Wednesday, May 15, 2013

It's a Plane! It's a Bird! It's a Cliff Swallow in Flight!

After enjoying some shore birds at Lincoln Beach in Utah County Saturday I turned my attention to some Cliff Swallows that were drinking from puddles between the lake and a small dike. I watched them land, drink, flap their wings and then take off in a circular pattern. I decided to try for some fight shots. Anyone who has tried to keep an erratic swallow in the viewfinder with a 300mm lens knows it is tricky to get focused and release the shutter before they move just enough to immediately disappear from the frame or go out of focus despite still being in the frame. It would almost be like trying to take a picture of a popcorn kernel right when it explodes from the internal combustion. I was determined Saturday to capture some decent images of these flying birds and came up with the following.

Cliff Swallow at Lincoln Beach in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Cliff Swallow at Lincoln Beach in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Cliff Swallow at Lincoln Beach in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Cliff Swallow at Lincoln Beach in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Cliff Swallow at Lincoln Beach in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

4 comments:

  1. Nice photos! I can't even keep them in my binocular view long enough to ID them, usually, let alone snap a picture!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kiirsi. It was fun to keep trying. Thank goodness for digital photography.

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  2. Impressive photos! Taking pictures of any swallows in flight has been extremely difficult for me. Your pics are awesome!

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