The White Pigeon 93 



and especially in the nesting season. I agreed with him. I 

 thought they added one more burden to the always harassed 

 marsh life and did much damage. I am quite sure they did 

 no killing but they covered all but the very wettest areas in 

 the marsh, and, in addition to preventing many ground birds 

 from nesting, probably broke up many nests that contained 

 eggs. I suspected that their masters, many of whom prided 

 themselves on their sportsmanship, had little idea of the ex- 

 tent of the damage done by their pets. These dogs may have 

 been like those of the range areas which ran without the 

 knowledge of their owners and attacked sheep. I wondered, 

 too, how such freedom would react when they were taken 

 into the field in open season. I fancied that the dogs which 

 refused to stand properly, and which broke and ran down 

 the field with birds scattering on every side, were such free- 

 running and poorly disciplined animals. One trio— two setters 

 and an Airedale terrier— visited the marsh often, and when 

 they began plunging through the cattails and bushes, their 

 progress, aided by the keen noses of the setters and the in- 

 dustry of the Airedale, was effective enough to send a con- 

 stant stream of ground birds into flight. The only places in 

 which a duck could nest safely were those surrounded by 

 water so deep that they must be approached by swimming. 



An inspection of my notes constantly adds to the evidence 

 that many of the small but interesting incidents which oc- 

 curred in the marsh are directly due to the closeness of that 

 important ecological factor, man. He built the ship canal and 

 sent his vessels from over the world through it, he populated 

 the adjacent shores with home owners and business people, 

 college students and professors. This impact has made any- 

 thing possible. It would not surprise me to see a Manx cat 

 hunting in the grass, or to see a mute swan sail majestically 

 along by the shore. 



The other day a churning and splashing attracted my 

 attention to the ship canal in time to see a miniature of a 



