WILD WINGS 
318 
The first problem was how to gain a close approach with¬ 
out being seen by the watchful owl. Studying upon this, the 
thought came to me of an elderly man in town who for years 
had carried a faded brown umbrella almost the exact color 
of the dead leaves in the woods. For a consideration, said 
umbrella presently became my property. A strip of brown 
cambric siisj^ended from the edge of its circumference trans¬ 
formed it into a portable tent. Trimmed with a few hem¬ 
lock sprays and dead oak leaves, the structure was almost 
invisible in the woods. 
Three days later I tried it. Nearly an hour was consumed 
in sneaking up to the nest. Without the rustling of a leaf or 
the crackling of a twig I had reached the nearest point, and 
there sat the brooding owl, her head showing above the nest. 
Carefully I set the camera up on the shortened tripod, behind 
the umbrella, and then made timed exposures upon the 
motionless bird. This done, I would fain catch a snap-shot 
as she stood up to fly. So I made ready, and, bulb in hand, 
rustled the leaves. No response. Now I knocked on a tree ; 
the owl did not stir. And so it went till I shouted, and then 
stood out in plain sight. The owl moved not so much as 
an ear-tuft. Her eyes were half-opened. Was she dead and 
frozen, or asleep, or what ? 
The thought now occurred to me that, since the owl was 
so impassive, perhaps I could climb the neighboring tree 
without alarming her. So buckling on the climbers, with the 
camera slung over my shoulder, I began the ascent, feeling 
almost certain that she would fly. But there she sat, and 
soon I was on a level with the nest, only twenty feet from 
the object of my desires. In order to be sure of a good pic¬ 
ture, of sufficient size, it was necessary to use the single long- 
focus lens of my doublet, and hence to set up the camera and 
focus. I expected to see the owl leave as soon as I began to 
