Part 1

BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA

BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA WITH INTRODUCTORY CHAPTERS ON THE OUTFIT AND METHODS OF THE BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER

BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN

ASSISTANT CURATOR OF VERTEBRATE ZOÖLOGY IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, AND AUTHOR OF HANDBOOK OF BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA, BIRD-LIFE, ETC.

_WITH OVER ONE HUNDRED PHOTOGRAPHS FROM NATURE, BY THE AUTHOR_

NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1900

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN.

_All rights reserved._

THIS BOOK

IS DEDICATED TO

MY WIFE,

WHO, BOTH AT HOME AND AFIELD, IS EVER

“MY BEST ASSISTANT.”

You have learnt from the Birds and continue to learn, Your best benefactors and early instructors. FRERE’S _Aristophanes_.

PREFACE

The practice of photographing birds in Nature is of too recent origin in this country to permit of its being treated authoritatively. The methods which may be employed are so numerous, the field to be covered so limitless, that many years must elapse before the bird photographer’s outfit will meet his wants, while the constantly varying details which surround his subjects almost prohibit duplication of experience.

But it is these very difficulties which render all the more imperative the necessity of conference among workers in this fascinating and important branch of natural history. The causes of both success and failure should, through the medium of books and journals, be made accessible to all, thereby shortening this experimental stage of the study of birds with a camera, and hastening the day when the nature of the outfit and methods shall have been settled with more or less definiteness.

It is as a contribution toward this end, and as a means of answering the queries of numerous correspondents, that the following pages, embodying the results of my own experiences, are offered. It is sincerely hoped that they may increase the interest in the study of birds in Nature, and at the same time furnish a more profitable and delightful outlet for the hunting instinct than is afforded by the shotgun or rifle.

A large proportion of the Bird Rock pictures and several of those from Pelican Island have appeared in the Century and St. Nicholas respectively, and are here reproduced by the courtesy of the editors of those magazines; others have been previously published in Bird-Lore.

FRANK M. CHAPMAN.

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK CITY, _March, 1900_.

CONTENTS

PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 What is bird photography?—The scientific value of bird photography—The charm of bird photography.

_THE OUTFIT AND METHODS OF THE BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER_ THE BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER’S OUTFIT 6 The camera—The lens—The shutter—The tripod—Plates—Blinds—Sundries. THE METHODS OF THE BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER 26 Haunts—Seasons—Nests and eggs—Young birds—Adult birds.

_BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA_ BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY BEGINS AT HOME 40 THE CHICKADEE—A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE 47 THE LEAST BITTERN AND SOME OTHER REED INHABITANTS 62 TWO HERONS 76 WHERE SWALLOWS ROOST 89 TWO DAYS WITH THE TERNS 106 PERCÉ AND BONAVENTURE 128 THE MAGDALENS 146 BIRD ROCK 152 LIFE ON PELICAN ISLAND, WITH SOME SPECULATIONS ON THE ORIGIN OF BIRD MIGRATION 191

