. Wild wings; adventures of a camera-hunter among the larger wild birds of North America on sea and land . pon whichthe eggs will be laid. Sometimes the sitting bird, upon hear-ing the approach of an intruder, flies out, and he can markthe spot where her nest is. But just as often, especially whenthe eggs are well hidden, she will remain upon them, refusingto come out for anything that may be done. A good way tofind nests is to follow Keeper Crowells dog. He cannotdetect eggs beneath him, but he can infallibly scent the birdwhen she is upon the nest, and will gaze down the creviceintently, whi
. Wild wings; adventures of a camera-hunter among the larger wild birds of North America on sea and land . pon whichthe eggs will be laid. Sometimes the sitting bird, upon hear-ing the approach of an intruder, flies out, and he can markthe spot where her nest is. But just as often, especially whenthe eggs are well hidden, she will remain upon them, refusingto come out for anything that may be done. A good way tofind nests is to follow Keeper Crowells dog. He cannotdetect eggs beneath him, but he can infallibly scent the birdwhen she is upon the nest, and will gaze down the creviceintently, whining and wagging his tail. It is possible to photograph the strange bird upon or byher eggs. Realizing that she is cornered, she will not attemptto fly out. So we manage to pry or roll away the rocks oneby one, and presently we see her squatting down in the darkhole. When it is opened to the light, the bird may shrink i8o WILD WINGS from the eggs, or try to crawl back farther among therocks, but we can probably catch her and replace her. A longtimed exposure is necessary, so the camera is set upon the. BLACK GUILLEMOT OVER HER EGGS tripod and focused on the bird. The greatest difficulty isthat she is apt to turn her head at the critical moment. Onemay spoil a plate or two, but a few exposures of from five toten seconds will probably give some good negatives. Lookout for accidents: a rock may suddenly slide and roll; thecamera may slip and fall on its face on rocks that are notsoft; the bird may make a sudden exit, and the photographermust be ever ready to seize her, without wrecking his appara-tus. Once my anastigmat lens, pointed nearly straight down, AMID SPRUCES AND SEA-GIRT ROCKS i8i fell out upon the rocks, and it was a mere chance it was notruined. By far the most abundant bird on the island is the HerringGull, the common large white scavenger of our harbors inthe winter season. They nest in scattered colonies all overthe island, mostly in the woods or openings in them, a
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Keywords: ., bookauthorjobh, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds
