USING THE ORDINARY CAMERA 199 



stopped down to about F16, to secure sharp defini- 

 tion. The exposure must ordinarily be about one 

 half-second in strong light, even with the lens at 

 full aperture, and more under less favorable condi- 

 tions. Hence the bird is quite liable to move and 

 spoil the picture. In fact the difficulties are so great 

 that I generally prefer to secure as large an image as 

 possible with the single number of the large doublet, 

 and do my enlarging carefully at home. In this 

 way I get just as large a picture in the end, and 

 usually a better one. However, in cases when it is 

 impossible to get anywhere near certain game, such 

 as water-birds out on mud-flats, where the image 

 even with the single lens would be too small to en- 

 large, the telephoto is useful, and by careful focus- 

 ing one may even secure a telephoto picture capable 

 of being still further enlarged at home. 



There are also some other ways in which birds 

 may be photographed by the ordinary camera. From 

 a blind on the shore one may catch shore or water- 

 birds which come along, perhaps attracted by decoys, 

 or simply feeding along the margin. A fruitful 

 source of pictures in winter is to hang up suet or put 

 out seeds, crumbs, or nuts in a spot which birds tend 

 to visit, and leave the disguised camera focused upon 

 the bait. A thread connecting with the shutter 

 should enter the house through a keyhole or under a 

 window, ready to be pulled when a bird comes to 

 feed. Birds which are liable to come are the chick- 

 adee, nuthatch, downy and hairy woodpeckers. 



