Cranberry Bogs 3/28--Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Embarrassingly bad photo of 
Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Winter returned this morning, and aside from a lot of Field Sparrows, I didn't hear much singing this morning trekking through the Cranberry Bogs along Dover Road, nor did I see anything unexpected after walking all the way back past the large reservoir and onto the power line cut.  Turning around, I was curious if I could avoid walking back through the meadow where the buildings once stood; instead, as I was wearing my Muck Boots, I wondered if I could just walk out along the trail that is always flooded from a breached bog. The water in the bigger puddles around the bogs seemed to have receded somewhat so I thought it might be feasible. 

Short answer: No. But I'm glad I tried, because as I was standing in water just one inch below my boot tops, I saw a bird fly out of the brush and swoop over a bog. My first thought was that it was another Tree Swallow, but I quickly saw that it was bigger and it was brown. Then I saw another and another, and altogether 7, zipping right by me and it was obvious that I had my first Northern Rough-winged Swallows of the year, still considered rare here in Ocean County but apparently in their accepted window for migration. 

I have zero chance of photographing a speeding swallow on the wing with my unsophisticated camera, but one decided to take a rest from hunting (what insects it could be finding is a mystery to me) and perch on twig. I took a bunch of shots, but of course, the camera focused on the foliage in front of the bird and not the bird itself. Posted here is the best of a lot of really lousy shots. 

For the morning 25 species:

Canada Goose  4
Wood Duck  1     Heard bogs
Mallard  6
American Black Duck  16     Bogs and large reservoir
Ring-necked Duck  23
Mourning Dove  4
Great Blue Heron  1
Northern Flicker  2
American Crow  1
Carolina Chickadee  2
Tufted Titmouse  1
Tree Swallow  3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  7     
Eastern Bluebird  1
American Robin  2
House Finch  5
American Goldfinch  2
Chipping Sparrow  1
Field Sparrow  6
Dark-eyed Junco  3
Song Sparrow  3
Swamp Sparrow  1     Bogs
Red-winged Blackbird  10
Pine Warbler  1
Northern Cardinal  1