VITH NATURE iND, A CAMERA ^1 O C -I'v-n , r^'Ar ■\Rl^ FOR THE PEOPLE FOR EDVCATION FOR SCIENCE LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY BY GIFT OF ALBERT S. BICKMORE AND CHARLOTTE B. BICKMORE With Nature and a Camera WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. British Birds' Nests : How, Wher e. AND When to Find and Identify Them. By Richard Kearton, F.Z.S. With nearly I'M) Illustrations of Xests, Eggs, Young, etc., from Photographs by Cherry Kearton. l21s. Birds" Nests, Eggs, and Egg-C()I>- LECTiNG. By Richard Kearton, F.Z.S. Illus- trated witli 22 Colom-ed Plates of Eggs. Jiccised and Enlarged Editiuii. Cloth gilt, os. Cassell & CuMP.AXV, Limited, Lornhm; Paris and Melboumi',. \, DISPATCH OF THE ST KILDA MAIL-BOAT. WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA BEING THE ABVEyTURES AXD OBSERVATIONS OF A FIELD NATURALIST AND AN ANIMAL PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD KEARTON, F.Z.S. A/it/ior of " British Birds' Nests,'" " Birds^ Nests, Eggs, and Egg-Colhcting^'' etc. etc. ILLUSTRATED BY 180 PICTURES FROM PHOTOGRAPHS IJY CHERRY KEARTON THIRD THOUSAND CASSELL AND COMPANY, Limited LONDOJS', FARIS & 2IELB0URNE 1898 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED First Edition Ncveviher iSgj Reprinted Januafy iSqS TLo THE MEMORY OF OUR BELOVED Father and Mother, WHO NOW LIE SLEEPING WHERE THE ROCK THRUSH PIPES HIS LONESOME NOTE AND THE MOORCOCK BECKS AT DAWN OF DAY. PREFACE Upon the appearance of my book — " Briti.sli Birds' Nests" — illustrated with 2:)lioto.iiTaphs taken direct from Nature by my brother, many of those who reviewed it in the press suggested that I should Avrite an account of our adventures and observa- tions whilst wandering up and down the British Isles in search of subjects for our camera and note-book. This I have done, and herein present the result for the inspection and perusal of every- body who cares to know anything about the wild life of our country. In preparing the book we have gleaned from many remote corners of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, and the different groups of islands lying round about ; and whether we have harvested ill or well we must, of course, leave our readers to judge. But whatever may be their verdict, I hope it is permissible for me to say here that we have worked hard and honestly, sparing no pains, danger, or expense in procuring what we considered interesting or instructive. We have slept for nights together in empty houses and old ruins, descended beetling cliffs, swum to isolated rocks, waded rivers and bogs, climbed lofty trees, lain in wet heather for hours viii PL'HFACE. at a stretch, tramped many weary miles in tlie (lark, s})eiit nights in the ()])eii air on lonely islands and solitary moors, endured the pangs of liuno-er and thirst and the torturino- stiiid to the Highlands of Scotland on one occasion expressly for a photograph of a Golden Eagle sitting on her eyrie ; but in vain : he was obliged to return without it. The best pictures seem to have a fatal knack of slip^^ing from the gras}) of the natural history photographer, and the elements, tdas ! too often conspire to rob him of many a cherished hope. What we have succeeded in bringing together within the covers of this book represents practically two or three limited sunnner holidays and such spare moments as the earning of our daily bread in the turmoil of London would ])ermit. I)uringthe spring time we often turn out by three or four o'clock in the morning for a randjle by field and Jiedgerow before journe\-ing to town, and tlie s\veetn(>ss of these happy tramps with camera and lield-glass is beyond the tellini:'. VHEFACE. ix We enjoy the gTatification of having' sent liosts of amateur })liotogTaphers into the fields to study wild life for tliemselves, and hail with extreme l^leasure their efforts towards the attainment (jf pic- torial truth and accuracy. In this book w^e tell exactly and candidly how ^YQ work, and can only hope that the results we are able to show will still further stimulate a