Interesting Birding Time

This is an interesting time of year to be birding because many of the young birds are now leaving the nest.  With the extra birds coming from the nest the number of birds to be seen can be larger.  Today’s trip out Schad Road here in Elkton is a good example; we saw a record number of Steller’s Jays, Crows, and Kingbirds. Because juveniles are sometimes different in coloration it can also lead to some confusion. Sometime it’s hard to know if you are seeing a juvenile of one species or an adult of another. This juvenile swallow is a good example; I noticed the wide bill which was a clue that it is a juvenile not a dull colored female adult.  It could possibly be a juvenile Violet-green Swallow, but they have not left our box yet, it could also be a juvenile Tree-Swallow but I have not seen any Tree Swallows around.  In the end I decided it was a juvenile Northern Rough-winged Swallow. I confirmed this by waiting around until the adult returned to feed it.