Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 71 



the topmost nm^' of the hiddcr, and was tliere lashed witli 

 string", the rcinaiiiing two legs beino* lashed to overhanging' 

 boughs of the tree — an oak. .As tliese boughs were thin, and 

 moved freely with the slightest motion, focussing was no easy 

 job, especially as I had to stand on the ladder and lean 

 backwards to look into the focussing-glass. The only hold 

 within reach being the same thin boughs whicli beld the 

 legs, the operation was somewhat of a shaky one, and the 

 subsequent work of putting in the double back and with- 

 drawing the slide had to be performed with no hold at 

 all, both hands being occupied. Under the circumstances 

 I was rather surprised that the negati\e was any good, 

 especially as the f.32 stop necessitated an exposure of 

 ten seconds. And this was only an ordinary case, with no 

 special difficulties about it. A more difficult as well as a 

 more dangerous work was the photographing of a Barn- 

 owFs nest at the top of a thirty-foot ladder. I^eaning 

 backwards t(j focus, my weight was entirely supported by 

 the extreme tips of two fingers on the edge of the hole 

 (I could not reach with the other fingers), while the other 

 hand w^orked the focussing-screw. To ensure getting at 

 least one good negative, I tried to expose both plates, 

 and, owing to the difficulty of the situation, only exposed 

 the same plate twice over, thereby spoiling both ! 



The Redstart is often met with, though it can hardly be 

 described as conmion. It is a conspicuously beautiful bird, and 

 the nest is sufficiently scarce to be worth finding. Holes in 

 old apple- and pear-trees are fa^'ourite places ; the one shown 



