Forwarded for Brian Ratcliff Nick Escott 650 Alice Ave. Thunder Bay ON P7G 1W9 [log in to unmask] _____ From: Brian Ratcliff [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: October 31, 2010 11:18 AM To: 'Nicholas Escott' Subject: RE: Cave Swallow in Minnesota Nick: Could you forward this report. I have updated it with a couple of other sightings. Brian On Thursday Oct. 28, I saw a swallow (about 11:40 am) about 500 metres south of Judge C.R. Magney State Park entrance, on Hwy 61. I did not get a good look at it but I assumed it was a Cliff or Cave Swallow. On Saturday Oct. 30, about 12:30 pm as I returned to Thunder Bay, about 1 km south of where I saw the bird on Thursday, another swallow was flying over the road. This was a Cave Swallow as it did not have a white patch over the eyes and had a buffy coloured throat patch. I have seen these birds in Texas years ago and I'm confident that it was one. I see on the OntBirds website that a number are also showing up in southern Ontario. There was also a red-necked grebe at Grand Marais on Oct. 28, and a female black-backed woodpecker along the Devil Track River Trail east of Grand Marais on Oct. 30. Regards, Brian Ratcliff Brian Ratcliff 307 Dog Lake Road Thunder Bay, ON P7G 2G2 807-768-8408 [log in to unmask]