Cliff Swallows are one of North America’s most social land birds. Their nesting colonies sometimes consist of up to 7,000 individuals. Originally they were birds of the western mountains where they nested under horizontal rock ledges in canyons and foothills but in the last 150 years their range has expanded to include most of the continent due to the construction of buildings, bridges and highway culverts that provide alternative nesting sites.
But holy moly, are they ever difficult to photograph in flight!
I suspect that most serious bird photographers have attempted swallow (any species) flight shots and I’m no exception. But their small size combined with their swift, erratic flight has always stymied me. Until last May I didn’t have a single legitimate “keeper” of any swallow species in flight but that spring I was finally able to get some shots I like but it took some significant alteration of my past strategies.
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 800, 500 f/4, natural light
One of my problems in the past was that the bird was nearly always shaded underneath. So finally it struck me (duh!) that I needed to be shooting them when the sun was very low – for me that meant early in the morning.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 800, 500 f/4, natural light
But shooting flight shots just as the sun comes up provides another problem – sufficient shutter speed. At that time of day the light intensity is relatively low so I needed to be shooting at the effective noise limit of my Canon 7D – ISO 800.
1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 800, 500 f/4, natural light
Another thing that helped significantly was shooting without my 1.4 tc. This allowed for faster shutter speeds and quicker, more accurate autofocus for these little speed demons.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, 500 f/4, natural light
Another issue was depth of field – especially when the bird was turned sideways to me. But generally I find soft wings to be acceptable as long as the head and most of the body are sharp. Usually I try to avoid squarish crops but I had no choice with this composition.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 800, 500 f/4, natural light
This image is probably one of my favorite shots of a Cliff Swallow in flight.
Ok, now for some disclosure about these images. Sharp eyed observers may have noticed that all of these birds are looking in the same direction. There’s a reason for that…
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 800, 500 f/4, natural light
All of these shots were taken in a parking lot where the swallows were nesting beneath the roof of a picnic pavilion. They were acclimated to the presence of vehicles and people and since I was shooting from my pickup they weren’t disturbed by my presence. The images I’ve presented here were all taken as the birds approached their nests in flight, which accounts for the fact that each swallow is looking in the same direction.
There were so many birds flying into and out of their nests that at times the air was filled with swallows, so in two of these shots there was part of another out of focus bird in the image. Significant cloning is something I nearly always avoid but in those two shots I chose to clone out part of a bird in the background.
Swallow flight shots are still a work in progress for me but I’m happy to have finally had some success.
Ron
I laughed out loud wheew you wrote ‘speed demons’ ~ I tried photographing these guys last summer. There were 100’s of birds, but I didn’t get one good close-up 🙂 Beautiful work!
Yes, as everyone said — masterful shots of an extremely difficult-to-grab species! I’m still trying. I couldn’t do much with my old 70-300mm. I’m going to see how my newer lens faces the challenge. If I got one of these frames I’d be very happy.
These are such acrobatic birds, and I alway thought it would be fun to be one for a day just to experience the way they fly. Thank you for sharing these action shots and getting my imagination flying!
I don’t know how you do it. This bird is so swift and elusive. Amazing!
Oooh and aaaah. Megathanks.
Thanks, Elephant’s Child.
You are into something different here ,out of your comfort zone .. Stay at it, the results are great . These shots are no longer about birds or birdism , these photos move into pure gesture. Go ahead crinkle up a piece of paper ,throw it up into the air and start shooting with different light . It’s not always about the bird ,it’s about you….
Your comment made me smile, Eldridge. I have an image in my mind of me doing that with the paper – like a gunslinger in the old west. At least I’d likely just take a picture of my foot in my clumsiness, instead of blowing off some toes…
Hi Ron,
I’m now back from a trip to Thailand (from feb 5th to feb 28th) and I have followed your blog from there with a great interest. Your blog is fascinating for me because of the quality of the photos and also your generosity to share your vast experience. I have learnt a lot from this one in particular. I work with a 7D Canon and I just can’t wait to make a try with this fast flying swallows. The only problem is that I will have to wait their return up here, almost 4 months. Thanks again and again.
Good luck with the swallows, Laval. If you’re like me you’ll get a lot of throw-away images but those few that are keepers really bring a sense of accomplishment.
love the swallows.. such awesome shots.. thank you for sharing
Thank you, Linda.
Nice shots. Indeed a hard bird to photograph…I’ve never tried actually. But they are hard to follow with a pair of binoculars that is for sure. Cliff Swallows are some of my earliest memories of birds. They nested on the eaves of our cow barn and I loved watching them build their nests. Watching the parents, and later their young, peek out the opening of the nest is fun. I always marveled how they would know which nest was theirs!
Peggy, My earliest experience with these swallows was essentially identical to yours – birds nesting in the eaves of a cow barn (in Montana). They were a delight to watch – so industrious in nest building and caring for their young and they are such masters of the air.
Our barn was in Wyoming!
Ron, you are the master!
An inspiration and you have set the bar very very high my friend!!
I don’t know about that, Chuck but I surely do appreciate the compliment.
These are lovely, Ron … I particularly like the next to the last one because of the visible nest-building mud on is beak … and the 3rd one down, where there’s maybe a glimpse of the rictal bristles. Love these birds!
Good eye, Louise – on both counts.