SAND DUNES AND SALT MARSHES 



From the great numbers of swallows that 

 congregate here in the fall it is evident that 

 many must come from a distance, for there are 

 more than the immediate countr}^ would sup- 

 port during the nesting season. It is their 

 annual excursion to the seashore, and al- 

 though they gather about the neighboring 

 roadsides, pastures and marshes, their favor- 

 ite resorts are the dunes and upper beaches. 

 Although some of these birds migrate south 

 early in the season, the majority remain to- 

 gether for days or even weeks before starting 

 for their winter homes; yet it is possible that 

 some are constantly leaving, and their places 

 are so quickly taken by others that we do not 

 notice any diminution in their numbers. 



Although many of the swallows scatter far 

 and w^ide in the search for food, yet such is 

 the social disposition of these birds that great 

 flocks are commonly to be found during July, 

 August and early September, even at midday 

 in various of their favorite haunts. Perhaps 

 the most familiar of these haunts, and cer- 

 tainly the most conspicuous to the passer-by, 

 is the roadside. Here they congregate and 

 line fence rails and telegraph wires. Before 

 the extension of the wires to the beach road 



112 