desire among-st those to whom we appeal to Ijecome l^etter acquainted with the birds and beasts of our land. Of course, w^e cannot hope to ^^lease everybody. Men who love the ideal and men wdio centre their affections upon absolute truth do not sit liarmo- niouslv at meat together. Whilst regTetting- our inability to meet the former entirely, w^e can say that we have always striven to make our illus- trations as picturesque as possible ; but a necessity of our mission has been to render effect subordinate to accuracy, and the value of this will, I think, be admitted upon comparing my brother's photograph of a Fulmar Petrel with any picture of the bird in existence made by a pencil. Whilst the general public wdll, we hope, apjore- ciate our efforts and the results we have obtained, the field naturalist and the practical photograj^her alone are in a position to understand the true character of our difficulties. The man who essays the task of photographing a wild bird in its native haunts, for instance, soon begins to think that, if he has not succeeded in solving the mystery of perpetual motion, he has discovered the creature X rh'EFACE. posse.ssin<>' tlio secret. We liave spent hoiu's and hours and plates iiumnierable on some birds with- out obtaining a resuh- about whicli we eoukl get up any enthusiasm. In regard to the text of tliis work, I can only say that I have endeavoured to make it bright, interesting, and accurate, and hope that I have in a measure succeeded. I doubt not we shall be accused of adventurous foolhardiness. I must plead that we are English, and that our failing is a very connnon one amongst young fellows bred and born on British soil. In conclusion, my brother and I heartily thank our friends in every part of the country for the facilities and help so ungrudgingly rendered. Landed proprietors, sportsmen, farmers, game- keepers, boatmen, lighthouse-keepers, and others have all combined most willingly to make this book possible. Richard Keakton. BoREHAM Wood, Elstree, Herts. Xorcmber, iS97. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. St. Kilda a\d Its People ...... 1 CHAPTER IT. The Birds axd Fowlers of 8t. Kilda . . . .56 CHAPTEl! in. The Birds and Fowlers of 8t. Kilda {cnitfliuicd) . r and sunic of his Trophies Adder Basking .... Young- ilerlins .... Kestrel in Trap .... Stoat in Trap .... Hedgehog ..... Figure-of-Four Tra^) . Young Raven on Nest . Buzzard in Trap .... Buzzard's Larder. Young Grouse .... Grouse's Nest in Rushes Gat Trap (irouse Netting .... Snaring Grouse .... A Couple of Veterans . Grouse Shooter in Butt Pheasant Hatchery I'heasant on Nest. Partridge on Nest Partridge .(Photographed on the Westmorland H Hare-Net on Gate The Hare Caught Rahhit Burrow (Closed) Rahhit Burrow (Ojjcn). Rahhits at Play .... Hen Chaffinch hanged hy a Hair. Wren going into her Nest in i\ick Kestrel's Kggs in a Raven's Old Nest Oyster-Catcher's Ne.st . A Pair of OsjH-cys and their Nest Rohins' Nests in Odd Situations (four illustrations Flycatcher's Nest in Bullet-H7 111 11--' 1 1(J 117 1 •>.> 12(5 127 131 137 139 143 143 144 14') 11.) 117 147 149 150 1.51 153 l.j,-) l.)9 161 IGo 167 168 169 171 174 17.'> 17S 179 1S2 isr) 1S7 191 193 19.-) 197 19S 199 21)1 2(11 2( 13 203 20.") 2( 19 209 211 211 dh( Youn LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Yoimi>' Peewit ..... Blackbirds at Home {ionv illustiation.s) Chiffchaff feedino- her Young Nightingale on Nest . Whitethroat on Nest . Young Carrion Crows in Nest Young Spotted Flycatchers. Young Wood Wrens . Young Blue Tit .... Jay and Young .... Pied Wagtail's Nest and Young in Old Pail Pied Wagtail going into Inverted Old Pail tu fi: Y^oung Thrushes .... Spider's Web covered with Hoar Fmst i Tailpiec Thi-ush on Sleeping Perch . Cock Sparrow .... Nesting-Box .... Sparrow Catchers Fully-fledged Swallows sleeping in Old Nest Barn Owl ...... Red Underwing Moth Cormorant and Young. Cormorants and Guillemots on the Saltees Young Sandwich Tern on Sand . Young Sandwich Tern on Black Cloth Terns at Home Lesser Black-backed Gulls . Eider Duck on Nest .... Wild Duck on Nest .... Young Eider Duck .... Kittiwakes ...... Y'^oung Black Guillemot Guillemots ...... Gannets on the Wing .... Gannets on Bass Rock. Common Gull's Nest .... Puffins at Home ..... Nest of Black-headed Gull . Young Great Black-backed Gulls Scoulton Mere ..... Razorbill and Egg (Tailpiece) Clap-Nets and Dummy Starlings. Bird- Call Call-Bird Cage Bird-catcher with Clap-Nets on Brighton D Playstick and Liu-e Bird Bird-catcher's Receiver Bird-catchers and their Plant Finch Trap Wild Chaffinch studying Bird-catcher's Dummy Catching Chaffinches . Nightingale Trap XV PAOE •213 215 217 218 219 221 222 223 227 227 229 230 233 236 236 237 239 243 247 249 251 253 253 255 257 259 260 261 263 264 265 266 267 268 268 270 271 272 273 276 278 278 279 280 282 283 287 290 291 292 LIST OF ILLVSTRATIOXS. Robin in Biid-Ti;i]) Snail on Grass-Stem (Tail[(icce) . Decoy Pii)e from Tail End . Entrance to Decoy Pipe Cage for Decoy Ducks. Zigzag Screen : Duck Docoy Peep-hole in Screen . Decoy-man making his Sur\ey . Dog's Hole ..... Decoy-man killing Wild Duck . Wild Duck on her Nest (Tailpiece) Hebridean Peat Diggers Crofter's Hut, Outer Heln'ides . Landlord of the Highest Inn in England The Highest Inn in England Essex Gamekeeper Grace Darling's Nephew Pohert . The Longstone Lighthouse (Tailpiece) Our Outfit IMethod of Descending a Cliff Young Peregrine Falcons . Descending a Big Cliff Carrion Crow's Nest . Photographing a Nest in a Tree . SpaiTOw-hawk's Nest and Young Photographing a Kingfisher's Nesting-hol Swallows on Telegraph Wire Method of Photographing liirds' Nests Situ AVater A'ole . . . Sparrows and Chaffinches on the Snow Photographing Kingfisher . Kingfisher ..... Spider's Snare (Tailpiece) . :ted H ^ 1!; ■hH nk Iges P.\OE 292 294 297 299 300 301 302 303 300 307 310 317 319 325 325 329 331 333 335 336 337 339 342 343 344 347 348 349 351 ;]52 353 357 359 WITH NATURE and a CAMERA CHAPTER I. ST. KILDA AND ITS PEOPLE. A FTER having exploited many of the favourite ■-^-^ sea-bird breeding stations on the coasts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, we were very desirous of an opj^ortunity of visiting the paradise of British ornithologists, and accordingly made arrangements as far back as Christmas, 1895, to accompany (jur friend, Mr. John Mackenzie, jun., on his annual visit as factor to St. Kilda. We arrived in Glasgow early on the morning of June lltli, 1896, and after getting our luggage on board the Dimara Castle, we went in search of a supply of tinned provisions for ourselves and a quantity of sweets and tobacco for the natives. During the afternoon we were joined by our friend, Mr. John Young, and had a telegram wish- ing us success from the veteran naturalist of the North — Mr. Harvie-Brown. As soon as the Avindlass had ceased to rattle and the last bag of meal was aboard, we dropped down the Clyde and steamed away to the North. The following day was spent in discharging cargo at various Hebridean islands, catching flounders, and B 2 WITH XATUHK AND J CAMKBJ. speculating u])()n our cliances of fctcliing St. Kilda on tlie morrow. As an instance of the weatlier- wisdom of the natives of the Western Isles, I think it worth while to record the })r()phecy of a shrewd old man — an inhabitant of Loch Boisdale — at smi- down on the twelfth. He said that on the following day we should have a strong breeze from the south- east in the morning, a shower about dinner-time, and a south-westerly wind with sunshine in the afternoon. Early on the morning of the thirteenth we arrived at weird and lonely Obbe, our last calling place before attempting to breast the rolling waves of the Atlantic, and carry the hrst news of the doings of the outer world during the year of Grace eighteen hundred and ninety-six to the isolated folks living — "Where tlie northern l)ill()\v.s in thunder roar And da«h themselves to spray passengers, a fi'iend of mine sliowed me a small, wliitewashed, stone cairn, built upon a I'ock for tlie guidance of NEAlilNG ST. KILBA. 