Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-15
Looking Ahead to the Slaughter Of
Reedies and Ortolan.
TEE OPEN SEASON BEGINS NEXT WEEK
Laws Which Govern Marsh-Bird
Shooting Generally.
PROSP ECTS EXCELLE NT

The advance guards of the army Of
| marsh birds which will in few more days
| populate the estuaries in this vicinity with
myriad wings are already appearing.
| These forerunners are blackbirds, plover.
| sand snipe. summer ducks. a few jack
snipe and an occasional group Of reed birds.
| The great flights Of the last-named and the
| more important ortolan will not make their
| appearance much before the first week in
| September. although the open season for
reed birds, ortolan and blackbirds will be-
| gin next Monday, although shooting will
| not be legal until Tuesday. Those who an
| ticipate inaugurating the season with gun
and slaughter intentions would do well to
study the law governing the situation.
The statute in question was approved
March 3. 1899. and is entitled IAN act for
the protection of birds. preservation of
game and for the prevention of its sale
during certain closed seasons in the Dis
trict Of Columbia" The provisions Of the
measure that are of interest and value at
this time are those which govern the shoot
| Ing of marsh birds. to use the popular gen.
eric term that embraces the several varie-
ties.
act provides that no person shall kill. ex-
pose for sale or have in his OF her possess
sion, either dead or alive, any water rail
or ortolan, reed bird rice bird, or marsh
and the Goth day of August; nor shoot at
| nor kill the same, except on Tuesdays.
Thursdays and Saturdays, between the 21st
day Of August and the LIST day of Feb
ruary, under penalty of s.. or, in default,
period not exceeding thirty days in the
workhouse.
The same section contains paragraphs
making the killing of snipe. plover, wild
duck and wild geese, legal between May
and February 1, but there Is no provision
limiting the shooting Of any of these birds
to specified week days.
Accordingly. after September 1. sportsmen
Will be safe in shooting snipe plover. ducks
and woodcock on any week day. provided,
of course, they don't take the chances Of
surreptitiously bringing down a reedie or
an ortolan.
Hard on Laboring Classes.
There was general regret among the la
boring classes. especially the skilled me-
chanics. over the failure Of the attempt
made last winter to amend the law so
as to permit the shooting of reed birds,
ortolan and blackbirds on the first Mon
day in September, which Dis Labor day.
Several hundred men in the District have
In former years devoted this holiday to
reed bird and ortolan shooting. but the
present law makes this now impossible.
So far as reedies and ortolan are con-
cerned every man and boy who owns gun
from Jersey down to Georgia Is preparing
for the annual warfare upon these birds,
and in Washington. where perhaps more
attention Is paid to their shooting than
anywhere else in the country 1t would not
be extravagant to say that at least 5000
gunners are waiting eagerly for the OPEN
Ing Of the season.
The characteristics of the OrtoInn.
The ortolan Is known to the sportsmen
north of Washington as tho rail. and when
1t gets below the James river it is univer-
| sally called the sora- It frequents the
| hpIA nFt hA
lea, and Is found as far south as Venezue-
la. Its mgrations in the Bermuda Islands
are immense. 1t comes north in the early
spring and breeds from northern Pennsyl-
vania to the frigid zone. specimens have
frequently been killed in Greenland.
The ortolan Is one of the most timfd of
birds. and at low water on the marshes,
where 1t is always found 1t clings to the
roots of the reeds and can seldom be
flushed At high tide, however. it is driven
from its hiding Places and when flushed
makes feeble flight and flies but short
distance. Ortolan must be killed sngly. as
they are never seen in fiocks. 1t feeds on
the seeds Of the marsh reeds, commonly
called marsh oats. The plumage is bright
olive brown above, with longitudinal spots
or black few of the feathers being tipped
with white. The anterior portion Of the
head is black. The abdomen in white and
the breast white lead color. It's long legs
are yellowish green.
The MetamOrphosed BOboIink.
What is called the reedbird in this vicinity
| is really the bobolnk. On It's way north in
the spring it's music ia heard in the mead
ows and fields. and then the bird is
black little fellow with white markings
The bobolink breeds in the far north, and
1t multplieS In immense numbers In mid
August 1t begins to start south in enor-
nous fiocks and continues its journey as
far south as Brazil. Its color has changed
and 1t has become a brownish yellowish in
nnfp-q
tweet tWeet. that any one initiate. In
South Carolina 1t is the rice bird, and when
1t reaches Jamaica. where 1t is found in
enormous focks. 1t is a butter bird. BY the
time 1t reaches Washington the reed bird
Is extremely fat, and properly broiled is the
most delicate morsel known to gastronomy.
The marshes most favored by the reed
birds and ortolan in the immediate vicinity
OF Washington are those on the Eastern
branch above Benning bridge, while very
good sport can also be had between the
latter and the railroad bridge to the south
of it,
Rank and Rich Oats.
The crop of marsh oats upon which the
birds feed is particularly rich and rank this
year, and heavy in grain. Last year the
oats grew in thickets, so to speak; dense
punches with strips of water between them
This year they are thicker and will give
no easy passage for boats, if, indeed, 1t will
be possible to push skiff through them
Uncle Billy Wagner, the veteran sporting
authority Of Washington, always makes
preliminary trips Of inspection through the
marshes.
This year he has made several such tours
and this morning he tod a Star reporter
the result.
THE marshes bear the best crop of oats
have seen in years. he said. There is
one continuous field like a wheat field, and
there are no open places that l have been
able to discover. Unless there are very
big tides it will be impossible to push a
boat through the oats. 1 think we will
have the best season for ortolan and reed
birds We have had in years"
Pointers About Pushers.
In any event, 1t is always useless for a
gunner to try his luck In the marshes with
out the assistance of an experienced pusher.
The pusher owns his boat, and places it at
the service of a gunner. with his services,
at so much per tide. He poles the skiff slow
ly through the marsh, marks ortolan as
they rise when the gun men may not happen
to see them and marks where killed birds
fall and RECEIVERS them. With a good push
er all a gunner needs to do is to stand well
up in the bow Of the skiff and shoot and
load. When the birds are plentiful. it is
&-1r-