Stafford Preserve 6/5--Bank Swallows

I went to Stafford Preserve today, which, despite its bucolic name, is nothing more than a condominium development behind a shopping mall both of which are built on a former landfill. I have gone there on occasion in the past for some specialties that are attracted to crappy land like Horned Lark but I haven't been there in a few years and, where in my previous visits the condos were in a small area in relation to the open grasslands and sand pits of the former dump, the housing has become much more sprawling and the grasslands are confined to an acre or so between the Costco Parking lot and the main entrance to the Preserve.

Bank Swallow nest holes

It was there that I was looking for Grasshopper Sparrow this morning, since they appear to be a no-show at Colliers Mills this year. I didn't have any more luck there than I did at Colliers that last couple of times I've been there, but I still considered the trip a success because back in the wastelands, walking through wet, sticky clay, I headed toward a huge sand pile that looked like it had a number of holes punched in it. They were Bank Swallow nests and Bank Swallows were flying around them. Swallows on the wing can be difficult, at least for me. Sure, I can pick out a Barn from a Tree, but another, less frequent swallow, zipping by me at speed, doesn't often give me a chance to discern any field marks. 

But when I see swallows around holes in a big hill, I know what they are. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a picture to document your sighting. 

I realized that, while I have of course managed to pick out a Bank Swallow or two in flight while living in New Jersey, this was the first time I'd seen a nesting site in the state. Shari & I always used to go to Great Kills Park on Staten Island where they nested in 10 foot high cliff face facing the bay that was washed away by Superstorm Sandy. So it had to be the year before the storm that I last saw nesting Bank Swallows. 

After I saw the swallows I looked once again for the Grasshopper Sparrows but only came up with a number of Field Sparrows instead. A parking lot, condos clustered together, and acres of empty clay flats punctuated by mountains of sand and scattered construction machinery do not combine for a scenic walk in the wild, so, while I'd like to see some Grasshopper Sparrows, I don't know how much time I want to spend in an area clearly not set aside for natural pursuits. Especially in these times of upheaval, I can just imagine the Manahawkin Police Department investigating a suspicious character walking past row after row of "luxury housing" with binoculars and camera.