Sometimes you just get lucky. And sometimes you discover a new setting on your camera (that you’ve had over two years!) to help you track swallows in flight. As it happened, I got lots of great photo ops this day, including some rarely-seen Violet-green Swallows and Northern Rough-winged Swallows.
Brydon Lagoon
Aside from all the swallows flying against the wind, the stars of the show were undoubtedly a Song Sparrow parent / chick pair. One begged for food, as they do, and one frantically foraged for any little thing to stuff down its child’s ravenous gullet. A charming vignette of family drama, plus the youngest Song Sparrow fledgling I’ve ever seen!
Blackie Spit
The clouds were breaking up, enough that I got excellent light for all my shots but still leaving enough fluff in the sky to give my landscape shots that extra oomph! I’m especially happy with my photo of the Maple Street Pumphouse. For some reason all my previous shots were in portrait mode (to capture the creek alongside the building, I think?), but this composition is really really neat. And also has the creek, so there you go.
Piper Spit
More swallows! Some very common Tree and Barn Swallows, but also at least one comparatively rarer Cliff Swallow. Not to mention a female Red-necked Pharalope, looking all pretty by herself. And what I believe could be my best portrait of a male Brown-headed Cowbird, fresh off some careful preening. He has to look perfect for the paparazzi (and the ladies)!
The photos
