180 BRITISH BIRDS. 



hours if it does not show signs of turning up, for if a 

 bird does not return in that time there must be some- 

 thing wrong with the shelter in which you are hiding. 

 I entered my small stone-house and waited, but 

 although the Diver came to within a few yards of its 

 nest it would not go to its eggs, and when two hours 

 had passed I gave up for that day. The next morning 

 I went to the small island on which the Goose had her 

 nest, as I was anxious to get a photograph of her bef >re 

 the eggs hatched. The keeper and a friend went with 

 me, and when I was carefully hidden away under the 

 heap of heather, they left me. After I had been waiting 

 for a little over an hour, I almost gave up hope of the 

 Goose returning, as I had had no sign of her, but just 

 then I heard a splashing in the water below, and the 

 familiar call, " wonk-wonk, kee-e-e, wonk," told me 

 that my bird had arrived. For almost another hour 

 she remained down in the water, twenty feet below me, 

 and although I could not see her, I judged by the noise 

 that her mate was with her. Then the noise ceased, 

 and I heard the measured footsteps of the bird as she 

 slowly made her way through the heather. At last 

 she reached my hiding-place, and then stopped and 

 remained still for ten minutes. There she was, only 

 a few inches from me, and just behind my back. I 

 hardly dared breathe, for I knew^ that the slightest sound 

 would scare her aw^ay. She now seemed to show^ a 

 certain amount of reasoning, for she had got quite used 

 to the pile of heather, and had returned to her nest since 

 this heap had been erected : but she knew that there 

 was something strange there, and very slowly walked 

 round my hiding-place and carefully peered through 

 the heather, taking just an hour to do this. It spoke 

 well for the way the keeper had hidden me, for her keen 

 eyes did not penetrate through the covering. Once 

 I thought she had " spotted " me, for she remained with 

 her head down, looking straight at me for quite a long 

 time. The only sound seemed to be the beating of 



