Commercial harvesting of waterfowl all but ended with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

FORBES: Duck Calls

And finally, at the end of the sale, there are eight lots of waterfowl decoys.

FORBES: Hot Shots

The British Trust for Ornithology is studying the question around the country: early results suggest that lots of waterfowl are indeed living off pollution.

ECONOMIST: For some, sewage is pollution. For others, it's nutrition

The reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with its reed beds and surrounding grassland providing a home to more than 155 species of waterfowl and other birds.

BBC: Siddick Ponds nature reserve damaged by fire

The Canada goose was first introduced to England in the 17th Century to grace the waterfowl collections of wealthy individuals.

BBC: Windermere's 'polluting' Canada geese to be culled

Protocol to amend articles 6 and 7 of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat.

UNESCO: Ratified Conventions

Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat.

UNESCO: Ratified Conventions

"When I was a young boy, while my friends were playing with electric trains and teddy bears, I was out collecting decoys, " says Donal O'Brien, 71, former chairman of the National Audubon Society and part of the old guard, with shorebirds and waterfowl in his collection.

FORBES: The 2006 Collectors Guide

Foie gras has been produced by farmers since the days of ancient Egypt, when farmers discovered that the waterfowl's liver expanded in the days leading up to the bird's planned migration.

CNN: Foie gras causes uproar