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Mr. G. S. Chase,



A HALF-DAY’S BIRD-NESTING WITH THE CAMERA.


By G. S. Chase.


For some time I have taken a great interest in the

fascinating pursuit of obtaining photographs of our feathered

friends’ homes in situ, apart from the study of foreign birds in

aviaries ; and in this article I propose to describe the doings of a

half-day in the field.


Starting early after mid-day on one of my rambles, first by

the lane and then taking to the fields, I at last arrived at a pile

of rough cuttings from hedges, not many yards from a farm¬

house, and, looking leisurely round, came upon my first quarry in

the shape of a nest of our well-known Blackbird {Merula merula')

(Fig 1.). It is a typical nest of this bird, although perhaps in a

somewhat exposed position, and almost on the ground, as will be

seen from the illustration.


Working along the hedgerows for some distance, and on

approaching a group of large gorse bushes, I heard the cry of a

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelcbs'), and, suspecting that I must be “ on

his preserves,” I examined the gorse closely, and discovered his

mate comfortably seated on the nest (Fig. 2), which she left as my

apparatus was being fixed. The nest contained two eggs which

can be partly seen in the photograph.


Departing from the narrative a little, I may remark that,

whenever I come across the nest of a Chaffinch, it reminds me of

an incident which happened a few years ago, when a schoolboy.

Three or four boys, besides myself, were out bird-nesting and we

spied an old can lodged in a tall hawthorn hedge. Of course we

must, as boys do, throw stones at the can, and, to our surprise,

when a stone struck the can. out flew a bird, in great distress, to

a neighbouring tree. O11 examining the can, we found that a

pair of Chaffinches had selected this spot for a nesting place.


Returning to the story, I may mention that I made friends

with a gamekeeper, and, after a little coaxing, he told me he

knew of a Hawk’s nest in a wood nearby, and, on my suggesting



