Anyone know what bird this is???

[JudyJB]

I am completely puzzled about these birds that flew in each evening and spent about half an hour catching insects or small fish in a circular feeding frenzy. Some type of swallow, I am guessing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRGHW7AGy6g

[Bethers]

I've never seen swallows over water in a frenzy like that. Gulls and terns are both possible. Pelicans do this often, but what you took are too small to be pelicans. Not good enough for me to do better, so that's my best guess.

[JudyJB]

There are no terns or gulls on this river, as best as I can figure out. A long way from ocean.

Also, I have been doing all sorts of internet searches and have found nothing. Searched on birds flying in circle over river feeding, and all I get are birds flying in large clouds high in the sky. Weird.

[chalet05]

Perhaps a Bank Swallow?

[gypsyrose1126]

They look like swallows, but I've never seen them fly over water like that

[JudyJB]

I was also guessing a bank swallow, but also had never seen any birds flying like that.

Late in the afternoon or early dusk, a cloud of these birds would come flying in and start flying in a circle over the water, ducking their bills in the water to grab something, but never actually landing on the water, and then flying up and around the circle again. They would keep the circle going for quite a while, then it would move maybe 40' down or up stream to a different area and do the same flying in a circle and ducking and diving, and continuing to fly in the same circle. They did this several nights in a row for maybe 40-45 minutes, then flew off.

Clearly they are not ducks or other such water birds, or they would have landed in the water. They were not your usual wading water birds because the water was much too deep.

Here is the only almost in focus non-video photo I took. They look dark on top and pale in the bottom, which does match the photos of bank swallows. The Audubon guides say it flies low over water in big flocks and does acrobatics while catching insects, but nothing of circling!! I will try to take photos using a faster setting if they are still there in a couple of weeks when I go back to that campground.

[SoCalGalcas]

I have been thinking about this for several days. Has anyone guessed Tree Swallows? My bird book said they like to nest in dead trees because of the holes in the trees, near water! Swallows can be difficult to see because of their fast flight. That’s my two cents! Lyn

[Liz]

Barn swallows also exhibit this behavior.

https://besgroup.org/2015/10/19/unusual-feeding-behaviour-of-barn-swallow/