3 navigators, on the top of wliicli a pair of great Black-Backed Gulls had made their nest and laid three eggs the previous year. When we got clear of the Hebrides, and were fairly launched upon the bosom of the mighty Atlantic, the waves l^egan to make themselves felt, and to render the after -deck uninhabitable except for such as could don oilskins. By-and-by the Hiaskers loomed black and weird on our port. We were told that these rocks are visited in October by fishermen in order to kill Seals and extract the oil from their bodies. Towards noon the weather thickened consider- ablv, and a drizzling- rain connnenced to fall. The steamer was now rolling and pitching to such an extent that most of her passengers lost all interest in wallowing Porpoises and plunging Gannets, and experienced those unpleasant sensa- tions which for a time rob all natural (jbjects of their charm. When we must Imve been quite twenty miles away from St. Kilda, I noticed a couple of dead Kittiwakes float past the ship, and directly after- wards my friend Mackenzie pointed out a Fulmar Petrel flying along on I " Land alica.l y' IN VILLAGE BAY. 5 The sight was subHiiie. In front of us hxnnecl the gigantic rock, with its sunnnit buried in white mists, and its base surrounded l)y a fringe of foam left Ijy the broken billows. As we passed Rock Lavenish tlie ship got the full benefit of wind and tide on her port, and, in consequence, rolled fearfully. Her decks were often at such an acute angle that the sailors them- selves Avere obliged to hold on to whatsoever stable article lay Avithin reach. Xo sooner, however, had we got inside Village Bay than the sea became almost as smooth as a mill-pond, and everybody was on deck, gazing intently at the weird scene. The sombre grandeur of the place was as awe- inspiring as the most dreadful page in Dante or Milton, and required the pencil of a Dore to do justice to its sublimity. The booming of the tide in the caves that run beneath the Doon sounded like the growl of chained monsters that had made a meal of the men and women who had once lived in the straggling line of primitive-looking dwellings standing at the foot of steep Conagher without a sign of life near them. During the spring a bottle had been })icked up somewhere amongst the Western Isles with a letter in it, purporting to have been sent from 8t. Kilda, with the information that a Spanish ship had been lost there during the winter, and that sixteen rescued sailors were waiting to be taken off. A couple of Glasgow pressmen had accompanied us, and endured all sorts of hardships and discomforts that the dull work-a-day Avorld might enjoy reading of the adventures and hairbreadtli escapes of the survivors. I observed them wistfully scanning the shore in search of some evidence of the castaways, and felt genuinelv sorry for their disappointment 6 WITH XATUBE AXD A GAMETLi. on discovering- that the whole business was a cruel hoax. Tlie 8t. Kildans had no knowledge of the date of our coming-, and the dogs, numbering between thirty and forty, were the first to discover our presence in the bay and tear pell-mell down to the water's edg-e. The dogs of Hirta — which is the Gaelic name of St. Kilda — are a distinct feature of the place, and whenever a boat is being launched or hauled in there they all are congregated at the water's edge, engaged in furious barking, which generally ends in a fight, and a bundle of three or four, closely locked together, rolling into the sea. As nobody was to be seen, our captain blew the ship's whistle, Init although he succeeded in making a prodigious din which echoed and re- echoed amongst the crags, causing- the sheep to scamper away up the steep hill-sides, he produced not a sign of human life on the place. After waiting a few minutes, he sent forth aiu)ther loud blast, which frightened the Kittiwakes off their nests and sent them Avheeling like a little snow- cloud across the bay. In a while, a small boy, who was evidently more curious or energetic than the rest of the population, came running down to the shore to gaze at us. Nearly