There appears to be a drive to push some birds to move today; possibly the colder air moving in from the north or the change in wind direction to the west/northwest. About mid-morning today, a flock of 13 Pine Siskins was seen flying right by the tower. At noon, a small swallow passed by the tower as well. The bird was not a tree swallow, but before I could grab a pair of binoculars, the bird had dropped below the horizon and was lost against the background of fall foliage. I never got anything on it, but the bird's size and the season are certainly right for Cave Swallow. This might mean that for those near places in which these birds have frequented in the past (Assateague, Point Lookout, over some of the reservoirs) it might not be a bad time to take a look to see if anything is around.
 Edward Boyd
Westminster, MD