perhaps a Curlew, Redshank, or Golden Plover. But wherever you go you can rely on every bird being on her nest.
Snow is even better. I was once walking over a Yorkshire moor in April, seeing lots of birds about, but not coming on many nests. Suddenly a heavy snow shower came on, and I sat down under a wall for shelter. That shower didn’t last for ten minutes, but before it was over I saw five Plovers, a Curlew and a Redshank come back to their nests on the piece of moor I could see, and also saw a Carrion Crow hurry into a little plantation in the distance. I found all their nests, and several more from which the birds rose as I topped a small rise on my way to the plantation; so you see how a little bad weather can help. Of course, with a covering of snow you can find every Plover’s nest for miles. You can see the brown patches among the white 40 yards away.
$ 4. HOW TO LOOK.
Eyes and Ears.—You will never make much of a birds-nester if you do nothing but search for nests. Get to know the birds, both by sight and by sound, and you will have far more success and get far more fun out of it. If you hear a Jay screech once, or catch a glimpse of him sneaking into a wood in the early morning, you will think it worth while to climb up to every nest in the wood till you find the right one. Whereas if you went in just hunting for nests in general, by the time you had been up to a dozen or so of old Squirrels or Woodpigeons, and got your eyes and mouth full of dust, hands and knees and face scratched, and twigs and pine needles all down your back, you would most likely get fed up with the whole thing; but not half so fed up as that morning a month or so later, when you found the whole wood full of young Jays, screeching in every tree, and realized what you had missed. I remember being in a wood one morning with some boys, and hearing a Garden Warbler singing at the opposite edge. We walked straight to the sound, and presently arrived at a bed of nettles and brambles which ran all down the side of the wood. At the first poke of the stick out flew Mrs. Garden Warbler off her nest, and we had our reward. Of course, if we had spent half an hour beating out that bed of nettles we should most likely have found that nest and perhaps one or two more; but that particular morning we had to get home to breakfast, and in any case I think you will agree that our way was far the best.
I have tried in this book to tell you as much as I can about the look of the birds, and sometimes about their notes as well, but the last is very difficult. You will generally find if you whisper such words as “Whee-you,” or “Quick-be-quick,” you will get a good idea of the call they are meant for, but a great many of them can’t be put into words at all; anyhow I advise you to do all you can to get to know every bird you fall in with.
Some birds one seldom sees, but their voices are generally to be heard near their nesting-place. Others are easily recognized either by bright colours or striking attitudes, or peculiar flight. Nobody who has ever seen a Kestrel or Kingfisher in flight, for instance, will have much difficulty in knowing them next time. And the more birds you know, the more likely you are to spot the rare ones when you come across them. If you can get a good look at a stranger close to or through a glass, you should be able to find his portrait in a bird-book when you get home; or if you look up his points in the index at the end of this book you may find out all about him even quicker.
Now suppose you know what bird it is, but nothing else, this book will tell you whether it is time for eggs yet, and if so where to look and what sort of nest to expect. And that brings us to the actual searching for nests.
Experience.—Nobody is very good at finding nests until he has found so many that he generally knows exactly what he is looking for. Any hole in a bank looks like a Robin’s nest at first, but once you have learnt his particular trick of packing in the dead leaves you won’t waste nearly so much time on mouse-holes. And your first Plover’s nest is generally a bit of a shock; you feel as if you had been staring hard at those eggs without seeing them—as you probably have; but each one you find makes the next easier to see, because you are getting to know what to expect. So experience will teach you far more than any book, but I will try to give you a few hints that may be helpful.
Hedges.—Hedges and bushes are often very thick, but you can see through most of them by getting underneath and looking upwards. The hedge round a wood may be closely clipped on the outside, but get into the wood and you will have a good view of any nests that are in it; and these hedges are often very good.
Woods.—Go very quietly among the trees. When you see a likely-looking nest, one should go and tap the trunk of the tree, while the other stands back where he has a good view, not only of the nest you are after, but of the trees round about, for your tapping may easily put other birds off their nests, and it saves time and trouble if you can see exactly where they come from. You should not abandon a really promising nest if nothing comes off, for a Sparrow-hawk often sits very close, and Owls generally do so, while I have even known a Magpie to wait till I was half-way up the tree before she would move.
When you are up a tree, even if the nest is empty you can often see into various others in the neighbouring trees, so that it may easily be worth while going higher while you are about it.
Squirrels’ Nests.—You should get to know a Squirrel’s nest when you see it from the ground, if possible, and you will save yourself some trouble. It may be in any part of the tree, from the trunk to the end of a branch. It is seldom round, more often the shape of a Rugger football, but flattened at the top and bottom. The nest is cased in twigs, which generally have their thin ends pointing all one way, and are not woven round and round as a bird builds; inside is a mass of fine grass, moss, etc., with a hole burrowed in at the side; but this stuff is just packed in and no more built than a mouse’s nest or a hedgehog’s. If you find one lined with soft down (the squirrel’s own), you may expect to find young ones in it shortly. I have generally found them about April 1st, but sometimes later in the Summer.
Squirrels build both Summer and Winter nests (the latter generally low down and against the trunk), and as they get more solid with age they last nearly for ever, so that the woods get full of them, and they are an awful nuisance. Throw the old ones down and they won’t trouble you again. I have known a brown owl to use one for her nest, scratching through the top to make a place for her eggs, but they are not worth leaving on the chance of that, as she would rather have a Magpie’s nest anyway.
Undergrowth.—The best way to explore nettles, brambles and other thick cover is to poke about quietly with your stick, so as not to disturb the small birds till you are nearly touching them. If you make too much noise they will slip away unseen and unheard; and you will frighten pheasants off their nests, when if you parted the stuff gently you could generally have a good look at them and leave them undisturbed. This is best for all parties, as nothing will bring a keeper along so surely as hearing a pheasant get off her nest in a hurry.
Open Country.—If you are looking for Curlews and other birds that rise at the sight of man, you should take advantage of hollows and walls and anything that will hide you, so as to appear suddenly and unexpectedly on the scene. Then if you see a bird fly away low, and in a big hurry, go straight to the spot, and its ten to one you find a nest. A bird rising a long way off is hard to mark, but if two of you can manage to appear at the same moment about fifty yards apart, and each mark the line of the place and go straight for it, the nest should not be far from where you meet.
Birds with covered nests mostly sit close, and the best way to find them is to walk in line, two or three yards apart, up and down the likely places till you have covered all the ground.
Holes.—You should have a look at all holes, whether in trees, walls or rocks, as the supply is limited and lots of birds want them. Often you can see right into a hole, and a match or a flashlight will help with the darker
