Glendale, Berkshire Co. Mass.
1906
July 3
  After spending a week with the Frenches at Glendale
I returned to Cambridge to-day. About 10.15 A.M.
as I was waiting for my train at the railroad station
in Glendale I saw a pair of Rough-winged Swallows
flying back and forth over the Housatonic River. Skimming just
above the surface of the rapidly flowing water they passed
and repassed the station many times, giving me a good
opportunity to make out their characteristic color and markings.
Once they alighted on a large flat topped rock at the
waters edge where they moved about by short, quick runs
reminding me of Semipalmated Plover feeding on a beach.
I have never seen any other Swallows move so quickly.
After drinking at a little pool of rain water which had
collected in a hollow in the ledge they took wing again
and rejoined their regular, coursing flight. They frequently
passed under the bridge by which the road from the
station crosses the river to the village and twice they
turned sharply upward and disappeared for a moment
among its supporting rafters which are twenty feet or
more above the water. Suspecting that they might have
young there I went out on the bridge but I could
see nothing under it. On a telephone wire stretched
across the river a little above the bridge I found,
however, the young Rough-wings, fully grown and
feathered, clamoring loudly for food which the
old birds brought to them every minute or two.
I had a fine view of these young birds for they
were perched in the full sunlight within ten
or twelve yards of me. Probably there were one
or two others of the brood under the bridge but
of that I could not make sure. Two of those