DECOYS AND WILD-FOWLING IN ESSEX.
71
" From this table it appears that the amount realised by the sale of wild fowl
during thirteen years was £1,326 1s. 6d. or an average of £102 per annum.
" Half Burds " such as Golden Eyes and Tufted Ducks have, it will be observed,
a column to themselves. They were regarded as only half the size of ordinary
Wild Ducks, reckoned at half the value, and were not counted in the dozen. It
would seem that nearly all the Ducks and Teal taken in this decoy were
foreigners, and not home-bred birds ; for it is remarkable that during the months
of August and September, before the large migrating flocks had arrived, compara-
tively few were captured, which would scarcely have been the case had these birds
nested in any numbers in the surrounding marshes.
Mr. John Cordeaux gives the following additional particulars
from this old MS. book, in the Field for April 6th, 1878 :—
" In one year (1715), taking commenced as early as August 25th, and from
this time to the end of the month 8 Duck, 96 Teal, 1 Pintail, and 544 Wigeon
were taken. 1716 also appears to have been an early season for Wigeon, the
decoy commencing work on August 24, and before the end of the month 7 Duck
9 Teal, 5 Pintail, and 538 Wigeon were captured. The best year of the thirteen
was 1714. The best months were Sept., 1714—39 Duck, 81 Teal, 9 Pintail, 3,907
Wigeon. Also Sept., 1717—12 Duck, 8 Teal, 1 Pintail, and 3,440 Wigeon.
"Some of the best days were as follows : September, 20th, 1714—1 Duck,
20 Teal, 785 Wigeon. September 23rd, 1715—7 Teal, I Pintail, 478 Wigeon.
October 7th, 1715—6 Teal, 4 Pintail, 512 Wigeon. October 14th—2 Teal,
1 Duck, 490 Wigeon. October 18th—1 Teal, 1 Duck, I Pintail, 537 Wigeon.
August 23, 1716—3 Teal, 548 Wigeon. September 16, 1717—702 Wigeon and
384 on previous day. The immense number of 44,677 Wigeon, taken in this
decoy during thirteen years, are divided between the months in the following
proportion : 1714 to 1726—August, 1,085; September, 15,897 ; October, 18,671;
November, 7,655 ; December, 1,085 ; January, 275 ; February, 9. These figures
are very curious, as they show at a glance that the great captures of Wigeon were
made in September and October. This is exactly the opposite to the case in the
present day. The best months for Wigeon on our Eastern coast now are January,
February and also March, a period during a greater part of which the old decoys
were closed altogether. * * *
" A correspondent, the owner of a decoy in one of the Eastern counties [this
was Mr. Robert Page, of Down Hall, Bradwell], writes: 'Of every hundred
Wigeon taken in our decoy [Marsh House, Tillingham], 30 are killed in January,
20 in December, 19 in February, 19 in November, 7 in October, 4 in March, and
1 in September. This is the average of fair seasons. During the same time we
have had the greatest number in the decoy in January, and the months follow in
the following order : February, December, November, October, March, September.
In one year we had four Wigeon in the decoy in August. In some seasons none
have arrived until October; and in one year we had the greatest number on
February 26th."
Many more interesting facts relating to this now-almost-defunct
Essex industry, in addition to those given above, would doubtless
reward a little painstaking research, and the subject is well worthy
of further attention.