28 THE HOME-LIFE OF 



Hardy birds, they, like Ravens, seem to care little 

 about the weather, and I well remember in a little wood 

 far up on the fell-side having to knock the freshly-fallen 

 snow off the branches before climbing up to a Heron's 

 nest, and devoutly wishing for the same immunity from 

 cold hands as these birds enjoy with regard to feet. But 

 the heronry in which we were interested was in a milder 

 and more pleasing situation, nicely sheltered in an ancient 

 oak wood standing near the banks of the beautiful river 

 Tees. There were some twenty nests, all in huge oaks, 

 and each in the topmost branches. In passing, it may 

 be noted that neither here, nor elsewhere, so far as I have 

 seen, were any nests placed against the thick main stem, 

 but always at the very top or in an outspreading limb. 



On this account, since the nests were in the highest 

 branches, we were for a time beaten to find any point 

 whence a view on to a nest could be obtained. The 

 only tree which seemed to offer a chance of success was one 

 forking into two slightly divergent stems at a point some 

 two-thirds of the way up. One of these limbs continued 

 the vertical course, while the other sloped slightly away 

 from it, and in the very extremity of this inclined bough 

 a nest was built. On reaching the top of the vertical 

 limb it fortunately proved to be of sufficient height 

 to enable me to look across on to the nest. It was not 

 the most convenient of places to erect a camera, much 

 less so to fix it firmly enough to withstand the swaying 

 of the branches in the wind, but after the expenditure 

 of much time and string it was deemed secure enough to 

 leave. 



It looked rather a staring object standing in black 

 outhne against the sky, and with the exception of climbing 

 up to see that all was well, we left the owner of the nest 

 in peace until the 2ist. Then a screen was built in 

 a bramble thicket some twenty feet from the tree-foot, 

 whence a clear view of the nest could be obtained by 

 one lying looking upward. This done, another week 



