Finally Some Decent Cliff Swallow Shots

Used Fill flash to get these swallows up under a bridge.

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This is a great series Mitch with the second & sixth shots being standouts for me. I didn't realize how rich the colouring of these Cliff Swallows is.

Thanks Scott. They are nicely colored, but in strong sunlight it get's washed out, very hard to shoot, kind of like a tree swallow.

Unique and interesting series Mitch! Especially that last one--very nice.

Great series.

Very nice color Mitch Amazing what a little light will do.

Mitch, the series is wonderful. Great captures and wonderful behavior shots.

Cool shots! I used to get nests like this inside my barn. I loved it because they ate the flies and mosquitoes!
Karen

Excellent series Mitch. I really like the habitat perspective on these images.

Thanks Dennis, Steve, Gary, Bill Karen and Reyno. These swallows have been building their nests under this bridge for years. At the bank end of the bridge where I was, the nest and birds in these shots were just outside the minimum focus distance for the Bigma, maybe 10-12 feet. I used the tripod and as I stood there, the birds would swoop very close to me, literally over my shoulder, within inches, and they weren't freaked out at all by my being there.

I have spent hours there, watching them build new nests with the mud they get from the receding waters of the wetlands, the same place I shot that series of Black Jack Grackle. The process is fascinating to watch, but it takes several days to complete a nest. They bring mud from the flats in their mouths, then dab little bits of it together, just like building a brick wall, and just like that, they lay one course of wet mud, then they have to wait for it to dry before putting in the next row.

I have wondered if this fact doesn't in part, determine when they return from the South. It must require a certain temperature and low humidity to dry the mud fast enough to build the nests. If they started when it was too cold, or rainy, the nests wouldn't hold together.

Very nice. The last shot looks like all the nosy neighbors are checking out who has a guest.

Great shots, Mitch. I got a few of these about a month ago from my boat. Unfortunately, the waves rocked the boat and kept pushing me around. This is a very nice series of incredible quick birds. --Rick

Thanks Rock and Rick. They probably are checking on the neighbors, being the most social bird I have ever seen. They seem to have built the nest so they can sit in the doorway and see what's going on.

Rick, this is a perfect spot for getting some inflights, but I no longer have my 400L and the Bigma just won't cut it. But they sit there in the nests and in the open and don't seem to care that I am right there.

Nice, I wouldn`t mind photographing the swallows we have around here, but they move so fast, and I don`t know of any nesting areas , still i`ll keep an eye open for bridges etc.

Mark

Thanks Mark. You can see the swallows from quite a ways away, so if you see a swarm of dots flying over water as you come to a bridge, you've just found a nesting site.