good pix . . . esp. the perched bird . . . in the pix yesterday, I was confused
by what looked to be alot of white in the tail . . . just a trick of the light,
I guess . . . great record!!

sebastianpatti@...
Sebastian T. Patti
(Lincoln Park)
Chicago, ILLINOIS 60614-3354
PHONE: 312/603-4416 (o) 773/248-0570 (h)
FAX: 312/603-2041 (o) 773/248-0264 (h)





To: ILbirds@yahoogroups.com
From: jhh_60910@...
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 15:20:40 -0800
Subject: IBET Kankakee: Northern Rough-winged Swallow Continues





Hi all,

Sat 07-Nor-09: Kankakee Area: LeVasseur Park/Metro-Sewer and North St Wetlands.

On a warm, breezy, and sun-filled day how appropriate for a swallow to be found
feeding over the Metro-Sewer tanks on a plethora of airborne insects. The
continuing Northern Rough-winged Swallow (molting hatch year bird) was sighted
and photographed mid-afternoon while fly-catching over the sewage tanks as well
as perched on an electrical cabinet close-by. Interestingly, this species is
known to molt during migration and that's exactly what this young bird showed -
molting flight feathers (see photos). Here's a quote from Birds of North
America describing this condition:

"Molt dates overlap migration dates, indicating simultaneous occurrence of these
2 activities (Lunk 1962, Graber et al. 1972, Pyle et al. 1987, T. Yuri and S.
Rohwer pers. comm.). E. U.S. adult Northern Rough-winged Swallows move southward
while molting only until they reach the Gulf of Mexico where an apparent
trans-Gulf migration is delayed until the flight-feather molt is completed after
1 Oct (T. Yuri and S. Rohwer pers. comm.). They do not arrive in Yucatán
Peninsula until mid-Oct (Howell 1989). Eastern juveniles initiate flight-feather
molt later than adults, about 30 Jul (range late Jul–early Aug) and do not
complete their flight-feather molt until 1 Nov (range mid-Oct to mid-Nov), after
which the trans-Gulf trip occurs."

Pretty neat to actually witness this supposedly rare condition: simultaneous
molting and migrating.

Anyway, here's my lists for the day from LeVasseur/Metro Sewer and a brief stop
at North St Wetlands:

**** LeVasseur Park/Metro-Sewer: (33)
0705-0945H + 1330-1525H (1/2 W)_Sun_56-74_SW 5-20_Beaver_E
Chipmunk_Insects_River normal.

Anatidae 3
¨ ¨ 54 Canada Goose ¨
¨ ¨ 2 American Black Duck ¨ quarry; plus one AmBlDu x Mallard
¨ ¨ 6 Mallard ¨
Accipitridae 1
¨ ¨ 2 Red-tailed Hawk ¨ imm + ad
Charadriidae 1
¨ ¨ 2 Killdeer ¨
Laridae 2
¨ ¨ 10 Ring-billed Gull ¨ at least one 1st cycle
¨ ¨ 4 Herring Gull ¨
Columbidae 2
¨ ¨ 4 Rock Pigeon ¨
¨ ¨ 4 Mourning Dove ¨
Cerylidae 1
¨ ¨ 2 Belted Kingfisher ¨ M + F together
Picidae 4
¨ ¨ 3 Red-bellied Woodpecker ¨
¨ ¨ 1 Downy Woodpecker ¨
¨ ¨ 1 Hairy Woodpecker ¨
¨ ¨ 2 Northern Flicker ¨
Tyrannidae 1
¨ ¨ 1 Eastern Phoebe ¨
Corvidae 2
¨ ¨ 4 Blue Jay ¨
¨ ¨ 5 American Crow ¨
Hirundinidae 1
¨ ¨ 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow ¨ molting HY bird; 1405-1525H; flight
style relatively slow compared to BanSwa or BarSwa; photos
Sittidae 1
¨ ¨ 1 White-breasted Nuthatch ¨
Troglodytidae 1
¨ ¨ 3 Carolina Wren ¨
Regulidae 2
¨ ¨ 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet ¨
¨ ¨ 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet ¨
Turdidae 1
¨ ¨ 34 American Robin ¨
Sturnidae 1
¨ ¨ 54 European Starling ¨
Bombycillidae 1
¨ ¨ 44 Cedar Waxwing ¨
Emberizidae 3
¨ ¨ 1 Song Sparrow ¨
¨ ¨ 3 White-throated Sparrow ¨
¨ ¨ 2 Dark-eyed Junco ¨
Cardinalidae 1
¨ ¨ 4 Northern Cardinal ¨
Icteridae 1
¨ ¨ 1 Red-winged Blackbird ¨
Fringillidae 2
¨ ¨ 3 House Finch ¨
¨ ¨ 12 American Goldfinch ¨
Passeridae 1
¨ ¨ 14 House Sparrow ¨

**** North Street Wetlands: (7)
1010-1045H_Sun_66_SW 10-20.

Anatidae 2
¨ ¨ 4 Mallard ¨
¨ ¨ 7 Northern Shoveler ¨ molting
Accipitridae 1
¨ ¨ 1 Red-tailed Hawk ¨
Charadriidae 1
¨ ¨ 2 Killdeer ¨
Corvidae 1
¨ ¨ 2 American Crow ¨
Sturnidae 1
¨ ¨ 55 European Starling ¨
Emberizidae 1
¨ ¨ 62 Lapland Longspur ¨


Jed Hertz
Kankakee, Kankakee Co, IL (60 mi South of Chicago)

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhertz/

Give "ebird" a try: http://ebird.org/content/ebird

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