176 



THE OOLQGIST. 



A'ariety of sets, to trifle with pictures. 

 Tlie botany so important, is neglected, 

 and the datas ai'e too brief in some 

 cases to be interesting or of much 

 value. 



There are but few nests in reach of 

 man, which are out of reach of photo- 

 graphy. Time will prove this asser- 

 tion. Years will work Avonders with 

 our combined efforts. 



We can spare neither time nor space 

 to mention the numerous modes of 

 S3curiug ijictures of the great variety of 

 nests in all sorts of places, for each nest 

 needs a little different treatment. 



As "a starter," Avill mention a few. 

 Some nests of Woodpeckers will yield 

 beautiful results by removing a portion 

 of the wood on one side so as to show 

 the eggs. For such purposes you need 

 a sort of tripod platform for the camera 

 Avhich can be fastened by means of 

 nails driven into the tree. A view of 

 the free from a near stand-point is good 

 if the nest is not too high to show plain- 

 ly. In this case the nest must not be 

 tampered Avith, and if one bird could 

 be also taken in, it wovdd add greatly 

 to the value of the picture. For A^ery 

 large nests out of reach of camera or 

 any mount, a full A'iew of the tree is 

 extieiiely interesting. I have no 

 trouble in getting A'iews of the nests of 

 Hawks at a distance of from ten to 

 twenty-live feet, for most of our Hawks 

 nest in the loAver branches of small 

 trees. Among my little collection of 

 pictures I find a photo, of a large tree 

 containing eleven nests of the Great 

 Blue Heron taken Avhile on a plioto- 

 graphic tour last June, Avhich is A-ery 

 interesting. 



Nests placed on, or suspended from 

 small branches out of reach of the 

 I'amera or a read^^ mountant, avIU, if 

 artistically arranged jield beautiful 

 results. Proceed as follows: After 

 having removed the eggs, if any, sever 

 the branches holding the nest, at. least 

 tAveh'e inches from it, tie them together 



at the butts to prevent their catching^ 

 and tearing the nest. If tightly Avoven 

 it may be throAvn down; othei'Avise it 

 must be carried. Suspend the nest by 

 string or rope before a suitable back- 

 ground. Not the painted affair; but 

 nature's back-ground, imitating as 

 much as possible its former surround- 

 ings. If done skillfully, Avho Avill knoAV 

 Avhether it Avas photographed from a 

 baloon or from the ground. 



Nests placed on, or in the forks of, 

 lai'ge limbs may sometimes be photo- 

 graphed from suitable limbs; but gener- 

 ally Avill have to be moved to a more 

 convenient place. Photos, of nests 

 Avhich have been removed from their 

 resting places, are of but little value in 

 the study of nesting sites; but their 

 beauty compares Avith, if not excells 

 those taken under less favorable con- 

 ditions. 



Ahvays alloAv the light to fall freely 

 on the nest and use as small a stop as 

 the lens Avill use Avithout shoAving cen' 

 tral spot; that your picture may be 

 sharp and Avell defined. Some Avriters- 

 recommend lai'ge stops Avhich I find 

 very unsatisfactory at close range (one 

 to four feet.) Others say "do not at- 

 tempt pictures on a cloudy day." I 

 agree Avith them in a few respects: Dis- 

 tant and instantaneous views. I never 

 Avait for a fair day, to take a picture of 

 a nest at close range and can shoAv 

 some tine i)ictures taken on stormy 

 da3^s, Avith a little breeze throAvn in. 



On snch d:iys I use a little larger stop 

 and A'ary the exposure to suit the sub- 

 ject; no rule can be given; you must 

 use your own judgment to suit the 

 situation of your subject and the rap- 

 idity of your lens. 



As a liual remark I AAish to mention 

 a queer nesting site, which can un- 

 doubtedly be attributed to botanical or 

 climatic influences. 



During a sketching ramble the latter 

 part of June, 1886, I discovered a nest 

 of the Orchard Oriole containing four 



