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Daily Bucket Friday Sequence: A Swallow Obsession [1]
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Date: 2022-07-22
High speed water works, Swallow style. A Cliff Swallow approaching it's Shining Moment. This bird is clearly in nature's spotlight.
Flint Hills of Kansas 7/11/22 (updated)
Following sparse visitation during the spring migration period our local bird population leveled out at loyal fulltime residents. Even nearly all hawks vacated the entire area, which is something I have never seen happen in the 22 years I have lived here. But, one thing that remained the same is the arrival in spring of our Barn Swallows. The repetitive nature of their adoption of our place as their own and the resulting interaction with them is a big part of our mutual lifestyles.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns spinning around us. We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
Our place here in the Flint Hills of Kansas is ½ mile long and ¼ mile wide. It is less than quarter mile deep at the north end, more than a quarter mile deep at the south end. It is shaped kind of like Idaho but with a fatter panhandle thanks to the route of the river. Our border on the east is a timber banked river. The boundary along the west is a hilltop township road. We manage our place as a nature refuge. Our lifestyle is relatively simple and strives to be in harmony with nature. Everything is structured around our Traditional background.
I have offered diaries in the past featuring Swallows (see www.dailykos.com/...) so another one should come as no surprise. What is a surprise is the extent to which Swallows have become something of an obsession for me. Besides being a close observer I am even involved in their nesting and baby raising process. Swallows have provided me the huge challenge of photographing them in flight. A nice thing about this pursuit is that while success is definitely not a constant result the Swallows at Appy Trails provide an abundance of opportunities. After all, we live together!
Swallows in flight are one of the most difficult subjects to capture with a camera. As a beginning photographer I found the challenge veritably impossible. Being the persistent type, and getting help from Bucket members, among others, I improved and began to find more success at getting the elusive Swallow BIF photos I covet. Having said that, there is one particular Swallow flying maneuver that I had never even attempted. Swallow behavior includes the practice of diving from various heights to briefly skim the surface of a body of water, then dipping their open beak into the water to get a drink on their way back to the safety of altitude and open space. They can accomplish that feat at very high rates of speed. The entire process may only last a second. But sometimes they will make more than one pass, which greatly enhances the chance to track them with a camera. I set getting a good photo of that beak dipping instant in time as a top priority goal for this year. Because is so miss them when they are gone I want to be able to see Swallow behavioral traits, including that rather spectacular ‘shining moment’, at any time I choose throughout the year.
My most recent Swallow diary focused primarily on nesting and raising the young to achieve flight. Todays diary will display pictorial sequences of Swallow teaching behavior followed by my pursuit of catching one snatching it’s shining moment. We will begin with a sequence showing some extended training for young fliers.
Sequence #1: Training the Young'uns.
Our Swallows often gather periodically throughout the day on the power line extending from road to house. It passes by the upper barn, our pond, and the main barn on the way and figures prominently in the behavior of Swallows at Appy Trails. This year the huge Cliff Swallow population who nest under the river bridge a half mile upstream has taken to spending their daytime hours here. That can complicates issues for the Barnies, but they have held their own despite being grossly outnumbered.
It’s all on the line for Swallows. What you see here is a short stretch of the 300’ long two-line electrical infrastructure spanning from upper barn to the main barn. Sometimes they completely cover the entire length...both lines! That is an intimidating sight. Imagine being one of about 20 Barnies set on holding all the hordes of Cliff Swallows at bay.
Swallows do the bulk of their hunting at various altitudes in open sky, but also hunt on the ground. Here is Papa on the ground just outside the barn fixated on capturing a hefty insect.
Main Papa ground hunting. He has his eye on a juicy morsel he hasn’t caught. Yet. But he will! Swallows have an astonishing success rate when it comes to hunting. It is estimated an individual Swallow catches an insect every minute and up to 850 each day.
Crazy Bird beats those numbers all to hell.
It isn’t often you see them in ground hunting mode but is very entertaining to behold. Crazy Bird does more of this that any of the other Swallows. I think she has discovered the horse’s winter hay feeding sites are a great source for fly larva, which might explain the little white bits and pieces decorating her beak when she is feeding babies.
However, most hunting is airborne, so that is when I spring into BIF action. Barn Swallows are amazing flyers, maybe the best there is. They are not only very fast, they are also extremely quick and unbelievably agile at any speed.
Adult Swallows take fledgling flight lessons to the next level by showing the youngsters how the sky is their breadbasket. Sometimes such instructional moments can appear to be confrontational.
