440 The Bearded Vulture 
In this picture the exact position of this nest is indicated by the 
arrows. Immediately below it and rather below the centre of the 
picture is a small terrace on which were some sticks and deébris 
fallen from the big nest above. From this terrace runs the ledge 
by which I eventually made my escape on the occasion of my visit 
of the preceding year. As will be noted, it becomes rather awkward 
to work along as it nears the right edge of the picture and so I 
dropped down to the ledge below it which joins the talus a few feet 
beyond the right bottom corner.' A close inspection will enable 
the olive tree to be identified, which forms such an important 
connecting link in the task of reaching this nest. It lies near 
the top of the picture just below the top arrow. Nest No. 1 is not 
visible in this picture, being hidden by the great natural bastion 
or buttress of limestone which occupies the centre of it. 
It was exciting work escalading the cliff abutting on the talus ; 
at places the limestone had become riven and loosened and caused 
some anxiety for those climbing below us. We soon found our- 
selves on the same steeply shelving terrace as the year before and 
proceeded to carry out the same plan for the descent. Securing 
the centre of my 300 feet of rope to a crag, I once again laid one 
portion down to the olive tree. Warned by the previous year’s 
experiences | was extra careful in seeing to the “lead” of my own 
rope and to the dislodging of loose rocks and stones, and fortunate 
was it that I did so, for we found the whole ledge of the cliff in a 
state of disintegration, more so than the year before owing to the 
recent heavy rains. Finally, I cleared a reasonably safe passage 
and was lowered down to the olive tree; here I led my life-line as 
before round it and, easing it, got my weight on the lowering-line 
and gave the fateful signal. As I dropped over the edge and 
scraped down along the slippery and wet surface of the cliff, 1 
1 See also General View of Cliff at end of book. 
