Birders, This morning around 0915 I watched a BROWN-CHESTED MARTIN fly in off of Lake Ontario from the northwest, turn eastwards upon nearing the shore, then steadily fly past (perhaps 250-300ft up) until out of sight. The entire observation was probably 60-90 seconds.
It was first obvious as a medium to large member of the Hirundinidae family with a striking dark collar across the lower throat/upper breast - strongly contrasting with a bright white throat and underbelly. The upperside of the bird was a fairly solid dark brown. Overall, the colour and pattern is very similar to a Bank Swallow. Structurally, the bird was much larger than our Swallow species - and although difficult to describe - was built like a Martin looking much stronger/steady as it flew. I made note that it DID appear smaller than a Purple Martin - a species which I was able to observe at will from this location over the past few months as they nested nearby. A shallow notch in the tail (fork) was also noted. Based on the circumstances of the observation, I would not expect to see the bird again, however I still wanted to get the word out to the birding community. A report will be submitted to the OBRC for review. Brandon Brandon Holden www.PeregrinePrints.com _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