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE 1. Gannet, Murres, Puffins, and Razorbilled Auks _Frontispiece_ _Tailpiece._ Young Baltimore Oriole 5 _Initial._ Long-focus camera and telephoto lens 6 2. Lens test No. 1 14 3. Enlargement of the bird in test No. 1 15 4. Lens test No. 2 16 5. Enlargement of bird in test No. 2 17 6. Lens test No. 3 18 7. Enlargement of bird in test No. 3 19 _Initial._ Young Great-crested Flycatcher 26 8. Spring 27 9. Summer 27 10. Autumn 28 11. Winter—four pictures (Nos. 8–11) from the same point of view 28 12. Nest locality of five species 29 13. Nesting site, nest, and young of Marsh Hawk 30 14. Young Marsh Hawks and nest 31 15. Young Great-crested Flycatcher 32 16. Young Baltimore Orioles and nest 33 17. Wood Thrush on nest 34 18. Chestnut-sided Warbler on nest 35 19. Catbird scolding 37 _Initial._ “Fairview” 40 20. House Sparrows and Junco 41 21. Junco 42 22. Female House Sparrow and nest 43 23. Screech Owl 44 _Initial._ Chickadee 47 24. Chickadee on ground 49 25. Chickadee taking piece of bread 50 26. A bird in the hand 51 27. Chickadee at nest hole 54 28. Chickadee at nest hole 55 29. A Chickadee family 58 30. A Chickadee family 59 _Initial._ Red-winged Blackbird 62 31. Least Bittern’s nesting site 64 32. Least Bittern’s nest and eggs 66 33. Least Bittern mimicking surroundings 67 34. Least Bittern mimicking surroundings 68 35. Young Red-winged Blackbirds 71 36. Least Bittern eating her eggs 73 37. Least Bittern on nest 74 _Initial._ Where the Night Herons feed 76 38. Five Night Herons’ nests in swamp maple 79 39. A view in the Heron rookery 80 40. Night Heron feeding 81 41. Young Night Herons in nest 82 42. Young Night Herons leaving nest 83 43. Young Night Herons on branches 84 44. Great Blue Heron, nests and young 88 _Initial._ Tree Swallows on wires 89 45. Hackensack marshes in August 91 46. Marsh mallows 93 47. Wild rice 94 48. Tree Swallows on wires 97 49. Tree Swallows in tree 100 50. Tree Swallows on wire and at pile 102 51. Swallows in the road 104 _Initial._ A corner of Penikese 106 52. Nesting site, nest, and three eggs of Common Tern 110 53. Tern hovering above nest 111 54. Nest and eggs of Tern on upland 112 55. Tern’s nest and eggs in drift _débris_ 113 56. Young Tern hiding on rocky beach 114 57. Young Tern hiding in the grass 115 58. Tern alighting on nest 116 59. Tern on hillside nest 117 60. Tern’s nest and hatching eggs in seaweed 118 61. Tern about to feed young 119 62. Tern brooding young 120 63. Tern on beach nest 121 64. Tern on beach nest 121 65. Tern on upland nest 122 66. Young Terns about four days old 123 67. Young Tern about a week old 124 68. Young Tern, second plumage appearing 124 69. Young Tern, further advance of second plumage 125 70. Young Tern, stage before flight 126 _Initial._ A Percé codfisher 128 71. Percé Rock from the north 131 72. Percé Rock from the southeast 134 73. Splitting cod on Percé beach 136 74. Young Savanna Sparrow 137 75. Gannet cliffs of Bonaventure 140 76. Cornel or bunchberry 142 77. A ledge of nesting Gannets 144 _Initial._ Grosse Isle 146 78. Nest and eggs of Fox Sparrow 148 79. Young Guillemots 150 _Initial._ The Bird Rock light 152 80. Bird Rock from the southwest 153 81. North side of Bird Rock 156 82. A corner of the Rock 160 83. The landing at the base of the Rock 164 84. The landing on top of the Rock 165 85. Kittiwakes and young on nests 168 86. The lighthouse, keeper’s dwelling, and other buildings 169 87. Razorbilled Auks and “Ringed” Murre 170 88. Puffins 172 89. Murre’s egg 174 90. Young Murres and egg 175 91. Kittiwakes and young on nests 176 92. Entrance to Puffin’s burrow 177 93. Puffin’s nest and egg 178 94. Young Puffin on nest 179 95. Leach’s Petrel on nest 180 96. Young Leach’s Petrel with nesting material 181 97. Young Gannet 182 98. Gannets 183 99. Gannets on nests 186 100. Gannet on nest 188 _Initial._ Young Pelicans in nest tree 191 101. Pelicans on ground nests 197 102. Interviewing a group of young Pelicans 198 103. Among the Pelicans 199 104. Head and pouch of Pelican 200 105. Pelican’s pouch from above 201 106. Newly hatched Pelicans and nests 206 107. Young Pelican in tree nest 208 108. Young Pelican, downy stage 209 109. Young Pelican, wing quills appearing 211 110. Young Pelicans, stage preceding flight 212

BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA

WITH INTRODUCTORY CHAPTERS ON THE OUTFIT AND METHODS OF THE BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER

INTRODUCTION

_What is Bird Photography?_—Bird photography, as I would encourage its practice, does not mean simply photographing birds; it means the use of the camera as an aid in depicting the life histories of birds. A picture of the bird itself is, of course, of the first importance, but any fact in its biography which the camera can be employed to portray is within the province of bird photography.

