Hello!

If you are interested at all in watching swallows hunting over a meadow in a very unique setting, then I would encourage you to get on down to the Algonquin Mill just south of Carrollton in Carroll County.  The mill is located south of Carrollton on State Rt. 332.  The mill is at the corner of SR 322 and Autumn Rd. right where North Fork McGuire Creek creates the Petersburg end of Leesville Lake.  The lake and Petersburg Marina are located west of the mill along Azalea Rd. if you are interested.  But this is about swallows.

There is a small parking area at the east end of the mill area and a small gravel road that runs between Autumn Rd. and Canyon Rd. (the mill is nestled between these 2 roads).  Looking east from that gravel road is a small mowed field with nesting boxes and then beyond that a meadow that is allowed to grow until it gets mowed before the Algonquin Mill Festival in October (the 2nd weekend each year).  

Over that small mowed area, over the taller meadow grasses and along the creek you can watch swallows do their acrobatic hunting.  My preference is in the evening when the light is softer and the sun is at your back.  This evening I saw at least 25 Cliff Swallows, as well as typical (5-10) numbers of Barn and Tree Swallows, and 2 Northern Rough-winged.  The great light combined with a very unique setting (the mill) provides a pretty holistic birding experience in my mind, so if you are into that sort of thing I think you would enjoy it.

I suggested it as an eBird hotspot on my list tonight.  For what it’s worth, cell reception is sketchy at best in those deeper valleys, so accessing eBird via mobile is not always an option.

Happy birding! 


Jon Cefus
Carroll Co. 
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