PHOTOGRAPHING BLACK-THROATED DIVER. 183 



the places that Geese dehght in, but there seemed to be 

 very few birds about. Three pairs had hatched out 

 and had taken their young down to the water, but it 

 was impossible to get near the young, for before we had 

 got to within three hundred yards of them, the parents 

 led them away. 



I was more successful with the Black-throated Diver. 

 I found out that on my first attempt to photograph it, 

 the bird could see me through the crevices in my stone 

 hut, so I stuffed up all the holes with moss and heather, 

 and very soon after I got inside, on my second attempt, 

 the bird was back. I was ready to begin photography 

 at 7.30 in the morning, and the keeper then rowed away 

 and left me alone, and was coming back for me at 4 

 o'clock in the afternoon, so I was in for a fairly long day. 

 Ten minutes after he had left, I heard the Diver splash- 

 ing outside, and peering through my small peep-hole 

 I saw her shufiling towards her nest. When the Diver 

 attempts to travel on land, it has a curious action. It 

 lifts its body up, seems to throw itself forward on to 

 its breast, then pushes its feet forward and again lifts 

 its body, and shuffles along in this manner. Owing to 

 its difficulty of moving on land, the nest is close to the 

 water, and the bird usually has a well-trodden pathway 

 leading from the water to the nest, or rather to the 

 depression in the ground containing the eggs, for there 

 is seldom any serious attempt at nest -building. I have 

 seen quite a good nest made by the Red-throated Diver, 

 but the three or four nests of the Black-throated Diver 

 that I have seen, have been just depressions in the ground. 



The bird before me was absolutely unconscious of 

 any danger, and it was really beautiful to watch her, 

 as she settled down upon her two eggs. At first she 

 could not get comfortable and moved about, and I 

 exposed a good many plates, but when she eventually 

 settled, it seemed almost impossible to move her. I had 

 exposed about twenty plates, and thought I would like 

 her to leave her eggs, hoping that I might get some 



