BIRDS OF WOODLAND AND HEDGEROW. 153 



In such a wood I found a sparrow hawk's 

 nest during June of last year, and as it was rather 

 low down on the horizontal branch of a mountain 

 ash growing on a steep hill side, I determined to 

 try to photograph the bird at home. In spite of 

 these exceptionally favourable conditions, how- 

 ever, I discovered, upon fixing up my apparatus, 

 that the elevation necessary for the acquisition 

 of a good view of the birds' eggs even in the flat- 

 topped structure they occupied, sent me such a 

 long way up the hillside that the nest only figured 

 about the dimensions of a small hazel-nut on 

 my plate. The place was far removed from the 

 haunts of firewood-gathering village children, and 

 every tree was allowed to lie and decay where it 

 fell, so I set to work and dragged together such 

 trunks and branches as were movable by one man's 

 strength. For these materials I found lodgment 

 behind the stems of two tall old hazels growing 

 a little way above the tree containing the hawk's 

 nest, and by dint of much labour built for myself 

 a huge elevating stack of dead wood. On the 

 top of this I fixed my hiding-tent, and covered it 

 over securely with green rowan twigs and moss. 



Several times whilst I was at work the sparrow 

 hawk gave expression to her uneasiness of mind 

 by plaintive notes uttered in the distance, or 

 demonstrated it by dashing at lightning speed 

 through the neighbouring tree-tops, and making 



