Notes on the Tree Swallow 



By VERDI BURTCH 



With photographs by the author 



T 



MALE TREE SWALLOW 

 Watching female as she leaves the nest 

 almost turning over as she swings away 



HIRTY years ago Tree Swallows 

 were very common over Lake Keuka, 

 at Branchport, N. Y., and from 

 early spring, often before the ice had left 

 the lake, until mid-September, these grace- 

 ful Swallows coursed over the marsh and 

 skimmed over the waters of the lake, their 

 beautiful, irridescent blue backs gleaming 

 in the sun. In those days there were, 

 bordering on the lake and marsh, many 

 old willow, elm, and maple stubs with 

 their deserted Woodpecker holes, and in 

 these the Swallows made their nests. 



As the years passed, the old stubs were 

 cut, or crumbled and fell until all were 

 gone, and the Swallows, after spending the 



early spring with us, passed on to some more favorable locality to rear their 



young. 



In the spring of 191 5 I saw a pair of Tree Swallows investigating a box that 



I had put up on my lot for Bluebirds. This box was more than 50 rods from 



the lake, and, although the Swal- 

 lows hung around it for several 



days, it did not seem to suit them 



exactly and was not used. How- 

 ever, their presence about the box 



gave me an idea which I carried out 



the following spring, when I made 



boxes purposely for the Swallows, 



placing them on the sides of posts 



which were driven out in two or 



three feet of water in the marsh. 



This was done April 28, when 



there must have been twenty or 



more pairs of Tree Swallows flying 



about. 



The very next day I saw a 



Swallow enter one of the boxes, 



and on May 4 a pair of Swallows 



were carrying nesting materials 



into one of them. This same day 



MALE TREE SWALLOW AT HOME 



(13^) 



