BIRDS OF PEASEMARSH 



and there are instances where colonies of 

 Bank Swallows have been destroyed by mink. 



These birds soon learn to know those who 

 are frequently about the sand bank, and will 

 go in and out feeding their young without the 

 slightest fear. But if they notice that they are 

 being observed by a stranger, they will flutter 

 about and alight upon almost every other cre- 

 vice in the bank than that which leads to their 

 nest. If the stranger sits down to watch they 

 will invariably manage to dart in at a moment 

 when his eyes are turned away, though this 

 precaution is hardly necessary, for their nests 

 are so deeply burrowed in the bank that it is 

 not at all likely he could reach them. They 

 have odd little safety devices too. Frequently 

 they make several excavations connected by 

 little tunnels, so that their exit and entrance 

 need not be through the one leading directly 

 to the nest, thus they can deceive a pursuer, 

 or, if need be, escape from the nest. 



Here on the Indian River, about half a mile 

 from the Georgian Bay, where the sand banks 

 have been left in their natural state, there are 

 several colonies of Bank Swallows. One 

 colony nests where the river flows through 



[38] 



