Clarke — Notes from Kingston, Ontario. 103 



NOTES. 



The following extracts from my diary may prove of interest in 

 regard to the habits of the Tree Swallows: 



Kingston, March 24, 1902. 



Today the Pierr^pont made her first trip, breaking through the ice 

 between Kingston and Nine Mile Point with the greatest of ease. 

 It is an unusually early opening as the ice rarely breaks up before 

 the 9th of April, and I have seen it in the harbor as late as April 26th, 



The first trip of the Pierrepont is always one of the events of the 

 season and that must be my excuse for recording it. We have so 

 few really great things happen that it seems a pity to miss any of 

 them. If this fine weather holds on, and a south wind develops, we 

 may look for Tree Swallows, early and all as it is, because there must 

 be food for them, and the first sailings of the Pierrepont and the ar- 

 rivals' of the Swallows generally occur about the same date. For a 

 few years, the name Tree Swallow seemed almost a misnomer. If we 

 cannot say much in favor of the English Sparrow, we may at least 

 give him the credit of causing both the Swallows and the Blue-birds 

 to return to their original nesting places. It is now possible to find 

 Tree Swallows nesting in hollow trees instead of bird boxes, although 

 they seem to dearly love a hollow fence post, or a convenient cavity 

 in a telegraph pole. I have even found this swallow breeding in a 

 hollow in a bank, and in my collection there is a beautiful set of 

 seven eggs taken from suuch a I'ocation on an island in the St. 

 Lawrence, near Brockville. The site of the nest was quite as re- 

 markable as the number of eggs found. In the apple trees in the 

 very old orchard at New Court, the Tree Swallows breed pretty 

 regularly. 



March 28th, 1902. 



After all there is some satisfaction in being able to say, "I told 

 you so." That is my position in the present instance, and who can 

 blame me if I swell with pride when turning back to the swallow 

 notes made on the 24th. Everything happened just as expected: 

 there was food for the birds, the wind veered to the south and the 

 Swallows came here in numbers today. It is one of the earliest 

 arrivals I have ever known. 



April 15th, 1902. 



Yesterday a fine south wind blew and swallows came up with it in 

 large numbers. They were very tired and little inclined to fly, but 

 sat about on the telegraph wires. Those reported earlier did not 

 remain, the cool weather, no doubt, forcing a retreat. 



Last year the swallows came long before the usual date, and as 

 this spring was even earlier it seemed as if they should have 

 beaten the record, but I could not place them until to-day — a time 

 they should not have appeared, if my theories are correct. The 



