Maumee Bay SP 5/14--Cliff Swallow

Cliff Swallow showing white forehead patch

After a day-long drive through Pennsylvania and Ohio, we arrived at Maumee Bay SP where we picked up our registration material for the Biggest Week in American Birding. We were only going to be there for the last 3 days of the festival but we still needed to get our badges.

It was there that we also picked up our first year bird in Ohio, accidentally and incidentally. As I was waiting for Shari to come back out, I saw some swallows flying out from under the carport in front of the lodge. Something about them told me that they weren't Barn Swallows and when I looked up at the roof of both the carport and covered entrance way I saw mud nests attached to almost every corner, with swallows flying in and out of them. I could also hear chicks begging. The little white forehead patch cinched the identification: Cliff Swallows. One of the nests was actually built atop a Barn Swallow nest. I'm glad I got photos when I did, because a couple of days later most of the nests had been knocked down by the lodge staff--apparently they wanted to avoid paying customers getting surprises from on high.