254 WILD WINGS 



inveigled it into alighting half a dozen different times where 

 I wanted it to and when I was at the end of my thread and 

 ready, which was more than I could have expected of the 

 obstreperous creature. 



The climax was capped in my Willet hunting when, on a key 

 oi? the South Carolina coast, I came upon a breeding colony of 

 these birds. For several miles there was a rather narrow ridge 

 of dry sand, with frequent clumps of grass or weeds, between 

 the sea on the one hand and the marsh on the other. Sev- 

 eral of us traversed this strip systematically, and every few 

 minutes a Willet would Mutter out of a clump almost at our 

 feet, and disclose the frail nest of grass and the four hand- 

 somely marked, drab-olive eggs. During that day we cer- 

 tainlv found fifty or sixty nests, and that by covering only 

 a small fraction of the territory. 



In some instances we saw the birds l)ef()re they flushed. 

 They would then sit very close, believing themselves fully 

 concealed by the vegetation. One such I photographed at 

 close range, focusing the camera upon the tripod within two 

 feet of her, and taking timed exposures. These of course were 

 not whollv satisfactory, as the bird w:is largely hidden. Not 

 a stalk could be touched without flushing her. 



In some cases I tried opening up nests and visiting them 

 after the owners had returned. They bec-ame timid and self- 

 conscious, hardly allowing an aj^jDHJach within twenty feet. 

 After great trouble I secured a couple of not wholly satisfac- 

 torv exposures at knig range. It was not till I tried the last 

 nest, just before we were to sail away, that I found the Willet 

 tamer, allowing me to secure a series of timed exposures with 

 mv large lens within six feet, which amply repaid me for 

 all the effort I had made and the hot miles I had tramped. 

 Resting on the deck, as the favoring wind filled the white 

 sails and wafted me on to other new and exciting camera- 



