52 BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA 



sired position, when a cliclc announced the realiza- 

 tion of a bird photographer's wildest dream. 



Fortunate is the bird photographer who discov- 

 ers an advantageously situated Chickadee's nest. 

 Dr. Robert's charming description in Bird-Lore of 

 his experience with a family of Chickadees stimu- 

 lated my desire to make a camera study of this spe- 

 cies. The first nest found, however, was claimed by 

 a band of roving boys, who in pure wantonness 

 pushed down the stub from which a few days later 

 the young would have issued. 



A second time I was more fortunate. It was on 

 the morning of May 29, 1899, at Englewood, N. J., 

 that in going through a young second growth I 

 chanced to see a Chickadee, who in arranging her 

 much-worn plumage gave unmistakable evidence of 

 having recently left her nest. At once I looked 

 about for a partly decayed white birch, a tree espe- 

 cially suited to the Chickulee's powers and needs. 

 The bark remains tough and leathery long after the 

 interior is crumbling, and having penetrated the 

 outer shell the Chickadee finds no difficulty in exca- 

 vating a chamber within. 



A few moments' search revealed a stub so typical 

 as to match exactly the image I held in my mind's 

 eye, with an opening about four feet from the 

 ground. The interior was too gloomy to enable one 

 to determine its contents, but, returning in half an 

 hour, I tapped the stub lightly, when, as though I 

 had released the spring of a Jack-in-a-box, a Chicka- 

 dee popped out of the opening and into a neighboring 

 tree. I wished her good morning, assured her that 



