104 HOW BIRDS CAN TAKE 
BUZZARD FIRING FLASHLIGHT I 
N DAYTIME 
The left wing became involved in string tied 
to bait and half of the pinion feathers were 
pulled out. ‘These birds became such a _ nui- 
sance that when meat bait was used the flash 
was not set until dusk. 
can ever be a satisfactory substitute for 
the sportsman’s gun. Others, with their 
interest only intensified by defeat, con- 
tinue on until won over by the attractive- 
ness of a contest where success costs no 
life or an awkwardly handled camera 
leaves no wounded animal to die a linger- 
ing death. 
Most birds are photographed about 
their nests, or in the great rookeries and 
breeding resorts of the sea-coast and in- 
land waters, when the domestic duties of 
the parents or when the fearlessness 
manifested by many birds under colo- 
nization makes such photography pleas- 
ant and generally successful. 
But there are times of the year and 
localities, as well as different birds, where 
an approach is difficult. Often a good 
method of getting birds singly o- in flocks 
is the set camera. 
THEIR OWN PORTRAITS 
Some years ago I tried to get a group 
picture of comparatively tame buzzards 
and vultures which daily circled about 
my southern cottage; but even when I 
was in a well-concealed retreat these 
keen-eyed birds knew of my presence and 
would not alight in the vicinity of the 
bait. After an hour’s wait I set out a 
smaller camera, covered with palmetto 
leaves, within ten feet of the meat, and 
tying a piece of this to a string, I with- 
drew. Returning in half an hour, the 
bait was all gone and the pulling string 
in a hopeless tangle. The group obtained 
included both the black vulture and the 
turkey buzzard (see page 179). 
MOUSE-TRAP WILL SERVE AS A TRIGGER 
Almost any bird of prey, like the hawk, 
owl, eagle, or condor, will pull energet- 
ically on the string; but in the case of 
smaller or more timid birds it is advisable 
to use an auxiliary spring trigger, or even 
a common mouse-trap will do, since the 
release of the wire collar to which the 
string may be attached only requires the 
slightest pressure. 
Having for several seasons scattered 
grain about an orange grove in Florida 
to attract local birds more regularly, I 
took a few of their pictures with the 
automatic camera, the focal plane shutter 
being set at 1/400 of a second. For the 
quail and ground doves I used grains of 
wheat and sunflower seed strung on a 
thread (see page 102). 
Pictures of birds nesting on sea beaches, 
in open marshes, or the tundra, where the 
use of a blind is difficult, may be obtained 
by concealing the camera in rocks, sea- 
weed, or marsh vegetation. By stretch- 
ing a thread taut across the nest the 
brooding bird on reéntering will release 
the shutter. It is usually best to make 
the screen for the camera a day in ad- 
vance, so as not to imperil the fertility of 
the eggs or the life of very young birds, 
for strong sunlight and chilling wind are 
equally fatal. In this way I secured a 
series of snipe pictures on the eastern 
shore of Virginia otherwise unobtainable. 
