MIDDLE OF MAY 59 
five to six eggs at a time, but often they are 
not all hatched, and sometimes they are 
simply dropped upon the grass.) 
Another walk round this island brought us 
yet more luck. Getting down amongst some 
flowering grasses on the shore—near where 
a constant warble told us we were tres- 
passers—and after a laborious search amongst 
the reeds, there, hanging, we saw a sedge 
warbler’s nest, some two feet from the water. 
Then, with one leg of the camera standing 
well out into the stream, the others fixed 
as best I could, I got a pretty picture, which 
I value much. It was a lovely deep nest, 
containing four brown speckled eggs. It 
measured about two inches across inside, 
and was of the same depth. It was built 
round four reeds, and was largely made up 
of fine fibres that looked like hairs, woven 
and interwoven till the structure was quite 
firm. One stem was even bent to suit the 
builders’ requirements and taste. How did 
the clever birds begin to fix the first found- 
ation of their home on those four stems ? 
