148 HOW TO STUDY BIRDS 



Time can be saved by driving or riding from one 

 such tract to another, thus covering many miles in a 

 day. 



In good woods there will be seen many old nests, 

 any one of which is liable to be occupied. Most of 

 them are up tall trees, and it will not pay to try to 

 climb to each one. When a nest is seen, watch it 

 carefully on approaching, to see if a bird should fly 

 from it, as they sometimes do at first sight of the in- 

 truder. Individuals, even of the same species, vary 

 much in this regard. Some will leave when one is 

 a gunshot off; others can hardly be driven off by 

 pounding the base of the tree. Some return to scold, 

 while others never show themselves again. So hunt 

 quietly. If no bird flies off, pound the tree with a 

 club, and watch not only this nest, but any others 

 near. 



Some birds go at the first blow, others, especially 

 in cold or wet weather, refuse to budge. The long- 

 eared owl is apt to do this, which makes this nest a 

 hard one to find. One great horned owl whose nest 

 I found would not leave, early in the season, for any 

 amount of pounding. When the young grow large, 

 most raptorial birds tend to become much shyer, 

 though some are bold enough to swoop at an intruder, 

 though they rarely strike. But another horned owl, 

 even in early March, would leave the nest before I 

 came within gunshot. There is no uniform rule, and 

 it is always interesting to see just how the birds will 

 act 