every writer who has visited St. Kilda has noted this seeming in- difference of the natives to the arrival of strangers, and commented upon it. I tliink that the clean, shining faces, and smooth, glistening liair of tlie women, and general Sunday ap])earance of tlie men, afford an explanation. Tlu>y are caught in what they consider an unpresentable state, and the time taken up between the arrival of a l)()at in the bay and the ])utting off of the luitives is occupied in washing- and tidying llicuisi^lves uj) a bit. 8 WITH NATURE AN J) A CAMERA. By-ancl-by a boat put off and came along-side. I was particularly anxious to hear the tirst words of salutation from men who, though actually living within the confines of the British Isles, are in reality more out of touch with their country than the natives of Vancouver Island or Timbuctoo. As I could not get on deck in time, I popped my head out of a port-hole, and was startled to hear the minister wisli everybody "A liappy new year." When we got ashore, we found most of the women and children had come down to the place of landing with great checked handkerchiefs full of birds' eggs, chiefly those of Guillemots and Razorbills, for which they found a ready sale at a penny a piece amongst the passengers and crew. The first two things which struck me upon land- ing at St. Kilda were the apparent dearth of sea- bird life and tlie joyous songs of the AVrens. We climbed to the empty cottage in which we were to stay, and after sweeping out the plaster that had fallen off the walls during the preceding twelve months and lighting a fire on a grateless hearth, we began to set things to rights. T\\q place being half buried in the l)ase of a steej) hill called Oisaval was fearfully damp, and when my brother, with the instinct of the photographer, com- menced to j)ro\vl round in search of a "dark" room, the boards were in such a rotten condition on tlie ground floor that he fell through. After tea we walked down to the l)each to watch the natives bring their })rovisi()iis aslioi'(>. The men conveyed tlie l)ags of meal and flour from the steamer to tlu; ro(;ks in their boat, whilst the women performed the i'ar more arduous task of carrying them on their backs up llie steep path to llie cottaires. THE CHURCH BELL. 9 Each family consumes in a year nine bolls of oatmeal and Hour, averaging out at owq Imnired and twenty pounds per head per annum ; which is, according to the factor, twenty-eight per cent, more than the Hebridean ordinary crofter sup^^lies himself and his family with. We slung our liannnocks in two up})er rooms of the empty cottage, and turned in at midnight pre- pared to bid extravagantly for slec}) ; but, alas ! just as I was dropping off, I heard a resounding bump on the floor and an indistinct muttering in the next apartment. It was our friend, Mr. John Young, who being somewhat rotund of form, had fallen out of his bed of string, which unfortunately had not been shapen for turning-over in. The next night we turned a long form witli a high back face to the wall for his accommodation, and thereafter he slept in a kind of crevice from which there was no means of accidental escape. We arose early the following morning, and, it being the Sabbath Day, we prepared for service. Eleven o'clock came round, but there was not a sign of anybody astir on devotions bent. We waited with patient curiosity until half-past twelve, when an old ship's bell, erected on the top of a wall near the church, began to summon worshippers to the House of Prayer by a weird out-of-place kind of tinkle, tinkle, tinkle. In our ignorance we supposed that time was a little out of joint on the island, but afterwards learnt that the indulgent minister, Mr. Fiddes, had considerately given his little flock an hour and a half's grace out of compassion for them, on account of their extra toil and exertion in landing their provisions the previous day. The church, which is also used as a day-school, 10 117 77/ XATUllM ANJl A GAMKRA. slopes considerably from the door at wlucli tlie people enter