The San Francisco call., 1909-11-16
STORMS DRIVE DUCKS INLAND
FROM UNPROTECTED WATERS
By FRANK O'DONNELL +,

Duck hunters met with varying suc7
cess last week. The sport of slaugh-
tering the feathered denizens of the
marsh areas proved a profitable one in
certain favored sections. while game
continued scarce on preserves that nave
been yielding small dividends since the
opening gun of the season. AS re-
suit of the recent rains some of the
preserves on the Suisun marsh were
almost bare of ducks, the storms hav-
ing sent the f1ocks flying inland, but
the spirits of the sportsmen thus de-
prived of game were raised by the cold,
dry weather that followed the storms,
and an early return of the birds to the
baited ponds is confidently predicted
by posted hunters. CanVasDacks were
more numerous on the west shore OF
san Pablo bay.
Ray Mecchi. a prominent retail mer-
chant of this city and a regular visitor
to the San Pablo bay shores, shot near
his place at Ignacio last Sunday'
Eleven canva sbacks fell TO his gun, be-
sides seven sprig and three. bluebllls
Large f7ocks of cans" are loanng on
the open stretches of the bay, but Tor
towards the shore. There is a sprink-
ling of these birds on the Suisun and
Sonoma marshes Jack McGoVern drove
over 10 the bay shore from Novato
few days a go and got an assorted limit
bag. including nine canvasbacks that
were mere skeletons.
Birds were plentiful in the San
Joaquin valley and more limit bags be-
ing sent to the city from that region
than from any other shooting grounds
Pete Ashcroft and William Murdock,
both prominent in trap shooting cir
cles, left for Gustine in response to a
telegram from the keeper of the club
at that place. The telegram read that
ducks were flying about the country by
the thousands and that snipe were also
in abundance. George Newman and
Cal Mcmahon came back from the Field
and Tule club preserve, where they got
limits daily for nearly a week.
Harry Schober shot with several
friends at the West Side club near Los
Banos last Sunday and was made the
victim of the time worn BLACK teal
joke, the same that was perpetrated on
Pete Sloan a year ago. Schober's COM
panions piloted him to a pond on which
a large flock of mudhens was calmly
resting. and, after telling him that the
birds were considered the choicest of
morsels by epicures, they left him to
Schober did shoot and managed to
kill a limit bag of fine mudhens. De-
lighted with his success" as a duck
hunter" he sent the birds to the city
for distribution among his friends. 1t
is needless TO say that he was much
surprised at the GOODNESS with which
he was met upon his return home. With
Schober were W. +. Crommary, Ben
Harris. SeaDurE PETERSEN ana Earl
Miller. These four accounted for sew
eral limit bags of sprig.
Otto Feudner and c. c. Huber visited
the Los Banos country last Sunday.
They shot at Newman and took the
forenoon train for home with % birds
each. Msllard and sprig still predom-
mate throughout the San Joaquin VAL
ley and there is quite sprinkling Of
widgeon.
Joyce island is still the most favored
part of the Suisun marsh. j. Harvey
Jones was the guest of the Montezuma
club Sunday and did much better than
any of the members, bagging 10 ducks.
which was considered a good. bag on
that preserve. Doctor Simon killed 25
ducks and limit of curlew at Collins
vile. and il was reported that another
hunter brought in a limit of canvas
backs. Emil Holling shot below the
Nolante club preserve on what is known
as the One Thousand acre preserve and
bagged % widgeon and sprig. On the
ing. The Alameda gun club members