The San Francisco call., 1908-10-11
Bags Small, as Ducks
Are Kept on Wing
Hunters Anxious for Rain to
Give Big Feeding Area
for Birds

The hunt for the festive wild duck
goes merrily on and the number of
hunters on the marsh areas easily
reached from the city is increasing. but
their efforts are not as productive of
the good results with which the season
was SO auspiciously opened. In fact,
the prospect of securing large bags
with little trouble, which elated the
sports on opening day. has been pretty
well dissolved, and returning hunters
are not as heavily laden as on the first
few days of the season.
The steady bombardment that has
continued undated since opening day
has made the birds. extremely. wary and
grounds in the day time. but seek the
open stretches of the bay and come in
to feed at night. Even then. they are
not unmOlested, as enthusiastic hunters
are as well pleased with shooting by
night as by day.
Shot at by hunters day and night. the
birds are Kept moving nearly all the
time and get but little rest AS re-
suit. nearly all that are bagged are
thin and bony. There is plenty of food
In the ponds and sloughs, but with the
guns or the hunters keeping them al
most constantly in motion the birds
have little time to rest and are fright
ened away from the best feeding
grounds besides. Hunters are as thick
wild fowl fed and rested unmoleste ed
for months prior to the opening of the
season, and when a flock of ducks
comes circling above a favorite forage
ground the eager nimrods blaze away
before they are within shooting dis
tance and the birds are frightened
away. Posted sportsmen say that a
heavy rainfall would change these con-
ponds that are practically dry and
thereby Increase the area in which
wild fowl could find refuge and obtain
rood and rest. Insthe opinion of these
experts limit bags will be the excep-
t1on rather than the rule until the
rainy season sets In.
dlfhculty experienced in securing
game, and as far as they are concerned
the situation seems to be worse than at
first supposed. The men who hunt for
revenue only exhibit great concern
over the encroachments of the gun
clubs and allege that there is hardly
enough open ground left to them in
some sections to make hunting for the
crouch of the market hunter is shared
by poultry and game merchants of the
city. who are in decidedly pessimistic
shortage of wild ducks and high prices
for consumers for the whole season.
hundreds of gun club members and
unattached hunters made the usual
week end journey to the various shoot
ing grounds yesterday. and other hun
dreds We're making preparations to in
wade the marshes today
Several good bags We're brought to
town last week. On Wednesday Tony
Prior. F. w. Munday, N. L. Nielsen.
Frank Turner and w. Duzan of the
Cloverleaf club spent the day on the
preserve at Cordelia and all of them
returned with the limit. the bags con-
s1sting chiefly of mallards They stated,
however, that 1t took considerable time
and shooting to secure limit bags, and
members of other clubs reported like
wise
The season for valley quail and snipe
opens on Thursday. the 18th, and will
add another diversion for lovers of the
bay, counties and some hunters are Of
the opinion that they will become ex-
t1nct in, some sections within a few
years unless the season is shortened.