to the end at which the pulpit or rostrum stands. The floor, except just beneath the feet of the worshippers, where there is a loose scaffold board, consists entirely of Mother Earth. The aisle is roughly laid with cement, put down by the minister s own hands. We were told a good story about a sup])ly of cement sent to St. Kilda for tliis purpose by some generous donor. The citizens of Village Bay are never in a hurry, and after the "bags of dust" arrived at the island, they put them down outside the churcli to wait. Wheu an inquiring friend turned up tlie following summer and asked how they had got on wdth the floor- laying, they told him that the "bags of dust" had by a miracle all turned into lumps of rock before they had had time to use them. Tlie service was conducted in Gaelic, and con- sisted of reading the Scriptures, singing the Psalms, prayer, and a very long sermon, all of wdiich I flatter myself I sat under for the space of an hour and a half without lowering an eyelid, although I understood not a single word uttered. The collection was taken in two boxes, aflixed to long handles. With these the platemen easily gathered tlie harvest of coppers as they Avalked up the aisle, without pusliing in front of the congregation or bothering anybody for assistance in getting the boxes \\\^ and down the pews. Tliey were primitive, l)ut exceed- ingly sensible kind of l)oxcs. As soon as tlie minister had left, the women all filed silently out of church before a num stirred from his place. I was greatly pleased with this custom, thinking it to be a courteous deference shown to the fair sex of St. Kilda, whose industry and modesty render them entirely WM)rthy of it. THE HOUSES IN ST. KILT) A. 11 but have since learnt tliat it is a lingering relic of Roman Catholicism which is still in force on the Continent. In evidence of the religious fervour of the St. Kildans — which can, I suppose, to some extent be reckoned up by census methods — I noticed that over seventy-live per cent, of the entire population were in church. If Mr. Sands faithfully recorded what he saw at this place in the 'seventies, when the people went to church " with sorrowful looks, and eyes bent upon the ground like a troop of the damned being driven by Satan to the bottondess pit," and no one spoke to another above a whisper, or could look to the right or left without considering he had sinned, a very great improvement has taken place in the direction of reason and cheerfulness. Directly we got out of church, they all doffed their bonnets and shook hands with us, and such as were al)le to asked us how we were and chatted with us all the way up the path to our cottage. All the houses in St. Kilda, excepting one of which more hereafter, are substantial one-storey stone structures with zinc roofs securely fastened down by iron bands. They contain two rooms, each of which is lighted by a small four-pane window. Although they have fair- sized chimneys, some of which are even surmounted by earthenware pots, they are generally full of smoke for same reason or other, which is, I think, to be sought in the peculiar conformation of the hills around them. They are far ahead in point of comfort and con- veniences of nearly all the crofters' dwellings I have been into in Harris, Uist, and other Hebridean Isles. As the stranger walks along the path in front of the houses, he is struck by three things — the 12 WTTir NATURE AXD A CAMERA. strong smell of Fulmar oil, the plenitude of birds' wings and feathers on the midden heaps, and the numbers of birds' eggs that adorn nearly every window. Whether they mistrust each other in Hirta or not I do not know, but T was somewhat siupriscd WOODEN LOCK. DETAILS OF LOCK. to find that in a comnumity wliere crime is uidcnown they had ingeniously-constructed wooden locks o\\ all their cowhouse doors. The fact that the cow- houses were once dwelt in by the pe()})le themselves cannot be accei)ted as a satisfactory explanation, inasmuch as tliey have — iustcnid of ulilising llie old locks for tlicir dwelling-houses — ma