THE WHITE-WINGED FLEET 



ious and unceasing fuss over my presence, going 



on to their nests awhile, and flying up again with- 



out any seeming provocation. At first I thought 



that the task I 



had grappled 



with so confi- 



dently would 



find the day too 



short for its ac- 



complishment. I 



set the camera in 



the sand, or 



grass, by shelter- 



ing clumps of 



weeds, near two 



or three nests, 



but the hovering 



birds provoking- 



ly would not go 



on, and I could 



not afford time 



for an indefinite 



wait At laCt T l>1 TRIED MY LUCK ON THE TERNS." YOUNG COM- 



MON TERN 



noticed a set of 



two eggs that were pipped, and I certainly thought 

 the owner would brave the camera for them. So 

 she did. With the thread in hand I lay down 

 on the sand about fifty yards away. Within five 

 minutes she alit close to the nest, and I got a 

 picture, and soon another, as she was covering her 

 eggs. 



Quite a few of the Gulls' eggs had hatched. 

 The young were skulking among the weeds and 



155 



