Identifier: picturesofbirdli00lodg (find matches)
Title: Pictures of bird life : on woodland meadow, mountain and marsh
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: Lodge, R. B
Subjects: Birds -- Pictorial works
Publisher: London : S. H. Bousfield
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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ra over-board into nearly fi^•e feet of water, and if necessary remainhidden up for liours while waiting for the return of theold birds. An attempt to photograph the old birds on this occasionwas a failure, as was also another more determined onethe following year in the south of Spain, where, thoughI could see a dozen Spoonbills all roimd my hiding-place,tlie intervening reeds made any photograph of themimpracticable. On a second visit to this same Dutch locality the Spoon-bills had been disturbed by poachers, who had taken anumber of their eggs, and in consequence, while the birdswhich had escaped molestation had lialf-grown young, manyothers were still sitting on eggs. The curious part of itwas that the clutches were umisually large, especially forsecond layings; in one nest were six eggs, and in anotherseven. At one of these nests I liid up witli a camera, over waist-deep in water, and covered o\er with reeds, for five hours.For nearly the whole of this time the Spoonl)ills were
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238 Pictures of Bird Life circling round and roinid my ambush, sometimes lookingas if tlicy meant to alii>ht, until by degrees tliey droppeddown to their nests hidden in tlie reeds. At last 1 hearda tremendous Happing, and, on looking out of my peep-hole, had the gratification of seeing one of these mag-nificent birds alighting on its nest, not seven yards away.As bad luck would have it, I had left one reed betweenus, and a leaf of this dangled in front of the bird, andI liad to wait, watching the mnisual sight for severalminutes, until it departed. Then I crept out of myambush and cut down the offending reed, and retired againunder cover. It was not long before it returned : and whileon the point of making the exposure its mate alighted alsoon the nest, and I liad the pair of them in full view,standing up just in front of me. I was able to expose twoplates without disturbing them, and naturally thought thatsuccess had at last been achieved. However, on developingthem, after my ret

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