Beginning the Study 17 



get one that is easily focused, as you must be quick in 

 studying such shy creatures as the birds. At first the 

 glass may strain and tire your eyes, but that difficulty 

 will pass in a short time. Expertness will soon be won 

 in the use of a binocular, so that you will be able, almost 

 instantly, to get the desired object within its field, even 

 though the object be quite tiny. An opera glass is a 

 great deal better than no glass at all; a field glass is 

 better still, and a Bausch & Lomb binocular of six to 

 eight magnifying power is the best of all, being almost 

 equal to having the bird in hand. The observer must 

 lose as little time as possible in sighting a shy bird, or it 

 may escape him altogether. 



A book-bag or haversack, strapped around your 

 shoulders, will also be a convenience. In it you can 

 stow your bird manual, and a luncheon in case you 

 expect to spend the whole day in the open, for a hungry 

 rambler is not likely to be an acute observer. A note- 

 book and a lead pencil, carried in handy pockets, should 

 not be forgotten. Donning an old suit of clothes, you 

 can roam where you will, threading your way through 

 brier and bush, wading the bog or the shallow stream, 

 dropping upon your knees, even flinging yourself upon 

 the ground, to spy upon a wary bird flitting about in 

 the copse. 



In almost all kinds of weather I wear rubber boots in 

 my excursions to the haunts of the birds. The observer 

 can never tell when he may have to wade a stream or 

 tramp through a boggy marsh. In wet and cold weather 



