CONCEALMENT. 61 



The 'Double' Method. 



As mentioned before, sometimes the camera is 

 hidden alone near the nest, the operator being 

 concealed some 40 100 yards away, working the 

 shutter from there. Undoubtedly this is the 

 easiest and most speedy way to secure bird-pictures, 

 for the camera is so comparatively small a thing 

 that it may be hidden with an expenditure of one- 

 tenth part the time and trouble needed to build 

 a screen for the photographer as well. The two 

 great draw-backs to this way of working are : 

 first, that even through binoculars we do not see 

 so clearly the actions and habits of the birds as 

 with the naked eye at closer quarters ; and, secondly, 

 that after each exposure we have to make our 

 presence known and cause the birds renewed 

 alarm by leaving our concealment and going 

 forward to reset the shutter and insert a fresh 

 plate. This, of course, means another period of 

 waiting until the birds are once more assured 

 that all is well. Still, despite these two very 

 serious objections, it is a method often to be 

 followed, and not infrequently offers the only 

 reasonable solution of a difficult problem. 



Photographing a Sandpiper. 



I remember once being very anxious to secure 

 pictures of a Sandpiper at its nest, but this nest, 



