Tyler, 

I saw Cliff Swallows doing the same thing in northern Michigan this week. They were building nests on lighthouses near Lake Huron and Lake Superior. It may be too late this year to observe it in Maryland. Cliff swallows are already nesting at Brighton Dam and under the bridge on Rt 32 at the Howard / Carroll County border. 






Joe Hanfman 

Columbia, MD 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Tyler Bell" <> 
To:  
Sent: Friday, June 4, 2010 9:26:50 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Cliff Swallow behavior 

Although this isn't in Maryland, maybe some of you have seen this behavior? We've been working out of a lab along the Penobscot River in Maine. Jane was with me the first week but has since returned to MD. Since we arrived, Cliff Swallows have been gathering mud either from the parking lot or the mudflats along the edge of the river. That in itself isn't so unusual but when they come in to collect mud, they are often in a large flock of over a dozen and they act very much like Wilson's Storm-Petrels with their wings straight up and fluttering and often cock their tails up. Has anyone else ever noted this behavior before in Maryland or anywhere else? I uploaded a photo of them from this afternoon: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8671193@N08/4670060939/ 

Not looking forward to returning to the hot temps in MD on Saturday! 
  
Tyler Bell 
 
California, Maryland