Barn Swallow~ Marquette Co 9 February, 2009

[theowlranch at aol.com]

Howdy folks,

File this one under those wacky migrants! I was pretty floored to see a BARN SWALLOW foraging over the mouth of the Whetstone Brook at Founders Landing in the lower harbor of the City of Marquette. While there has been a bit of a thaw the last few days, this is an incredibly improbable sighting for Lake Superior for February. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a winter record of any swallow species for the Upper Peninsula. 

I'm inclined to speculate that the bird was blown in on this strong front that looks like it came in off the southern plains. Just how fast a Barn Swallow can travel is my next question, as I cannot imagine this bird has been in the UP for more then 24 hours. I did get to see the Barn Swallow from Muskegon County that David Slager found several winters ago at the Coopersville Sewage Ponds. I can't remember if that was in late December or early January. But this is just amazing with a much harsher winter and a few hundred miles north to boot. 

The bird was flying up and down a small ravine where the creek pours out into the harbor. Mostly frozen and under a pile of snow, there were a few openings of water that the bird was foraging over. It also would hover and pick at the snow briefly (possibly catching snow fleas?). On one of my photos, it shows that the bird was successful in catching some sort of winged insect (fly, moth, etc).
It looks like its in rough shape, with the primaries a bit worn and tattered. I will be surprised if the bird makes it through the night.

Grove Street seems to be down right now, but I will upload a couple of photos of the bird to the 2009 photo gallery at www.UPBirders.org when it is back up and running.

Spring migration is off to a great start! Now only 2 more months before the other birds arrive.......

~Skye Haas


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