196 HOW TO STUDY BIRDS 



thought I would see what I could do, so very slowly 

 indeed, raising the front leg of the tripod, I bent 

 one reed aside. This did not alarm the bird, so I 

 got rid of another, and another. Finally I moved 

 one that was almost touching the bird's bill, and she 

 actually pecked the tripod. 



It took a long time, but I finally had her clear in 

 the open, and took all the pictures I wanted, even 

 waiting for clouds to pass before the sun, so as to 

 secure soft detail. Nothing of the kind had ever 

 happened to me before, and probably never will 

 again, so it was a case of working without rule or 

 precedent to guide. Method is but the means to 

 an end; the main thing is to get the pictures. 



As to the use of the hiding-tent, there are a few 

 further suggestions to make. If feasible, it is a 

 good plan to pitch it in the evening, as in the growing 

 darkness the birds more readily become accustomed 

 to it, and in the morning there will be little waiting 

 after the photographer enters. Unless one can steal 

 in unobserved, it is best to have a companion go with 

 one to the tent and leave it boldly in sight of the 

 birds. Our feathered friends may be wise in a way, 

 but they do not know much about counting. 



It is well known that the great blue heron is one 

 of the shyest of birds. In a strip of low trees along 

 a stream in Saskatchewan a small colony of them 

 had built nests. They were so wary that, as a friend 

 and I approached over the prairie, they stood erect 

 on their nests when we were nearly half a mile away, 



