[birding] Peoria Black Swifts

[M & R Campbell]

As with Joel, today was a painting day for me, until rain sent me to lunch at 1:30.  I checked my computer at 2:00 and saw his noontime post from Adair and, on the mid-valley list, Rich Armstrong's post from Corvallis about an hour-and-a-half later.  So I headed back out into a light rain, down to the river bank to sit and watch the several-hundred swallows that were swirling above the water.  Twenty minutes later, and after almost falling asleep, I saw my first swift, and then some others, flying among the swallows, between 40 and 90 feet above the river--generally higher than the swallows.  I couldn't judge based on size or color, but the wing beats seemed slow relative to Vaux's, and they did fan their tails.  I counted at least six, but I had trouble keeping track among the other birds, so there could have been many more.  (Curiously, I didn't see a single Vaux's Swift in the group.)  There were still some Black Swifts here at 2:40 when I came up to type this post.  


This is the second time in three days that I've seen a species that I didn't expect to see this year, and would not have seen if not for prompt posts by other list members.  So, many thanks to Joel, and Rich and Nanette.  



Randy Campbell

Peoria

 

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