Interesting ...... I observed the same thing here in Union Springs this
afternoon ...tree & barn swallows & surprisingly ...... chimney swifts
......... GREAT numbers of birds. AND, I have seen VERY few swallows for
several weeks so they were a real surprise.The lawns here at the academy had
been mowed just before lunch time but no equipment was running to stir up
any insects when I first noticed the feeding frenzy about 3:30 p.m. when the
students were out on the soccer fields. Yes, I could see some insects but
they were about mosquito size. As I worked in the garden I was absolutely
plagued with an unusual number of gnats, to the point that I was more than
anxious to come to the house, so felt the birds were feasting on them.
Later, about 7:30, as I sat up under a tree "nibbing" the ends off string
beans just before & then after sundown, a few of the mosquito-size insects
were in the air near me. I noticed that the swifts hadn't come, weren't
coming to the dorm chimney. Since a cold front is in the forecast for
tomorrow, I wondered if the great concentration of birds meant that they had
been "tanking up" to head south. As it turned out, the swifts were just
later than they have been the past week when the skies were darker due to
the cloudy weather.
At any rate, because I was picking beans, I didn't notice which direction
the swallows went when they left but usually when they are here in the fall,
they go back towards the swamp along the lake or to the refuge to roost for
the night. A couple yrs. ago, Meena got an great picture of them in a tree
at the refuge.
An osprey flew to the platform with a fish during the frenzy & also gulls
were flying east ... in with the swallows & swifts ... & a Cooper's hawk
flew low by the feeders.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eben McLane" <ebenmcl...@gmail.com>
To: "Cauyga Birds" <cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 6:16 PM
Watched hundreds of assorted swallows feeding for a couple of hours
this afternoon over nearby fields and lawns here in Scipio Center.
They paused occasionally to rest on overhead wires before resuming the
feeding frenzy. Some tiny winged insects were swarming; I didn't get a
good look at them, but I assume ants. Migrating flycatchers also
showed a good deal of interest at the woods edge (pee wees, phoebes, 2
Great Cresteds and 1 Olive-sided). After two hours all the swallows
flew south en masse. Any idea what insects were causing such a frenzy?
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