As waterfowl migrate along the Atlantic Flyway, the Chesapeake Bay serves as an important stopover where they find food and shelter during their long journey. As Europeans settled the area, duck hunting became a commercial enterprise, and in the 19th and 20th centuries men traveled to places such as Eastern Neck Island to hunt prized canvasback ducks and other waterfowl for the Baltimore and Philadelphia markets. This market hunting severely depleted populations of many common wintering and migratory species. William A. Sixon recalled that on his first visit to Cedar Point on Eastern Neck Island in early 1923, waterfowl covered the area in immense numbers, with canvasbacks, red and black heads, geese, and swan present in what he called hundreds of thousands. Over time, hunting regulations were established to protect the birds, market hunters gave way to recreational sportsmen, and private hunting and gun clubs appeared on Eastern Neck Island. Today, waterfowl hunting is prohibited on the island, and each year thousands of migrating and wintering waterfowl find a safe haven there.