Aerial confrontation?
It sure LOOKS like confrontation!
Looks can be deceiving. What you see happening is an adult showing a youngster how to hunt in the air, periodically providing proof by example.
All that flying tires out the youngsters so the family retreats to perch on the line, but the male extends the lesson by approaching from below to embed the lesson in the juvie to the right, who you can see is correctly anticipating what is about to take place. The female is on the line to the left. I cropped the approaching male for the next pic. ZOOM
I went to great lengths to process this photo in a way that highlights the insect in his beak. That seems to have wreaked havoc with color, but has the desired effect. I can’t figure out exactly what the insect is. See if you can ID the bug using ZOOM , then please share your theory in a comment.
The adult Swallow feeds his catch to an eager juvenile, who contorts to accommodate the transfer. Even bigger This pic kind of reminds me of Jeff’s outstanding four winged owl photo.
Turns out the aerial “confrontations” are most often an in flight transfer of food to the learning youngsters. It is something along the lines of bribing the youngster to tag along and copycat what it’s parent does. It works! The young become self reliant within 2-3 weeks following their initial flight.
That concludes Sequence #1 on Swallow behavioral training traits.
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This line break reminds me of going to a movie in the old days when they had to change the reel. Que the clips of buttery popcorn and other stuff to make you take off for the concession stand. LOL. I’ll just assume you brought your own goodies to this show and ‘over the break’ I’ll show you some of my favorite Swallow BIFs before we dive into the second sequence.
Skirting the edge of open water getting ready to create it’s magic moment. One of my favorites. ZOOM
Sleek and beautiful Barn Swallow. I enjoy the translucent effect allowing the far wing to show through the near one. Is that what you call “angel wing”? I also like the little white dots, like little snowflakes, decorating topside of the head, wings, and back of this bird. Sometimes zoom doesn’t do much if the photo has already been considerably zoomed prior to save. ZOOM
This Barn Swallow BIF photo is what I hope to see when I check to see what’s on my camera card. Another of my BIF favorites. ZOOM
Heading for a barn door opening to make a personal call. These head on approaches are very tough to photograph because the bird’s speed is so great a tracking camera cannot adjust fast enough to maintain focus. But when, like this time, it all works as hoped you get a nice result. The zoom function on my computer allows me to click, click, click up to about 700%, so if I click fast enough it makes the bird glide right up to my face. Simple fun. I know...video is better. Maybe someday… ZOOM
Sometimes they come straight at you and fly right over your head.
Other times they sneak up and fly right over your head from behind, then melt into the distance at incredible speed. Sorry, I don’t have reverse zoom for the fun effect of going away. :)
This Barn Swallow is just showing off it’s exceptional good looks. Can you guess which bird this is? Hint: female and her initials are CB, but Crazy Bird doesn’t write diaries. Dang it, so much for secrets.
Hovering Barn Swallow. Sometimes I suspect that bulge under their beak is a pouch for storing water, or food, for the young. I developed that theory because sometimes it is bulging but other times it is snuggly contracted. Compare to the next pic, or the first.
There is something downright magical about a Barn Swallow offering up a revealing pose, especially in the golden glow of early evening. 7/12/22
Since Cliff Swallows have recently interjected themselves as such a strong presence here on our place I thought I better give them a strong presence in this story and pics. Besides, they are easier photo targets than Barn Swallows. Notice the big white ruff on the forehead and the rounded tail. If you can look down on them you can see lanius’ orange rump patch on their lower back. You’ll see that later in Sequence #2.
Cliff Swallow soaring overhead. Cliffies may not be as sexy as Barn Swallows but they are handsome in their own right. Can you make out the coded message on the bottom side leading edge of the wing joint? It says “this is not a code.”
Hey, did you notice this bird has three feet? LOL LOL. I should leave the jokes to Funning from now on.
