204 Pictures of Bird Life 



top of their rocky islet, necessitating several journeys to 

 o-et up tlie camera and belonginos. Tiie climbing was easy 

 and simple enougli. merely clambering up huge boulders, 

 one on the top of the other : but laden with cameras and 

 breakables it took some time, especially as they were very 

 slippery. However, at last I got ever>i:hing up. and there, 

 forty yards away, were fifteen or sixteen Cormorants sitting. 

 Covering the camera with a large green bag, and getting 

 inside myself, I started crawling on my knees in their 

 direction, imtil slowly and laboriously I reached the rocks 

 on which tlie nests are placed. 



All this time the Gulls were wheeling overhead, and 

 screaming their hardest, and the Cormorants began to show 

 serious alarm, one bird in particular standing up in the 

 nest, as though meditating Hight. As the flight of one 

 would probably lead to the departure of the whole lot, I 

 thought it better to halt until their confidence was regained 

 a little. While waiting I exposed a plate or two on them 

 in case of failure in getting any nearer, and when they 

 appeared to ha^e settled down I proceeded. It was now 

 necessary to mo\e ^•ery cautiously indeed, an inch at a 

 time. o\"er tlie rough surface, through pools of stagnant 

 rain-water, nearly squashing on my way se\eral young 

 Gulls, until I was witliin five yards of the nearest birds, 

 and could see the close scaly nature of their plumage and 

 their emerald-green eyes. Though tliey looked curiously in 

 my direction, I was enabled to obtain several good photo- 

 graphs before they flnallv took alarm and flew off. 



