BIRDS OF PEASEMARSH 



est should be taken in the saving of this bird, 

 otherwise when protected in one country it 

 would be shot in another. Every sanctuary 

 that gives it safety and a home is doing some- 

 thing towards arousing interest in the protec- 

 tion of this bird which alone will prevent its 

 going. 



As the birds belonging to the order of Shore 

 birds and Waders nest on the ground, their 

 greatest four-footed enemy of recent years is 

 the homeless cat. The settling of the country 

 has brought them nearer the habitation of man, 

 where the cats abound. Occasionally their 

 eggs are trampled by sheep and cattle. Kill- 

 deer, Snipe and Sandpiper are not very parti- 

 cular where they deposit their eggs, and the 

 settling of the country has not deprived them 

 of nesting places. But the Woodcock is not so 

 fortunate ; with the disappearance of the wood- 

 lands invaluable springs are drying up. A bit 

 of swamp where there is good cover and plenty 

 of old stumps and fallen logs, beside which 

 they like to nest, is not often found in a farm- 

 ing district. 



[137] 



