14 
WILD WINGS 
Over in the eastern colony a pelican that had a nest at the 
foot of a stub returned readily to her eggs, though I had 
placed the large camera on the sand, without concealment, 
but little over a yard away. She would waddle past the 
camera up on to her nest, settle down, draw in her chin in 
the most dignified attitude, and seem to say, “I ’m all ready 
now ; pull ! ” I also set the camera on the trij^od in the 
open near some nests on a mangrove, and iDulled the thread 
when some of the old birds alighted on the empty nests, 
near the large youngsters. Another successful method was 
to drive a company of the well-grown young down to the 
shore, where I could get within ten feet of them and secure 
snaj>shots. 
We stayed on the island until half-past four, and were 
careful not to remain close to any nest for more than a few 
moments at a time, so as not to keep the birds away. Naked, 
newly hatched young birds of any kind will soon die in the 
sun, if not brooded, and visitors to the bird colonies will do 
well to remember this, or they may do tremendous damage. 
In this case the pelicans were so tame that no harm was done 
by our stay on the island, with the exercise of a little care, for 
the birds did not mind our presence at all, as long as we kept 
thirty feet or more from the nesting area. 
At one o’clock the pro]:)osal was made to have dinner. The 
rest ate without me, for I told them it seemed little short of 
sacrilege to lose a single moment of those brief, precious, 
golden hours in the wonder-land for such a sordid thing as 
eating, that one could do at aii}^ other time. So I fasted, and 
worked until we sailed awav. 
During the day the wind had steadilv increased, and all 
the afternoon had been blowing a gale down the river. W’e 
waited in vain for it to veer to southeast, as it usually does 
by night, and at length had to start on our long, hard beat to 
