Photo l.y Howard 11. Cloavc 

 THE F,XCITi;.Mi;\T OF TOUCHIXG THE ECCENTRIC WOODCOCK ON THE BACK (SEE 



PAGE 29) 



tering call, the cheery tune of a song- 

 sparrow close bv, and the sparkle of the 

 sun on the ruffled surface of the pond 

 being the only things to bold our interest. 



THE OSPREY APPEARS 



Presently tlicre came a lnw whistle 

 from the pig-pen, and putting my eye to 

 the observation window I could see a 

 hawk sailing toward the pond from, the 

 direction of the Atlantic highlands. Soon 

 he was searching the western border of 

 the pond to the south, all the time work- 

 ing in our direction, arri\ing almost o\er- 



head in a very few minutes. Now was 

 the time to act ! The thread leading to 

 the fish's snout was given two or three 

 pulls and the camera pushed into place. 

 But even before I could get mv hand 

 to the shutter release there appeared a 

 shadow o\er the water, and then there 

 was a splash. The hawk was grappling 

 with the decov and in a few secoiuls had 

 raised fish and anchor above the water 

 and was making off with them. I feared 

 for my precious decoy, but at that mo- 

 ment the hawk's talons slipped and his 

 burden (equaling half his own weight) 



28 



