Taverner and Swales, ox Birds of Point Pelee. 45 



land we are unable to tell. We have found slight Carolinian 

 indications in the bird life along the lake shore as far as Am- 

 herstburg to the west. About Leamington, a few miles inland, 

 they are able to raise crops of sugar cane, while tobacco 

 flourishes throughout the region. The Point itself, however, 

 is specially favored by the seasons for, though the spring is 

 some two Weeks later than even in the country about Leaming- 

 ton, it more than inakes up for that by being absolutely free 

 from late spring frosts, and having almost a month more free 

 from frost in the fall. The results of this are well seen this 

 spring, 1907, when the peach crop on the mainland promised 

 to be almost a total failure, many entire orchards being actually 

 killed, while on the Point itself the trees promise the greatest 

 crop they have ever known. A few such occurrences as this 

 must have a most decided influence upon the biota and ex- 

 plain why. so many species are found in but this one locality in 

 the Dominion. 



On looking at the map of Lake Erie, Point Pelee, stretching 

 out into the lake, the great arm of Ottawa Co. reaching an 

 equal distance from the opposite Ohio shore, and the islands 

 lying like stepping-stones between seem to constitute a 

 natural migrational highway across the lake. Special at- 

 tention has been given to this appearance and the results seem 

 to justify our surmises. Dr. Lynds Jones was stationed on 

 the islands during the first of Sept., 1905, and describes the 

 migrational conditions he observed in these words : 



'T found the birds migrating practically everywhere along 

 the line of the islands, but the largest and best defined stream 

 was across Pelee Island, with a well marked convergence to its 

 southern point, thence across to Middle, and beyond to Kelly's 

 Island, thence across to Alarblehead. ^Migrating birds were 

 most numerous on Middle Island, but they were in great num- 

 bers on Pelee (Island). No birds were seen crossing the lake 

 except in a line with the islands." 



This last statement is imiportant for it shows that, though 

 Lake Erie is not very wide at any point, the generality of 

 small migrants prefer an easy passage from island to 

 island to launching directly out and making the crossing 



