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 ones; but even when the hole is too deep to see into, there are generally some signs to show if it is occupied, such as odd strands of hair or moss sticking about the entrance, or a sort of dirty polish round the edges, made by the bird rubbing against the stone or wood as she goes in and out. Of course a spider’s web across the hole will show you that it is not occupied, and if there are no signs you still have your little wire scoop to settle the question one way or the other. A little hook will soon bring up something to show if there is a nest there.
Ponds and Lakes.—Often the weeds are so tall and thick that you can’t see where the nests are. If there is a decent tree anywhere near, shin up it and you will see all you want; but don’t forget to mark the spot on the bank from which to start for each one, while you are up there, for they will be just as invisible as ever when you are on the ground again. There is a certain lake where I have done good work with field-glasses from a crag alongside, even to counting the eggs in the nests; but there it was very important to mark your starting-place right, as you had quite a long walk round to get there.
Wading.—Remember a pond is generally soft at the bottom and deeper than it looks, and if you find you have to turn your trousers further up before you are half-way there, come right back and take them off—circumstances permitting. Of course if the owner is likely to come down like a wolf on the fold. . . . but we all have some common sense! There is not much danger in ponds, and you can soon tell if it is getting too soft for you. If there is a hard bottom under the mud you can go in up to your chin.
Swimming.—You may have to swim for some nests. It is worth it for sometimes like a Great Crested Grebe, or sometimes there is an island in a lake that is worth visiting. But don’t try it at all unless you are a really good swimmer and sure of yourself anywhere; and if you are, beware of the weeds that don’t quite reach the top of the water. If you do get into a patch by mistake, keep your legs up and you’ll get through all right, but if you let them down you may easily get tied up. When you get to tall reeds or bulrushes you can pull yourself along by them all right with a few scratches, even if you can’t get a footing among the roots, which is rather a risky thing to try, as if you break through it will most likely take a rope to get you out. And the nearest rope?—probably too far for you.
One other point: if you go swimming, take something to bring your eggs back in. Nature has forgotten to give us any pockets, and you will need your mouth for breathing. What you take I leave to you. I have used a field-glass case, but it didn’t improve it.
Watching.—So much for searching for nests, and very good fun it is. But there is another way of finding them which is even more exciting, and that is watching the birds till you get them to show you where the nest is. It needs plenty of time and patience, and boys are apt to be short of both; but once you try it I think you will get more satisfaction out of one nest found this way than a good many you have come upon haphazard. You not only have the joy of beating the birds at their own game of patience, but you get to know them and all their little ways, and there are few sights more fascinating than a wild creature going about its business with no idea that you are watching it.
I don’t suppose you will care to spend much time watching any but rare birds, or birds whose nests you can’t find otherwise; but often you will want to sit down for a rest, or lunch, and if you choose a likely spot, where you are fairly well hidden but have a good view, you will often find birds betraying their nests before you have been there ten minutes. I was once sitting with my back against a tree (watching some Pied Flycatchers in the distance) when a Willow Wren flew down and into her nest less than one yard from my left foot. I had not been there ten minutes, but I sat perfectly still, and that is the whole secret of watching