Returning Duck It is a surprise to find that the
experiences of bird observers near London and in the extreme West of Wales have been closely similar in recent months. On the great London water reservoirs, as on the new decoy sanctuary in Pembrokeshire, the commonest duck, at a number of dates, has been the widgeon. For myself, the very largest flock of duck that I have seen consisted of widgeon on the Staines reservoir. In Pembrokeshire teal are perhaps the most constant and per- sistent inhabitants. One of them caught in the decoy and sent to the London Zoo afterwards returned to the pool where it was caught. These beautiful little green-winged duck, wild though they may be, seem to like being caught. One bird, indeed, was recaught so often that it became almost as tame as a pet and lost its fear of man. I remember that Lord Grey in his Northern sanctuary found one particular teal quite tame within the sanctuary and intensely wild at any point outside the boundary. The campaign to arrest the diminution of duck in general is now internationally organised, as it must be to prove effective. Recent examples show that these Pembrokeshire duck travel at least as far as Italy and Rumania.
Previous page
