April 21, 1963 - Tree Swallows
Tree Swallows
Exclusive Sunday Review sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven
Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh, Cutchogue
Every once in a while I want
to take a moment to thank the
many kind and thoughtful people
who take time out of their busy
day to drop me a note concerning
their thoughts and observations
on nature. Surely these are most
appreciated and reinforce my be-
lief that many of you are in tune
with much of the world about
you. Thank you all. ps.
Last week a group of us took
it field trip that included tine
Quogue Sanctuary. This delightful
spot, through the years, has be-
come one of our regular stops
whenever we are in the area.
There are walks around the ponds
shat, with the aid of glasses, ran
reveal untold secrets. Why we
even saw wild turkeys there! And
one of the Beau Bremnmells ac-
Companied us completely around
our tour. Besides the many trials
there is also a good selection of
wildlife such as raccoons, fox,
skunks, hawks, and birds of all
sorts that are kept in neat and
healbhy confinement.
But of all the things I saw
there, I remember most vividly
the many tree swallows about the
ponds. As usual, they were tire-
lessly darting and diving with
that characteristic occasional stall
or almost stop in mid air as they
snatched an insect. The tree swal-
lows have been here for some
weeks now. They are always the
earliest arrivals of the swallou4
clan.
As a matter of fact, they also
linger in the fall the lates. The
reason being that they, unlike
other swallows, have acquired the
technique of sustaining themselv-
es on vegetable matter such as
bayberries, fruits of red cedar
and Virginia creeper when in -
sects become inactive due to cold
weather. Judd Bennett, who has
contributed to this column many
times, has had them in his bay-
berry when they literally cleaned
every berry from sight. Many of
the other swallows do not have
this ability and therefore curing
severe cold snaps thousands per -
isih from starvation. Some of you
may remember a few years back
when our own early martins were
caught in just such a disastrous
predicament.
These late migrants congregate
by the thousands on many of the
telephone wires in this area. This
is particularly a familiar sight
along the south shore and one
can rest assured that when you
see these great concentrations
the tree swallows are getting
ready for their winter vacation.
They usually wind up as any
winter vacationist does in the
southern states or along thw Gulf.
Ot course, there always has to
be some who yen for foreign
travel and venture to Mexico or
Guatemala. Usually for most,
however, where there is a plenti-
Nil supply of insects — there will
be their resort.
If you have not seen this beau -
tifol blue - green bird with its
pure white underside, it's time
you made his acquaintance. At the
sanctuary in Quogue, we were
able to walk within 10 feet of
him as he perched on a limb
outside his man - made box. Along
all the trails, you will find boxes,
each with its tenant, content with
man's innovation for nature's
best. Eons ago when man had
not cleared the woods, the mar-
tins and swallows had no problem
in finding the many abandoned
woodpecker holes for nests. To-
day with the scarcity of trees and
the additional problem of our
European intruder, the starling,
few nesting sites are left.
Almost anyone can have these
do - gooders (insect catchers) in
their yard by putting up an
appropriate box. The only requi-
site is a box with a one and a
half inch hole situated five to ten
feet off the ground preferably
facing the open field. Yo,ar only
problem might be the English
Sparrow who invariably finds
these boxes during the winter
before our southern guests arrive.
Here your Yankee ingenuity, I
am sure, will be able to discour-
age Mr Sparrow.
When you do have the swallow
nesting, he will build his nest out
of grass and trim it with feathers.
This use of feathers is almost
invariably used by this swallow.
In the boxes along our wood's the
feathers are usually from the
neighbor's chickens. We, by the
way, live near a salt marsh in
which we have placed many box-
es on stakes. Ponds, streams,
and wetlands of all types are
favorite haunts for the swallows
because of the numberous insects
about and so they provide the
ideal spot for nesting sites.
It's still not too late to have
your boy or the handy man
around the house build a few box-
es for these worthwhile swallows.
It is surprising how much good
one of these birds will do in
reaping a harvest of insects each
day. This alone would make the
bird worth attracting to your area
bat the sheer joy of watching
swallows with their never - ending
flight is probably the greatest joy
of all: