A Special Bird-Blind 



By E. J, SAWYER 



IN closely observing certain shy birds, such as Grouse and Wild Ducks, 

 it is not only necessary for the observer to be himself concealed, but he 

 should, as far as may be, conceal his concealment. 



Since it is of prime importance that movement of the observer be not seen by 

 the wary bird, provision must be made for spending from two hours to a whole 

 day or night in the blind. This consists in space for recHning on the ground, 

 or at least for sitting upright on a stool, — a necessity to prevent cramping of the 

 limbs and a lame back. According to your intention, there should be ample room 

 to take notes, sketch or paint, or operate a camera or a moving-picture machine,, 

 but no useless space; for the blind must offer, especially in front, the minimum 

 of exposed surface. It should be strong enough to support dead grass, leaves 

 or even sticks. That is, lastly, the structure must be converted into a "bhnd" 

 indeed. 



These provisions are considered in the blind illustrated by the diagram. 

 This is a semi-homemade blind. The portable part consists of the cloth cover- 

 ing and four little wooden blocks. 



The Covering. — The kind and color of cloth for the covering will depend 

 somewhat on the nature of the site. It would not be expensive to have on hand 

 two or three covers, one leaf-color, one tree-trunk color, and one, say, dead- 

 grass color. Thus far I have had occasion to use only a green cover, with spruce 

 and cedar tips, for concealment. The loose edges may be tied to the frame with 

 pieces of tape sewed at proper intervals on sides, front and back. The top and 

 bottom of the front and back pieces are hemmed to take a stick. (See cut.) The 

 sides are permanently attached to the top. The front might also be attached 

 to this piece, tent-like, if desired; this would necessitate very careful calculation 

 in fitting the frame to the cover. 



The Corner Blocks. — The ends of the sticks which form the frame fit into 

 four blocks bored with a half-inch auger to receive them. There are two pairs 

 of blocks, one pair for the front and one for the back; these differ in that the rear 

 pair have the hole for the upright sticks bored at a gentle angle. To allow for 

 the spread, downward, of the blind, care should be taken to bore the side holes 

 at a proper and uniform angle. A deficiency in the slant of the holes can be 

 corrected in whittling down the sticks to fit them. 



The Frame. — This consists, aside from the blocks just described, of eight 

 sticks: Two, three feet, nine inches; two, two feet; two, four feet, four inches; 

 two, four feet, ten inches. Add from two to four inches to the last four, to allow 

 for sinking them in the ground. Besides these supports, cut two sticks about 

 three feet, eight inches long to fit in the hems in the bottom of front and back. 

 The ends of these are braced against the corner stakes and secured in the middle 

 with a forked stick, as shown. The best sticks may readily be found and cut in 

 the field. 



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