86 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



sition, when they take their departure for the winter. Details concern- 

 ing their nesting habits will be found in the following account of 



A SUCCESSFUL WOODCOCK HUNT IN MAY. 



For several seasons past, a Woodcock's nest has been one of the 

 goals for which I have been striving. In years past, numbers of nests 

 had been found, but that was before the camera had begun to be ap- 

 plied to nature study. Now that one was wanted, it seemed to be an 

 impossibility, and I had given up the search until another year, when 

 I came across one accident! y and most unexpectedly. On May 23rd I 

 was looking over a very small piece of woods where I had every rea- 

 son to suspect that a pair of humming birds were building their home. 

 I was seated within a large clump of ferns, when a slight movement of 

 the leaves at one side attracted my attention. It was with a feeling of 

 both surprise and exhultation that I saw a Woodcock carefully picking 

 his, or her way across an open space between the numerous ferns; I 

 watched the bird as closely as possible as it passed by all the open 

 spaces until at last it failed to appear after going behind an unusually 

 large clump of ferns. After watching for fifteen or twenty minutes 

 without further developments, I carefully went to the place where she 

 was last visible and scanned the ground the other side of the obstruc- 

 tion; although she was scarcely visible owing to the surrounding, I 

 finally located her sitting on her nest, or apparently on the bare leaves, 

 and within a square formed by pieces of fallen birch. As I stood up 

 within six feet of her, she neither moved her head nor winked, but 

 seemed loath to believe that I saw her even though I was looking di- 

 rectly at her. 



As it was getting near the end of the nesting time for Woodcock, it 

 was deemed advisable to secure what views of her I could at this time 

 as there is no knowing what the morrow will bring forth. This nest 

 was located in a typical place for these birds. A small brook flowed 

 through the patch containing perhaps a dozen large trees, and the ground 

 was well concealed with numerous small bushes and enormous clusters of 

 ferns. On both sides of the brook, the soil was soft and boggy, afford- 

 ing an ideal place for foraging ground for Woodcocks. I had never 

 thought of looking for them here and consequently had never looked 

 for the borings which I later found in clusters all along the brook. 

 The nest was located under an alder bush and was just five feet from a 

 massive growth of ferns which later served me for a good purpose. 

 Owing to the larger trees the sunlight was entirely excluded, so that 

 nothing but a time exposure would suffice to get a picture. 



Not a movement from Mrs. Woodcock as I set up my camera and 

 carefully focussed upon her; but just then a sudden and unexpected 



