SHOOTING SEASON.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20920, 29 July 1933, Page 10

SHOOTING SEASON.

♦ " WORST FOR 25 YEARS." MONDAY THE LAST DAY. "The worst for 25 years;" declared one of the city's most enthusiastic of sportsmen, summing up the duck shooting season at Lake EHcsmere; and he was not alone in his views. Several well-known shooters were approached yesterday, and all had tales to tell of bitterly cold days spent at the lake without shooting a duck. "Taking the situation generally." I said one man, "the weather has been too fine, the lake too low. and the ducks have been more cunning than the men shooting at them." He added that he had not heard of anyone in Noi'th Canterbury who had 'nagged the limit of 25 ducks for one claj . Swan Shooting Becoming Popular. Now tiiat many shooters were finding it increasingly difficult to bring down ducks, he said, more attention was being given to swans; and this although it was generally considered that the swan was not nearly so desirable a table bird as the duck. But, like the ducks, the swans were becoming educated to the habits of shooters, and it was only a matter of time before they, too, would seek new haunts. Even this season it. had been noticed that the swans had changed their line of flight. At the mouth oi the Selwyn rivcv between the upper and lower huts there was a spot known as "the gorse bushes," and in July of past years this had provided birds to fill many a swan shooter's bag. This year, however, the swans had kept well away from the place and a party of 10, which made a night expedition recently, shot only one. This was partly explained, said the sportsman, by the exceptionally low level of the lake. It was usually at its highest in July, rising in such a way as to leave a narrow neck of land over which the swans used to fly, but the low level this year caused the expanse of land to be much greater, and the swans, instead of flying over it, went round. J-jut even considering this, he saxt, the swans were undoebtedJy becoming wise. Another feature which attracted the attention of sportsmen was the surprising scarcity of young swans. It was at first thought that the Acclimatisation Society's practice of taking the eggs was responsible for this, but as no eggs have been taken by the society for two years shooters had come to the conclusion that poachers had been active in the egg season. I'ond Shooting. Lake EHcsmere was not the oniy I place at which game was scarce, 'flip birds had fled even the private | ponds where feed was specially proI vided. and where shooting was alI ways conducted with the greatest | discrimination. There was no de- ! finite evidence as to what had happened to the birds, but it was surI mised that somewhere beyond the j areas which the shooters had peneI trated a new sanctuary had been I found. i Although Canadian geese seemed I to be increasing, very few had been j shot so far. and 'he quail season | also had been very poor. I The Season Closes. ! After one hour past sunset on [ Monday no protected birds may be j shot, and in spite of the disappoint- • ing season a number of sportsmen | have already gone to the lake in a final endeavour to get a good bag. ' It is expected that more will be | Jca\ ing this afternoon and to-mor- | row. ! The weather at the lake is not lat all promising for shooting, a fresh easterly breeze having prevailed for the last two or three days. Duck shooters would like a cold southerly.