I am in RI now (Quonochontaug / Charlestown) and was down at the beach this AM and there were 3-4 dozens of swallows Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S™ III, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: carolyn <carolyn.f.johns-emp@snet.net> Date: To: Mark Szantyr <birdinggeek@gmail.com>,jaybrd49@aol.com Cc: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org Subject: Re: [CT Birds] Hammonasset Today Jay, I was at Hammo between 1 and 3 today and saw swallows in the trees near the beaches as I was approacing Meig's Pt.   Also saw them again on Willard's Island. Not in great numbers, but definitely around. Carolyn Johns ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Szantyr" <birdinggeek@gmail.com> To: <jaybrd49@aol.com> Cc: <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> Sent: Friday, August 16, 2013 7:51 PM Subject: Re: [CT Birds] Hammonasset Today > On Thursday, there were many many hundreds or more at the park. And 4 > Monarchs. > > Mark > > On Aug 16, 2013, at 5:02 PM, jaybrd49@aol.com wrote: > >> Just throwing this out for discussion: I took a group of students to >> Hammonasset Beach State Park today as I have been doing for about thirty >> years. Usually on or about this date, there are large flocks of swallow >> congregating as they prepare for migration at the end of this month. >> Today we saw exactly two swallows. For you butterfly enthusiasts, we saw >> exactly one monarch. We usually can expect 100+ about now. >> >> The monarch situation has been much discussed and is not unexpected.  The >> tree swallows were a surprise  Anyone care to comment? >> >> Jay Kaplan >> Canton >> _______________________________________________ >> This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) >> for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. >> For subscription information visit >> http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org > > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) > for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. > For subscription information visit > http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org _______________________________________________ This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org

At East Beach in Charlestown on August 9 there were 7,000 TREE SWALLOW and 0 other swallow species. I tried many times over several hours to find a barn swallow to no avail. Usually I see mixed flocks there. Initially at 7:15am there were about 5,000 tree swallows in one large roost on the beach with 2,000 drifting over and landing on the dune shrubs and parking area. I took photos. We carefully counted by extrapolating. First we counted to 10, then by tens to 100, then by 100s to 1000 thence to 5,000, etc. We used this method several times to arrive at an accurate and perhaps conservative estimate. Some were tired as we approached the beach very cautiously since they didn't budge and others just fluttered a short distance to re-land. We moved slowly so as not to disturb them much as at one point they were in front of the main pathway to the beach from parking lot. There was intermittent rain in the morning so not many people were around go disturb them. The swallows stayed in the immediate area for hours hunkering down in the dune shrubs during the thunderstorm and flying around immediately afterwards. There may have been more up the beach but I didn't make the effort to venture there. The kids were thrilled to be close to them and surprised but appreciative of the fact that the birds didn't flush much when approached carefully. It was a spectacle the whole family enjoyed. CT: Beginning on June 28 I have had small daily flights of tree swallows migrating southwards over my yard, not having seen any since late April. Many Purple Martins (219 high count one day) and a few barn swallows as well. They all flock to the mega marsh roosts on the lower CT river. Many tree and barn swallows and martins seen there as well. All of these birds up the coast from Hammo move southwards in small or large batches with some bypassing CT via Long Island. Perhaps localized movements create gaps at times. 2c Dan Rottino >> On Aug 16, 2013, at 5:02 PM, jaybrd49@aol.com wrote: >> >>> Just throwing this out for discussion: I took a group of students to >>> Hammonasset Beach State Park today as I have been doing for about thirty >>> years. Usually on or about this date, there are large flocks of swallow >>> congregating as they prepare for migration at the end of this month. >>> Today we saw exactly two swallows. For you butterfly enthusiasts, we saw >>> exactly one monarch. We usually can expect 100+ about now. >>> >>> The monarch situation has been much discussed and is not unexpected. The >>> tree swallows were a surprise Anyone care to comment? >>> >>> Jay Kaplan >>> Canton >>> _______________________________________________ >>> This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) >>> for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. >>> For subscription information visit >>> http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org >> >> _______________________________________________ >> This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) >> for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. >> For subscription information visit >> http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org > > > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. > For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. > For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org