I first saw Cave Swallow in Cancun, Mexico on 10/10/86. I then had this specie
in Key West, Fl. on 4/1/03. I next encountered it in Puerto Rico during January
of '05,'06, & '07. I've been looking for this bird in N.Y.S. for quite a while
now, ever since it started being reported during fall migrations.
Primed by John Haas' Cave Swallow report, Plan A was shelved and Plan B put in
it's place. Suitable clothing was laid out, alarm clock set, and then to bed
"with visions of CSWA's dancing in my head". Out by 0630 (making sure not to
wake the gracious lady who gave me her blessing the night before), a quick
stop at 7-11, then on to the hawk watch at Robert Moses State Park..."the game
was afoot"!
Go back a year in time, same scenario of C/S postings, I'm down at RMHW looking
and hoping. Sometime after arriving, I had to go back to my car for ?
Returning to the viewing platform, Shai Mitra sadly told me of the 2 C/S's that
passed by during my absence. In addition, I'm almost positive that Doug Futuyma
was also there that day.
Fast forward to this morning, I'm at the hawk watch by 0800, finding both Shai
& Doug there, along with Pat Lindsey, two men ( Mike & Bill) whose last names I
didn't get, and one gentleman whose full name I missed completely- sorry guys.
It was quite an active morning with many nice birds (which I will list below)-
but first let's " Caveabrate"
Thank you John for the "mojo"! Thank you Shai & Doug for the "karma", and also
for your, as well as the whole crew's, "good eyes/ great finds"! As species
were being called out, a number of times the word "swallows" was put forth,
only to be followed by the sobering "trees". Quite a while later however,
someone (I think) Shai yelled "cave"! As I scrambled to get my/it's bearings,
I heard the words "4 birds", and looked in the direction of the pointing
fingers. I eventually got on the four, for a most disappointing encounter.
The moment came as "a thief in the night". After quite a few more "non-swallow"
and "swallows/trees" calls, the cry went out..".cave swallow... yes, definitely
cave swallow... right overhead"! This time I reacted quicker, almost fluidly,
got on the birds while they were still near us, and had a view, which, had it
been a smile, Al Jolson would have walked a million miles for! Yes, I know...I
tend to understate things!
Other species that I saw: Red-throated Loon; Great Cormorant; Canada Goose; N.
Harrier; Sharp- shinned Hawk; Coopers Hawk; Osprey, Merlin; A. Kestrel;
Peregrine Falcon ( flying around & landing on tower at foot of 2nd bridge);
Short- eared Owl; Red-headed Woodpecker (juvenile, found by Pat); Downy
Woodpecker; N. Flicker; E. Phoebe; crow sp?; Tree Swallow; Tufted Titmouse;
Black-capped Chickadee; Red-breasted Nuthatch; Golden-crowned Kinglet; A.
Robin; Hermit Thrush; N. Mockingbird; Cedar Waxwing; Yellow-rumped Warbler;
White-throated Sparrow; Song Sparrow; Dark-eyed Junco; Eastern Meadowlark;
Red-winged Blackbird; Rusty Blackbird (wonderful looks at 4 that landed on a
nearby Cedar Tree and stayed for awhile); Purple Finch (outstanding looks at 3
that lighted on the Cedar Tree just in front of the platform and fed on it's
berries for at least 10 minutes); Pine Siskin; A. Goldfinch.
The only negative of the day occurred when, after hearing about the N. Shrike
found near the T.R. Museum at Jones Beach earlier in the day (by The Brooklyn
Bird Club) I "pushed the envelope" and failed. ''
What a great day! Cheers, Bob
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