Page:Condor16(1).djvu/16

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Jan., 1914 NOTES ON NESTING OF TIIE SHARP-SIIINNED HAWK 15 as soon as I could ?vith a camera outfit, as the location ?vas just about an hour's trip from my home. The nesting site ?vas again reached late in the afternoon of the xSth. The male bird was not in sight: a slight rap on the tree and the female left the nest as upon my first visit and perched on a limb of a large fir which proved to be her regular loading and firing station during all my visits. Owing to numerous limbs it was impossible to haul up anything from the ground with a rope, so I placed my camera outfit in a pack-sack on my back and ascending to the nest fastened the sack to adjacent limbs. In contemplating a photograph of the nest in its natural situation I began to realize that I bad no small task on hand. The limbs belo?v the nest ?vere too low to afford a ?vorking position, and just above the nest the limbs were too close, Fig. 9. NESTING LOCALITY OF SHARP-SHINNED HAWK NEAR COEUR D' ALENE, IDAHO; TOP OF NEST TREE AT CROSS (X); TALL TREE NEAR CENTER, REGULAR LOOKOUT STATION FOR FEMALE HAV?'K so much so as to interfere greatly with the camera adjustments. As it was getting late and the light was growing poor I had to get busy. I lashed a small tripod to the trunk of the tree in a horizontal position and ?vith the aid of a tilt- ing attachment was able to get a vertical adjustment showing the eggs and a portion of the nest. A strong ?vind came up while I was focusing and I was in constant fear of dropping some part of the outfit on to the eggs; and at the rate the tree ?vas s?vaying I ?vas not sure of my o?vn safety. The light had grown so weak that a time exposure was necessary, and it hegan to look as if I would not have much success. As I had worked so hard already I thought I would take a chance, and so exposed three plates. I had to descend belo?v the nest at each exposure to lessen the ?veight at the top of the