_The Scientific Value of Bird Photography._—There are certain matters, such as a bird’s song, its time of migration, etc., which must be set forth with the pen; there are others, such as its haunts, nesting site, nest, eggs, the appearance and development of its young, where the camera is so far ahead of the pen in its power of graphic representation that it is a waste of time to use the former when circumstances permit the utilization of the latter.

A photograph of a marsh or wood showing the favorite haunts of a species is worth more than pages of description. A picture of a bird’s nesting site conveys a better idea of the situation than words can possibly give, while in place of such vague phrases as “nest of coarse grasses, weed stalks, rootlets, etc., lined with finer materials,” we have a faithful delineation of the nest itself. The shape and pattern of markings of the eggs may also be well shown with the camera, while the appearance of the young at birth, their development, and often the manner in which they are fed, may all be portrayed by the camera with a realism which convinces one of the truthfulness of the result.

By the exercise of much patience and ingenuity we may also photograph the adult bird, showing it at rest or in motion, brooding its eggs or caring for its young. Under favorable conditions such pictures may possess an exactness of detail which makes them perfect representations of the original, giving not alone position and expression, but the arrangement of the feathers, and they then have scientific value unequaled by the best productions of the artist’s brush or pencil.

From the nature of the case, perfection in this branch of bird photography is not always attained; nevertheless, even pictures which are failures from a photographic standpoint may be of interest to the naturalist. They may be lacking in detail and still give pose, thus furnishing models from which drawings containing all structural essentials may be made.

The camera may also supply us with graphic records of the few large colonies of birds yet existing in this country, thereby preserving for all time definite impressions of conditions which are rapidly becoming things of the past.

What an invaluable addition to the history of the Great Auk would be a series of photographs from Funk Island, taken during the period of its existence there!

Of what surpassing interest would be photographs of the former flights of Wild Pigeons, which the younger generations of to-day can with difficulty believe occurred!

_The Charm of Bird Photography._—As a onetime sportsman, who yielded to none in his enjoyment of the chase, I can affirm that there is a fascination about the hunting of wild animals with a camera as far ahead of the pleasure to be derived from their pursuit with shotgun or rifle as the sport found in shooting Quail is beyond that of breaking clay “Pigeons”. Continuing the comparison, from a sportsman’s standpoint, hunting with a camera is the highest development of man’s inherent love of the chase.

The killing of a bird with a gun seems little short of murder after one has attempted to capture its image with a lens. The demands on the skill and patience of the bird photographer are endless, and his pleasure is intensified in proportion to the nature of the difficulties to be overcome, and in the event of success it is perpetuated by the infinitely more satisfactory results obtained. He does not rejoice over a bag of mutilated flesh and feathers, but in the possession of a trophy—an eloquent token of his prowess as a hunter, a talisman which holds the power of revivifying the circumstances attending its acquisition.

What mental vision of falling birds can be as potent as the actual picture of living birds in their homes? And how immeasurably one’s memories are brightened by the fact that this is not a picture of what has been but of what is!

The camera thus opens the door to a field of sport previously closed to those who love birds too much to find pleasure in killing them; to whom Bob-White’s ringing whistle does not give rise to murderous speculations as to the number in his family, but to an echo of the season’s joy which his note voices. They therefore have a new incentive to take them out of doors; for however much we love Nature for Nature’s sake, there are few of us whose pleasure in an outing is not intensified by securing some definite, lasting result.

We are not all poets and seers, finding sufficient reward for a hard day’s tramp in a sunset glow or the song of a bird. Enjoy these things as we may, who would not like to perpetuate the one or the other in some tangible form?

