The Boat-Blind in the Snow 



339 



time the Redpolls found aplenty that I had missed, but I kept cutting and 



building until most of the weeds had been brought to the blind. Then, late 



one afternoon while I was watching them, a little group of three flew to the 



row of pigweeds back 



of the millet. I snapped 



the shutter, but the 



hour was too late, and 



the images proved to 



be too faint. However, 



this was encouraging, 



for they had come to the 



weeds on the top of the 



pyramid. The next day 



was sunny and I spent 



it in the blind and made 



several exposures of the 



Redpolls. 



Inside the boat- 

 blind, I was using, for 

 the most part, four 

 cameras. A 5x7 and a 

 stereo-camera were used 

 for making pictures, 

 and two 4x5 cameras 

 with lenses open and 

 focused on the feeding- 

 places were used to 

 keep watch of the birds 

 that came. I have found 

 that looking out from 

 a dark blind onto snow 

 in sunshine is very a dispute at the pole 



tiring to the eyes. The use of an open camera by the side of one that makes 

 the picture also gives you a very good idea of the way your picture will look 

 when it is finished. 



In the latter part of March the weather had warmed so much that the snow 

 pyramid began to grow smaller and the Redpolls retreated before the same 

 weather that spoiled their feeding-station, .\nother year it will be operated 

 near the same spot in the hope that some new visitors may come. 



