BIRDS OF PEASEMARSH 



natural conditions that the birds require. Some 

 birds have grown so suspicious of man that a 

 sanctuary for them must be in a very solitary 

 spot, at least until the birds have learned that 

 they are being protected. Mr. W. E. Saunders, 

 in a paper read before the Committee of Con- 

 servation, made the wise suggestion that places 

 where these rare birds are found to be nesting 

 should be made sanctuaries. In speaking of 

 the Great Blue Heron and the Pelican, he says, 

 "Some birds do not like people to make a fuss 

 about them, and that refers particularly to 

 large wild birds, on whom human friendship is 

 suddenly thrust. I had a remarkable experi- 

 ence along that line in Alberta. On a small 

 island in Miquelon Lake, twelve miles north of 

 Camrose, there were two hundred breeding 

 pairs of White Pelicans. The Pelican, a bird 

 about the size of an Eagle, is not accustomed 

 to human interference. I visited the island 

 with a friend and saw these two hundred nests, 

 but the birds left the island before we landed 

 and did not return for about an hour or two 

 after we left. My companion was an enthusi- 

 astic ornithologist and bird protectionist, and 

 his next door neighbor was the local M.L.A. 

 [223] 



