318 WILD WINGS 



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 suspended 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 



