60 BIRD FRIENDS 



from inside the window birds feeding on a window- 

 sill. 



The two best seasons for photographing birds are 

 the spring and summer, when the birds are nesting, 

 and the winter, when they come to eat food pro- 

 vided for them. If one attracts birds around his 

 home, he will find many opportunities for photo- 

 graphing them. The birds that use nesting-boxes 

 become tame and may easily be photographed after 

 the young are hatched, as the parents enter and leave 

 the box. One may watch the birds to see how they 

 approach and where they usually alight, and then 

 the camera may be focused on this spot, and when 

 the bird is in the right position, the thread may be 

 pulled. 



Likewise, the winter birds become very tame, 

 coming to the window shelf for food, and the camera 

 may be set up just inside the window and the picture 

 taken through the window-pane. A little patience 

 will often enable one to secure a picture of a bird 

 feeding from the hand. During one winter the au- 

 thor was able to secure pictures of the nine following 

 species : chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, downy 

 woodpecker, brown creeper, blue jay, hermit thrush, 

 myrtle warbler, junco, and song sparrow. Pictures 

 of all except the junco were obtained at the window- 

 sill. Pictures of the chickadee feeding from the hand 

 were secured. 



Besides these pictures of birds that nest in boxes 



