The Wilmington daily Republican., 1901-08-26
REED BIRD
SEASON OPENS

| Reed bird shooting will begin today
yesterday being the opening day of tn,
season.
On all the marshes around Wilmington
the crack Of sportSmrl's guns will b,
heard from early morning until dusk ntlt
for many days hereafter. The local gun
ncrs have been waiting impaticntly fol
the opening day, and many started out
for the feeding grounds in the marshes
| about the city at dayLrcak to get in soEiG
good work before the places were over.
crowded with gInncrs.
| Some impatient gunneis dcficd the law
| and were noticed severa! days last week
| shooting in the marshes along the Chris
| tiana river west Of the causcway. But
most of the spnrtsncn Eereahout waited
until today to go after the birds
George Wigslcswolth, gunner Of
many years experience talks cncoulag-
ingly of the prospects for II good season
aud gives some interesting information
about the shooting Of the birds and their
habits. lie has been cunning On the
marshes around the city for between
forty and fifty years and knows every
foot of them. lie says from: all appear.
anrcs the marshes are full of birds
The birds are mere for q short time H.
May and then they 60 to Connecticut Vi
the foothills of the Blue Ridge noun
tains where they breed. When the
young become able to fly and take ear"
Of themselves they flock to the feeding
grounds in this part of The country. Far
about three weeks they have been in
the marshes fnttrning on seeds of tie
reeds, foXtall and the numerous other
kinds of food they find in this locality.
On short foxtnil which Is fayorito
food, they will fatten in week.
After the first two or three days of
the season the birds get wild from hav
ing been drivcn about sc much and H'a
hard to shoot. inexperienced hunters
will blaze away at a bird as soon as
they SEQ one bat the old gunnerS adopt
Il different and more fruitful method.
Ttey wade in tine marshes and scare up
hocks Of the birds. When they a'ight
ON the tops of the reeds the experienced
gunner will keep driving them until they
get in II line when he bangs away killing
a good many at single shot. In this
way he manages to get Il nice bag of
'rcodes." He knows how to go about
looking for them. too, after they are shot
.'' hiiilS ti' 'hii' II VI i'Nh' hl'''i "'h'
the birds were shot, by observing where
the reeds are cut, he moves about carr.
FUZZY so as net to disturb the ground
and soon his sharp eyes see his victims
lying tail up in the bottom grass.
Reed bird hunting is not what it was
years ago. 1t used to be that gunn.rS
could go ont and bag from six TO fifteen
or eighteen dozen birds in day. Then
there were fewer gnnners around and the |
birds could be driven along the banks |
one way for some distance. then by work
ing around back of the flock he cond |
drive them back again. Now gunn"rs |
crowd the marshes and if n man gets
two dozen ''recdies" after being ont
all day he i, doing good. The filling in
Of much Of the marsh land along the
I 'hristiana has cnt of a 90 d bit Of the
feeding grounds but in n year or 50
his ground will be covered with % Il
growth nnd will be all right again. The
season lasts fo" about six weeks. some
lines little longer and for that Length
If time gunncrs will haunt the marshes.
The first spell Of cold weather will pnt
m end to the sport for then the hi ds
will go away leaving behind those which
have been crippled and cannot nv any
distance.