Smallish birds feeding at a lake - Pennsylvania, USA (1 Viewer)

[scott topic]

I was out kayaking on a local state park in PA today and every once in a while a group of 6-10 birds would come out and fly really fast across the surface of the lake, occasionally briefly making contact with the water. These weren't going after fish that I could tell, more like bugs or getting a drink I'd say. Unfortunately I was unable to get any good photos of them this time, but here's how i can describe them:

Smaller than a Robin to Robin sized
Very fast flyers, doing acrobatic stuff like going straight up then straight down
Never suberging in the water, just briefly touching the surface
Brown / Gray coloring

Looking at my field guide I thought they might be Purple Martins, although I can't say that I saw any of them in this large group that looked at all like the dark blue/purple color of the males. Could they have perhaps been a group of juveniles, or all females? I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for them next time I'm at the lake.

(On this same trip I saw a juvenile bald eagle! I parked my kayak on some logs and watched him probably a half hour or more. Such a cool bird!)

 

[D Halas]

Some kind of swallow or martin, but not identifiable to species from your description.

 

[Microtus]

Welcome, scott topic. I've seen Chimney Swifts do that exact behavior on a 'lake' near my house. Hooray for your eagle!

 

[nartreb]

As others have said, the behavior is typical of swallows or swifts. Brownish color is a decent clue, but not definitive. Could be tree swallows or chimney swifts. Try to pay attention to the wing shape (do the wings sweep back like pliers) and tail shape (are the tails forked)