LONG-TAILED DUCK. LONG-TAILED DCCK.
e harbour, and a few occasionally
procured soma drakes in flue plu
i forjudging the pace when watching
arrow channel loading to the harht
uccessful shot it is bard to say, as
in the channel running
loch at high water; and
Th
speed, and 1 had excel let
dashed up and down OT<
snry to hold ahead to ensure a successful the
order to stop a bird at full spin was
tail drakes in full winter plumage wh
18(19, for a few days' shooting, and aft'
a considerable change. Many had assumed alwut half perfect plumage, while others were far a
and a few in quite full summer dress. In these stages they seldom made their way over
into the channel towards tho harbour, but kept, as a rule, to the open firth at the distance i
a quarter of a mile from the shore, drifting down oeeasioutdly as far as Golspie. Velvet Scoti
also plentiful oiT this part of the coast, and the two species often intermixed while working
down (ho tlrth: wheu alarmed, however, and put i
y to the saltwater
ds fly with great
,m the shinglo-bauks as they
aw many feet it was necest
distance to bo allowed in
¡1 at till after repeated failures. I found all the Long-
; this interesting locality, in the second week in March
JCT a month later I noticed the old drakes bad undergone
tho bar
>f about
they invariably separated, each following a
various stiges of plumage exhibited by the
drake Long-tails, I left the harbour in a largo double gunning-punt aud proceeded down the lirth a
mile towards the east, and our cruise having come to a successful termination, we were amply repaid
for tho risky start we were forced to make. The current over the bar ran strong, and the seas
caused by the tide were somewhat lumpy ; but we reached the open firth without shipping a drop
of water or receiving a sprinkle from the spray. Cork jackets and life-belts with a line and buoy
for the puut-guu bad, however, been provided in case of a mishap. Adult drakes almost if not quite
perfect, and some in less advanced plumage, were obtained, with one or two exceedingly handsome
males of the Velvet Scoter. Coloured sketches also of the heads, beaks, and legs and feet of each woro
«1 back, in order to reach the harbour with the flood. Having been followed by a
:rong crew, wo were amply provided for in case of bad weather setting in or squalls
taken befol
blowing up unexpectedly from the wild North Sea.
Immature birds iu considerable numbers as well as a few adults annually work tl
on tho approach of winter, and take up th
part selecting such situat:
and other
dults annually work their way south
its, for the most
d-bauks and other feeding-grounds that are suitable to Scoters
ducks. Ou tho 28th of November, 1879, while steaming along the shore and also
;atways bctw Bet:
taking enormous
inds of Kittiwakes with a few
aith, Lowestoft, and on towards the
Southwold, I met with several large flocks near each of the places mentioned. Common Scoters were
by far the most numerous of the fowl gathered off this attractive portion of the coast, though Velvet
Scoters, Long-tails, nnd Goldeueycs were weU represented, and one small party of thn- •— -
were sighted in tho nam to the south of Gorlcstonn pier. The sprat-b '
hauls near the Pake field gat as well as off Kessingland and Covchithc
immature l'omatorhine Skuas in attendance were hovering rouml the nets; but I doubt if the fish were
any attraction to the ducks, as they were only observed diving for food over tho banks. Every winter,
when spending nny time at sea off that part of the coast, 1 have oWrvcd Long-tailed Ducks; it is,
however, only when tho weather is severe that they favour the flat sandy shores to the west or Brighton
in Sussex with a visit. In December 1879 and again in 1680 I remarked them in greater numbers than
usual, aud in the former year met with repeated opportunities for examining a handsome male who appeared
in perfect plumage, with tho exception that the two long feathers of his tail were absent. I noticed him
first ou the 7th of Decernl>er, and for a couple of months after that dato he remained along tho coast
between .Shoreham aud Worthing, defying all attempts made to secure him by shooter i boats,
though [iix\ ing lil
the hanks. Small
this pari. On a
glass, I noticed :i
Velvet Scoters;
approach within I
to double that t
mdreds of Cor
is utterly im.