punt-pole in either hand, bends to his work, and ae glide--into the unknown

A weird feeling it is squatting thus at water-level and watching the wavelets dance by or dash over our two-inch free-board We make but three miles an hour, yet seem to fly past half-seen water-plants A myriad stars are reflected on the still surface ahead, and it is by a single great _Lucero_ (planet) that our pilot is now steering his course

Batata presently remarks that we have ”arrived” One takes his word for this Still that verb does conditionally imply some place or spot of arrival Here there was none--none, at least, that could be differentiated froues But this was not an hour for philological disquisition, so we mentally decide that we have reached ”nowhere” A few hours later when daylight discovers our environation appears sufficiently proved There are visible certain objects on the distant horizon

One--that behind us--proves to be the roof of the _choza_ wherein we had spent the night--”hull-down” to the eastward The others a lengthened scrutiny with pris knee-deep in water Nohere you see such signs you may conclude you are nowhere

We skip a few hours, since we have no intention of inflicting on the reader the details of aSuffice that at 9 AM B reappears poling up in his punt, the spoils are collected (forty-nine in all, eon and teal, with a few pintail and shoveler and one couple of gadwall), and the plan for the day discussed

To remain where ere (as this _lucio_ had yesterday attracted a fairly continuous flight of ducks) had been our original idea But a shi+ft of the wind had rendered a second _lucio_, distant two miles, a ly we set out

Here a new _puesto_ is promptly prepared and the forty-nine decoys deftly set out, each supported by a supple wand stuck in the mud below

Hardly had these preparations been coht had co up fro past the seductive decoys

At recurringthe next three or four hours (with blank intervals between) I enjoyed to the full this , so totally different in practice to all others

Such is the speed of flighting fowl, such their keenness of vision and instant perception of danger, that but a hth of a second--is available fully to exploit each chance