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OK, I have the new reel queued up and ready to go. Let’s head into…
Sequence #2: Quest for the Shining Moment
It is time to get serious about trying to capture a Swallow’s Shining Moment. I must tell you unless you are really, really, good AND very lucky you can expect to suffer through a lot of failure at this game. I know I sure do. But if you learn from mistakes and spend a lot of time trying you can eventually get that prize pic you’re after. At least I hope that proves true! I have spent hours and hours day after day sitting still hiding in the shade, or even out in the open under a sizzling Sun, waiting for chances to get the one pic I am after. But it’s great fun trying to be ready when the chance arrives and I will definitely be doing it again, hoping for the ultimate bar setter. So here we go, always believing this is the day we’ll get it. The biggest advantage in our favor is that Appy Trails pond delivers an abundance of opportunities. Since it has become so hot Swallows are making far more frequent visits to the pond for water. It is wise to remind yourself to be ready at all times because, as the saying goes, it usually happens when you least expect it. Remember, the entire process of the bird diving in, skimming the surface, dipping it’s beak in the water, and returning to altitude may only last for one second, often less. The instant they dip their beak in the water creates the Shining Moment that we want to click on. BE READY!
Great start! Here comes a Cliff Swallow making it’s approach over the water. I’m on it! We’re gonna get this one...
Clearing the shallows rubble and ready to start the open water skim. We’ve got this baby pegged!
Whaaa? OMG. It tipped it’s tail up and swooped right back up into the sky. A non-skimmer. We had that one dead to rights. Arrrgh! Oh well, all we can do about it is start over and hope for a better result. “Hey bird, stop laughing at me!”
We start over, and over, and over, again. Sometimes we get closer to what we’re after, sometimes it’s a total whiff.
Coming head on or across my view is what I prefer but I’ll take whatever I can get. This is a case of not getting what I was after but not whiffing either. Zoom
Oh yeah! This is more like it. Great light, great color, and I timed it right. I’ll hang on to this one because it could turn out to be the best pic I’ll get. It’s as close to getting it as you can get without getting it. It just isn’t THE ONE I hoped for. Maybe next time. Oh, notice lanius’ rump patch? 7/12/22
While I’m waiting for another chance this pretty little pic came floating along through the horizontally growing Willows along the western bank of the pond.
Another false skimmer alarm, but a pretty picture of our pond habitat with an extra colorful Cliff Swallow.
Oh boy! Gonna have to be extra quick on this one. As Cliff Swallows go, this is definitely the super sport model.
I lost focus due to the bird’s incoming speed. Another whiff, so we’re back to waiting.
An idyllic scene like this one makes waiting for another chance easy to take. Three fly byes, if you count the two golden dragonflies.
I was way too late on this attempt but Imma keeping this one. I can tell you if I were a Swallow and caught this beautiful lady skinny dipping I’d get down on my knees and propose right on the spot.
Don’t bail on me now, we’re gonna get this if we just keep trying.
Okay, here we go, here we go, HERE WE GO... Stay with him...c’mon Appy, don’t blow it this time...
AHA! We did it! We have a bar setter for the SHINING MOMENT!!!!!! Don't you get wet, ya hear?
WOOHOO! WE GOT IT! Hey, where’s the confetti?
Tough crowd.
Oh wait, did I try to celebrate too soon? The thing about bar setters is you now have to try to get a better one.
I’m kind of partial to this Barn Swallow preparing for her shining moment who appears to be hauling a hitch hiker. 7/15/22
Or this one of the instant before the instant? Actually, I think this IS the instant of touchdown. I was just a nanosecond too early to get the water works. It is the water works that makes the moment shine!
I call this one Vaseline Vignette. Is it even a contender? Or maybe you like the lead pic best of all. At least no one can say we failed for lack of trying. I’m beginning to think you can’t get a Swallow pic without dragonflies barging in.
How about this one? I was too late on the trigger but late can be perfectly fine. 7/12/22
UPDATE: The bar is indisputably reset!
It isn’t perfect. It isn’t tack sharp and it isn’t full fan. But, it is perfectly timed, has great color, provides a fine reflection, is a Barn Swallow, and has brilliantly beautiful water works. That’s good enough for me!
The latest Shining Moment bar setter.* 7/13/22. Oh, don’t ask me about the wing thing. I have looked and looked and studied and I can’t tell you what is up with that. Maybe Nook can give us a nudge. Bigger
C’mon, you knew I wouldn’t fail to finish with a flourish, didn’t you?
UPDATE X2
Ring those chimes! Sometimes, if you’re living right, the Swallow Gods smile on you in a big way.
A Shining Moment supervised from overhead. My thermometer read 102 degrees this 7/15/22. When you’re hot, you’re hot. But hot is when we do it. ZOOM
I hope you enjoyed getting a little bit more Swallow behavior out of this virtual exercise. Save that confetti because I’ll keep working to get more, along with trying to upgrade my bar for that Shining Moment. Because...it is a Swallow Obsession.
Until next time, pass the popcorn, please.
[END]
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