[va-bird] Cave Swallows in southern Northampton County


Spurred by recent reports here and to the north, I spent the morning 
concentrating on swallow flocks here, south of Cape Charles.  Winds are light 
from the WNW for the most part, and the swallows are flying higher than is 
ideal.

Among about 800-900 Tree Swallows at various sites, there were

4 Cave Swallows on Arlington Rd, 0.8 mi n. of its intersection with Kiptopeke 
Drive
1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow at this site
1 Petrochelidon, almost certainly a Cliff Swallow at this site
1 Cave Swallow at Pickett's Harbor
1 Cave Swallow at Sunset Beach
1 Cave Swallow at Kiptopeke State Park

Bob Anderson reports that last evening, only about 100 Tree Swallows came in 
to the Phragmites roost at Oyster.  

From Chincoteague comes word of a Snow Bunting (yesterday) and from the CBBT 
a Pomarine Jaeger (in the Chesapeake Channel on Friday (Brenda Tekin).  

These Cave Swallows have proved very difficult to photograph, as they often 
fly higher than the Tree Swallows with which they (only loosely) associate, 
so I'm going back out and continue efforts to photograph them.  As far as I 
know, Virginia has no photographic record of the species as yet.  The 
Swainson's Hawk from Kiptopeke was relocated this morning at the Eastern 
Shore of Virginia NWR at around 0845, and I got passable photographs of that 
bird, a second-year individual (light morph).  The Rough-legged Hawk had not 
been relocated as of 1130.  

Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA 
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