254 
WILD WINGS 
inveigled it into alighting half a dozen different times where 
1 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. 
d'he climax was capped in my Willet hunting when, on a kev 
oft the South Carolina coast, I came upon a breeding colonv 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 flutter 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¬ 
tainly found ftfty or sixty nests, and that by covering only 
a small fraction of the territory. 
In some instances we saw the birds before 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 wholly satisfactory, as the bird was 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. Thev became timid and self- 
conscious, hardly allowing an aj^jrroach within twenty feet. 
After great trouble I secured a coiqDle of not wholly satisfac¬ 
tory exposures at long 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 
my large lens within six feet, which amply repaid me for 
all the eflort 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- 
