Three Weeks in the Boat-Blind 



235 



shifts, so that each could have a 

 chance at the birds and also rest up 

 from the rather tedious work of keep- 

 ing watch on so many spots of photo- 

 graphic interest. 



One of the first things to come to 

 our attention was that the pools we 

 had selected for the birds to use 

 were no more attractive to them 

 than dozens of others provided by 

 due process of nature. So we began 

 to fill up all the natural feeding- 

 places, and once we made over a 

 greater part of the Point so that we 

 could have some control of the 

 distribution of the food-supply. 

 Then the cattle came to inspect the 

 blind during the night and every 

 hoof-track was a pool to gather food 

 for the hungry birds. These we had 

 to fill, and once more we were de- 

 layed. To prevent this happening 

 again we built a fence across the 

 Point and kept the cattle out. 



Eventually the birds came to our 

 pools and we made numerous expo- 

 sures on the Sandpipers. After we 

 had developed several of these plates 

 we decided that the pictures were not artistic. Mud and water with a pretty 

 bird did not appeal to us as a pleasing picture. So we stole one of Prof. A. A. 

 Allen's ideas of a 'scenario.' For our 'scenario' we chose a little sagittaria 

 that we found nearby. This also gave us a spot to watch that would indi- 

 cate when our bird was in range. We tried many poses of the Sandpipers — 

 side views, front views, rear views and so on — and often we made a picture 

 of the spot where he had been. Sandpipers are very active, and there is no 

 better way to become impressed with the idea than to try taking their pictures. 



While we were working with the Sandpipers we had the pleasure of seeing 

 the Semipalmated Plover hurry across the Point and move on along the shore. 

 In two to three hours he would come back again. He did not feed at the pools 

 like the Sandpipers but kept to the higher and drier ridges, so we picked out a 

 ridge that seemed to please him and focused another camera on it. We placed 

 two stones to mark the limit of our range and went back to wait. In the three 

 weeks that we were there we did not make over six or seven exposures of this 



BLACK 'l'l,K\ 