And here we have one of the reasons for the collecting of birds and eggs long after the collector’s needs are satisfied. He goes on duplicating and reduplicating merely to appease the almost universal desire to possess any admired although useless object. Once let him appreciate, however, the pleasure of hunting with a camera, the greater skill required, and the infinitely greater value of the results to be obtained, and he will have no further use for gun, climbing irons, and egg drill.

Furthermore, the camera hunter possesses the advantage over the so-called true sportsman, in that all is game that falls to his gun; there is not a bird too small or too tame to be unworthy of his attention; nor are there seasonal restrictions to be observed, nor temptations to break game laws, but every day in the year he is free to go afield, and at all times he may find something to claim his attention.

Finally, there is to be added to the special charm of bird photography the general charm attending the use of the camera. Thousands of people are finding pleasure in the comparatively prosaic employment of photographing houses, bridges, and other patiently immovable objects wholly at the camerist’s mercy. Imagine, then, the far greater enjoyment of successes not only of real value in themselves, but undeniable tributes to one’s skill both as photographer and hunter.

Nor should this introduction be closed without due acknowledgment to the educational value of photography, to its power to widen the scope of our vision, and to increase our appreciation of the beautiful. There is a magic in the lens, the ground glass, and the dark-cloth which transform the commonest object into a thing of rarest interest.

THE OUTFIT AND METHODS OF THE BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER

THE BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER’S OUTFIT

The beginner must not suppose that good bird photographs can be made only with expensive apparatus. Under favorable conditions there is no great difference in the results secured with the ordinary camera and lens of any reputable maker and those of the highest class. My own work has for the greater part been done with an outfit costing about thirty dollars; and although the best lens is, of course, to be desired it is not a necessity, and cost therefore is no more an obstacle to the hunting of birds with a camera than it is to their pursuit with a gun.

_The Camera._—Individual taste will doubtless govern the size of the camera chosen, but most naturalists and sportsmen consider the camera carrying a plate four by five inches as the one best adapted to their wants, and with this decision I heartily agree. The advantages of size, weight, and economy, both as regards the camera, its holders, and plates, are all in favor of the 4 × 5, while as far as the bird photographer is concerned, it is not often that he has need of anything larger. The image of a bird will rarely be without adequate setting in a space four by five inches, which will also be found to be large enough for the portrayal of nests and eggs.

The 4 × 5 also reduces proportionately in making lantern slides, and if the picture is made the long way of the plate—that is, higher than broad—it can be easily adapted for illustrative purposes in duodecimo or octavo books. When a larger picture is desired it can readily be made by enlargement, an increase in size of three diameters, or six times the area, being possible from a sharp negative without undue loss of definition.

For use from a tripod any one of the several excellent long-focus cameras now on the market will be found to answer every requirement. If it is proposed to employ a telephoto lens, care should be taken to select the camera combining greatest bellows length with rigidity. A reversible back increases the size somewhat but adds to the length of bellows, and will be found serviceable in the many awkward situations in which the bird photographer is often placed by the nature of his subjects.

The Kearton brothers have an “adjustable miniature” on the top of their camera, which they state “is used as a sort of view finder when making studies of flying birds. When fixed in position and its focus has been set exactly like its working companion beneath it, both are racked out in the same ratio by the screw dominating the larger apparatus.”[A] The purposes of this attachment, however, will, it seems probable, be better served by the reflecting camera described below, while as a finder alone its place may be taken by the “iconoscope” and other of the prism finders, the brilliant image cast by which is such a striking and satisfactory improvement on the hazy outlines given by the average so-called “finder.”

Footnote A:

From Wild Life at Home, how to Study and Photograph It, by R. Kearton, illustrated by C. Kearton; a work of the utmost interest to the animal photographer, who should also read With Nature and a Camera, by the same authors (Cassell & Co.).

For use as a hand-box only two kinds of camera are available, for it must be borne in mind that the set-focus or short-focus, wide angle “snap-shot” cameras, so popular among the button-pressing fraternity, are not adapted to the wants of the bird photographer, who must therefore avail himself of either a twin-lens or a reflecting camera.