28 HOMING WITH THE BIRDS 



began to leak, it would stick to and soil the others 

 and the nest. I was afraid to put my fingers into 

 the small hair-lined cup, so I secured the spoon 

 for this purpose and afterward always carried it 

 in my apron pocket. 



Life became one round of battles with cats, 

 snakes, and red squirrels, while crows and jays were 

 not to be trusted near the nests and the young of 

 other birds. It was a long, tedious task to make 

 friends with the builders of each of the chosen 

 nests, for I was forced to approach very slowly 

 and with extreme caution, imitating the call note 

 of the bird the best I could; and when I had gone so 

 near a nest that the brooding mother began to 

 plaster her feathers flat to her body, to draw up 

 her wings, the light of fear began to shine in her 

 beady eyes, and she started to rise to her feet, it 

 was time for me to pause until she regained her 

 confidence and again settled to brooding. Almost 

 always at this point a few more steps could be 

 taken. I usually contented myself with leaving a 

 little of the food that the bird being approached 

 liked best to eat. On going back the following 

 day, it would be possible to advance with confi- 

 dence as far as I had gone the day before; from there 

 on I would be forced again to work my way slowly 

 and cautiously toward the nest. In this manner 

 gradually the confidence of the mothers could be 

 won so completely that it was permissible to touch 

 them while they brooded. Some of the friendliest 



