With regard to Howard Wu’s question about nesting Bank Swallows in the area of
northern Virginia and adjacent areas of MD or DC, I have two responses. First,
a search of eBird records shows many sightings of the species in the area in
June and July over the past 10 years, but there’s no easy way to determine
which of them (if any) were nesting. Second, I suspect that some years back
there was a colony at the gravel quarry located near the Rt. 11 Strasburg exit
off I-81 in Shenandoah County. I often drove the road that bends around the
quarry, leading to the village of Oranda, and in the late spring/early summer
there were often Bank Swallows flying around or perched on the power line that
follows the road. The last couple of years, however, I didn’t find any during
the same time period, and I have not been there this year. I suspect that
continued mining and associated activity may have driven them off.
I will be in the area this coming week and with time and weather permitting
will check them out.
Dave Davis
Arlington and Cedar Creek
