104 



HOW BIRDS CAN TAKE THEIR OWN PORTRAITS 



BUZZARD 1-IKING I''LASHI<TGHT IN DAYTIME 



The left wing became involved in string tied 

 to bait and half of the pinion feathers were 

 pulled out. These birds became such a nui- 

 sance that wdien meat bait was used the flash 

 was not set until dusk. 



can ever be a satisfactory .substitute for 

 the sportsman's gun. Others, with their 

 interest only intensified by defeat, con- 

 tinue on until won over by the attractive- 

 ness of a contest where success ctists no 

 life or an awkwardly handled camera 

 leaves no wounded animal to die a linger- 

 ing death. 



Most birds are photographed about 

 their nests, or in the great rookeries and 

 breeding resorts of the sea-coast and in- 

 land waters, when the domestic duties of 

 the parents or when the fearlessness 

 manifested by many birds under colo- 

 nization makes such photography pleas- 

 ant and generally successful. 



But there are times of the year and 

 localities, as well as different birds, where 

 an approach is difficult. Often a good 

 method of getting birds singly o; in flocks 

 is the set camera. 



Some )ears ago I tried to get a group 

 picture of comparatively tame buzzards 

 and vultures \\ hich 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 vicinitv of the 

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

 smaller camera, covered with palmettO' 

 leaves, within ten 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 179). 



MOUSE-TRAP WIEE SERVE AS A TRIGGER 



Almost any bird of prey, like the hawk, 

 (.)wl, 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. 



Having for several seasons scattered 

 grain about an orange grove in Florida 

 to attract local birds more regularly, I 

 took a few of their pictures with the 

 automatic camera, the focal plane shutter 

 being set at 1/400 of a second. For the 

 quail and ground doves I used grains of 

 wheat and sunflower seed strung on a 

 thread (see page 102). 



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 stretch- 

 ing a thread taut across the nest the 

 brooding bird on reentering will release 

 the shutter. It is usually best to make 

 the screen for the camera a dav in ad- 

 vance, so as not to imperil the fertility of 

 the eggs or the life of very young birds, 

 for strong sunlight and chilling wind are 

 equally fatal. In this way I secured a 

 series of snipe pictures on the eastern 

 shore of Virginia otherwise unobtainable. 



