Photo by George Shiras, 3rd 



A MICHIGAN BE:aVKR HOUS^: 



This house was a great dome, 9 feet in diameter and 5 feet high, composed of twigs 

 and branches, the interstices filled with mud or clay and the center hollowed out into a 

 commodious bed-room having two under-water exits to the pond. The two cameras and 

 flashlight apparatus were placed at the edge of the bank and the pulling string ran to a 

 portion of the house where apparently it was unfinished (see page 798). 



manifested by many birds under coloni- 

 zation makes such photography pleasant 

 and generally successful. 



But there are times of the year and 

 locahties, as well as different birds, where 

 an approach is difficult. Often a good 

 method of getting birds singly or in 

 flocks is the set camera. 



Some years ago I tried to get a group 

 picture of comparatively tame buzzards 

 and vultures which daily circled about 

 my southern cottage ; but even when I 

 was in a well-concealed retreat these 

 keen-eyed birds knew of my presence 

 and would not alight in the vicinity of 

 the bait. After an hour's wait I set out 

 a smaller camera, covered with palmetto 

 leaves, within lo feet of the meat, and 

 tying a piece of this to a string, I with- 

 drew. Returning in half an hour, the 

 bait was all gone and the pulling string 

 in a hopeless tangle. The group obtained 



included both the black vulture and the 

 turkey-buzzard (see page 804). 



Almost any bird of prey, like the hawk, 

 owl, eagle, or condor, will pull energet- 

 ically on the string; but in the case of 

 smaller or more timid birds it is advisable 

 to use an auxiliary spring trigger, or even 

 a common mouse-trap will do, since the 

 release of the wire collar to which the 

 string may be attached only requires the 

 slightest pressure. 



Pictures of birds nesting on sea 

 beaches, in open marshes, or the tundra, 

 where the use of a blind is difficult, may 

 be obtained by concealing the camera in 

 rocks, sea-weed, or marsh vegetation. By 

 stretching a thread taut across the nest, 

 the brooding bird on re-entering will re- 

 lease the shutter. It is usually best to 

 make the screen for the camera a day in 

 advance, so as not to imperil the fertility 

 of the eggs or the life of very young 



801 



