52 OUR BACKDOOR NEIGHBORS 



The situation was not very satisfactory, as 

 the outline of the nest could not well be shown 

 directly from above and at such close range. 

 After the eggs had hatched, he made several 

 attempts to get a satisfactory photograph of 

 the young in the nest from a different location. 

 Making pictures so high from the ground is 

 rather unsatisfactory at best, since one does not 

 care to fall even thirty-five feet, and one has 

 not much margin for work with his body 

 strapped tightly to a tree. After several at- 

 tempts, a picture of the young birds peering 

 over the nest was secured, although at too close 

 range to give a proper impression of condi- 

 tions. The ends of the twigs composing the 

 nest were so much nearer the lens than were 

 the birds, that they appear much larger in the 

 picture than they were in fact. After working 

 with little satisfaction to get a picture from 

 other points, he again climbed to the place 

 above the nest where he had made his first at- 

 tempt, and made an exposure looking directly 

 down upon them. 



When the young first appeared in the nest, 

 they were covered with white down that gave 

 them something the appearance of little ducks. 

 When the first feathers began to show through 



