18 TERESA DU BON BU EE EIEN 
The following morning my daughter located three young Redwings 
in a beautifully woven nest on Cat-tail stalks about four feet from the 
ground. ‘The site was in the middle of a dried up marsh. As this was 
probably the hottest spot in Michigan and the hottest day of a hot Sum- 
mer, I congratuiated myself on having so bold and confiding a creature 
as a blackbird for a subject, and crawled into the blind prepared to finish 
the picture in a hurry before the film should explode. “Vhereupon for two 
hours the iemale Redwing sat on a nearby Cat-tail hurling at me without 
interruption every oath and insult contained in the avian vocabulary. As 
the young were partly shaded and must have been learning something new 
and useful, I stuck it out until in the third hour the old bird came in and 
performed under the eye of the camera. 
Other birds, including the Chipping Sparrow, Prairie Horned Lark, 
Barn Swallow, House Wren, Robin and Goldfinch, filled spare hours dur- 
ing the rest of the season. “To see how the Chippie would respond to a 
simple problem I put a grape leaf across her nest. She came back at once 
and brooded on the leaf, making no attempt to remove it. Similarly a 
House Wren was wholly nonplussed by a dried leaf inserted loosely in 
the entrance hole of the nesting box. Apparently birds accept such phenom- 
ena much as we accept financial depressions, though they continue to look 
cheerful and do not seem to worry. 
As a rather green amateur I feel bound to offer some suggestions: 
A few dimes applied to farm boys and girls will produce more nests than 
you can cover with five cameras and will save much footwork. A camera, 
either still or movie, with a ground glass or other critical focus, avoids guess- 
work, measuring and spoiled film. Two or three different long focus lenses 
are a great convenience. A solidly built tripod with a universal joint under 
the mounting plate is a great aid to the temper. And unless you are an 
Oriental, able to squat comfortably on your heels, a small box, not to men- 
tion an upholstered chair, will prolong your life. Plan your picture. Pho- 
tograph the location, the eggs and nest close up, the young just out (com- 
ing out, if possible), the brooding and feeding and the young ready to fly. 
Have the weather in mind and don’t keep the old bird off too long at a time. 
When your film has been developed, cut it up and assemble it to tell a 
consecutive story. 
