At noon I took a 15 min break from work to have a look at the Patuxent River, hoping to maybe find some new waders.  There were 14 GB Herons but no other species.  The only shorebirds I saw were Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs.

I saw a lot of swallows moving North today during the steady but light rain.  There were swallows coursing all over the river and Jug Bay, but some were moving north (upstream).  Watching the feeding (flight) pattern, the swallows would fly upstream a ways (which was also into the stiff breeze), and then circle back down and repeat.  It was difficult to count, but some swallows did not circle back and they kept going.  I would guess at least 250-300 birds passed by and kept going, but many stayed in the area.  Regardless, all appeared to be feeding actively, despite the cool temps and lack of any insects that I could see with my eyes or binoculars!

In the last couple weeks, when I saw large swallow numbers they were mostly Tree Swallows, but Barn Swallow numbers have been rising steadily, and today the mix of Tree and Barn was about equal numbers of each.  There were also many NRW Swallows today, at least 20 passed by, and I saw 2 Cliff Swallows!  The Cliff Swallows stayed on the main channel of the river, between Jackson Landing and Mt Calvert.

I've seen Cliff Swallows at Jug Bay from a boat in May, but these were the first I've seen in April, and the first I've seen from the yard!

Cheers-
Jeff Shenot
Croom MD