Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2003 17:07:09 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Robert Ringler Subject: Cave Swallow 10/4 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable While birding this afternoon (10/4/03) with Bill Ellis we saw what = appeared to be a Cave Swallow at the New Windsor sewage ponds. We = scoped the bird from less than 100 feet away as it sat on a power line. = I had first called it a Cliff Swallow but when Bill got on the bird he = called my attention to the brick red forehead. The throat was also = brick red. It looked like an adult Cave Swallow, perhaps of a Caribbean = subspecies. There is also a Mexican race of Cliff Swallow that has a = red forehead. This bird differed from Sibley's portrait of the Mexican = Cliff Swallow by having a buffy collar bordering the red throat, the red = of the forehead extending to just above the eye, and buffy flanks. The = bird was sitting with a large mixed flock of swallows that was 95+% Tree = Swallows. We also saw at least one Rough-winged Swallow and one Bank = Swallow. The total flock was perhaps 75-100 birds. Many swallows were = also feeding over the ponds. The birds on the wires would periodically = all get get up and fly around before some would settle in again. Twice = we were able to relocate the Cave Swallow on the wires after these = flights. After a third such flight many of the swallows started soaring = and we did not see the bird again. This was between 12:30 and 1PM. = After checking the nearby wetland area we returned to the sewage ponds. = I estimated about 60 Tree Swallows still present but we could find no = other species. The New Windsor sewage ponds are on the northwest side of town at = the intersection of Atlee Avenue and Water Street. Best access is from = Route 75 where Atlee runs alongside the old school. It is a small, = obscure street. I will check there again tomorrow morning though any = and all birds may have departed. At the wetlands were 5 Green-winged Teal, a Great Blue Heron, and a = Green Heron. Also, lots of swifts are still in the area. Bob Ringler Eldersburg, Md ringler@qis.net =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D =========================================================================