Photography for Naturalists 21 



A'iiricd pcrliaps by climhiiiL'' to the top of sc'\eii or ei^lit l)i<>' 

 trees, is very liard work under a hot sun such hard work 

 that nobody l)ut an enthusiast Mould ever taekle it twiee. 



The loni;- waiting' at nests is oenerally sujjposed to be 

 very tedious sort of woi-k : l)ut this is a oi-eat mistake. Thei-e 

 is always soinethini>' to l)e seen of exceedint^" interest. If it 

 ■were possible to photograph birds as (juiekly and as easily 

 as it is to shoot tlieni. the ])hotographer would know no 

 more about tiieni and their habits than the man who shoots 

 a bird the instant he sees it — //* he nni. It is during' this 

 waiting that one learns. 



The mere ])leasure of seeing a rare bii'd at elose quarters 

 is alone sutfieient eompensation for any amount of waiting, 

 and there is the ehance of a successful photograph thrown 

 in. as it were : there is also a great probability of seeing 

 all sorts of unexpected incidents and details of wild life. 

 The fact is. the way to see Xatiu'c face to face is not to 

 tramp about either witii or without a gun. but to sit in a 

 ditch or up a tree, oi- burrow into a thick hedge, and stop 

 there half a day. oi-. better still, a whole day. You will see 

 mucli moi'c than when walking about, and those birds vou 

 do see will be unconscious of danger instead of fleeing for 

 their li\'es. 



The great thing is not to move : it is the movement which 

 frightens or perhaps calls attention to your presence. By 

 merely standing perfectly still, it is quite })ossible to have 

 birds and animals all round you. taking no more notice than 

 if you were a post or tree. A good plan is to co\'er up 



