The Chief Scout Talks

Taranaki Daily News, 23 April 1932, Page 17 (Supplement)

The Chief Scout Talks

HOW I FIND PLOVERS’ NESTS.

(By • Lt.-Gen. Lord Baden. Powell; of Gilwell.) ' I am afraid this yarn will only be of interest to those of you who are lucky enough to live in the country, Herein England, where I am writing, the birds nesting season is soon coming.on, and one of my amusements, in Hampshire where I live, is to go out and try to find plovers’ nests.. Not because I want to take the eggs but because, as a rule, they are very difficult to find and it gives one some practice in woodcraft and “Sherlock Holmes-ing.” The plover, which, as you know, includes also the peewit, is a very cunning bird. His so-called nest is merely a form in the grass, which he makes by squatting down and turning round and rqund. A nest is usually out in the open ground, generally in a slight tussock of grass, and the eggs are of &■ khaki colour with brown spots, and therefore not very noticeable if you pass them by. It takes a keen scouty eye to spot a, nest, and I have known many people unaccustomed to looking' for plovers’ nests walk past one after another without seeing them, although on the lookout to find them. MARKING THE SPOT. One interesting way of searching is to take a pair of field glasses, or a Scout’s • telescope, and examine a bit of country where plovers are likely to build until you discover a little head looking up- out o-f the grass. You must make sure the plover is squatting there and not merely standing as some of them do for hours in the same position, either sleeping, or thinking deeply, or waiting for the -re-appearance of some particularly good looking worm which they saw disappear at that very spot. When you have marked the place you jmust take careful note of different landmarks which will lead you to it; that is to say take some object away beyond the nest which is directly in line with the nest and yourself. Then 'observe other objects between you and. the nest in the same straight line. Now you can proceed to walk on this line until it brings you to the nest, and you will soon find by practice how wonderfully easy it is to miss it unless you are very careful indeed in noting and remembering your landmarks. ' BURL CUNNING. The birds themselves will do their best to mislead you because as you get nearer the neat a' plover will suddenly jump up to one side or the other and make the most 'alarming noise, fluttering about and screaming and swooping down as if to the nest at some dis-

tance from you in a totally different direction.

While he is thus distracting your attention the hen bird will quietly sneak off the nest and'.creep -away through the grass for a good distance and then will get on the wing quite silently and will flit quickly away until she has got well clear of the neighbourhood. Then she, too, will join in the chorus and pretend to be in great distress in a new direction, hoping to lead you off after her. When once you have taken your eye off the spot where you know the nest to be you will find it very difficult to locate it again unless, as I said before, you have a very accurate knowledge of your landmarks. On the other hand, you may by chance come across a nest on the ground out in the open plain or field which you wish to find again. You therefore stand at the nest and look round for landmarks which will guide you to it again. If there is something to note close by, such as a bush or a post, etc., this,, of course, is easy enough. But generally these nests lie far away from any l such features. Then you should take a “cross-bearing” as it is called; that is to say, you take a distant object in one direction, and. another in exactly the opposite direction, so that the nest lies exactly between the two. Say you are standing by the nest at A and you notice a church tower at B, and a fir tree at 0, When you want to find the nest again you- simply walk along the line from the church tower to the tree. But then comes the question, :how far along the line should you go to reach the nest? So from A you take a second, or cross, bearing; that is, again take .a distant object at right angles to the line B and C to, say, a chimney at D and again to another object opposite at E, say a telegraph post. But you must be sure of • your right angle.