[CT Birds] swallows again

[Nick Bonomo]

These record-late Northern Rough-winged Swallows reminded me of some
other regional late rough-wings of recent years. Two areas in
particular, the Niagara River and the Philadelphia area, have hosted
flocks of this species well into November (and beyond) over the past
few years.

I don't have much time to look into this tonight, but recent CBC
records show the following counts of NRWS in Pennsylvania:
zero from 2000-04
125 in 2005-06 (from a single count circle)
84 in 2006-07 (from a single count circle)

Also, the following website reports a flock of 21 at a sewage
treatment plant (sound familiar?) in the Philly area in January of
2005, with a brief discussion about the species' new appearance as a
winter bird.
http://www.dvoc.org/FieldTrips/FieldTrips2005/FTReports2005/PhiladelphiaCensus2005.htm

Here's an RBA from 11/22/06 reporting 24 from the Niagara River:
http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0611d&L=birdeast&P=299

This RBA from 11/9/06 refers to NRWS as the "expected" swallow species
in the same region:
http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0611b&L=birdeast&P=616

Another RBA from 11/17/05 reports 2 NRWS from the same region.

So it makes you wonder, will the species also increase as a
late-season swallow in CT? It appears to be expanding its wintering
range northward. Have they been passing through in small numbers in
November, but misidentified as immature Tree Swallows? It'll be
interesting to see how long these New Haven swallows linger.

Nick Bonomo
Orange, CT