Barn Swallow landing on a windy morning – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
It was windy two morning ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and that meant a I had a few challenges while photographing birds but the birds had some challenges too. It seemed that the Bank, Barn, Cliff and Tree Swallows were struggling to land on tops of rushes, cattails and phrags the in the wind too.
When this Barn Swallow came in to land it struggled a bit with the wind which is why its wings were raised to regain its balance in this image. Having the swallow with its wings up made for a nice photographic opportunity for me but I wonder if the swallow would agree.
I photographed the Bank, Barn and Tree Swallows while I was at the refuge but missed out on having any Cliff Swallows come in close enough to take photos of. All of the swallows were bouncing around on their chosen perches because of the wind. I even got a little dizzy a few times trying to keep them in my viewfinder.
I still haven’t gone through all of the images I took at the refuge two days ago but I liked this Barn Swallow image and decided to share it today.
Life is good. Stay safe.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Barn Swallow photos plus facts and information about this species.
Beautiful depth and detail. I love the balance of your composition. It all fits…perfectly! Thanks Mia…
I look forward to your emails in my inbox each day. When it is not a bird it is “other things with wings”. I love way you accompany each photo with relevant information. Reading it is like devouring paragraphs in a nature encyclopedia. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
Your photos are amazing!
He’s looking at you and saying, “A little help here!” 😉 Glad you both braved the windy conditions. 🙂
Thank you.
I love this ‘wind beneath his wings’ shot.
I am happy that you decided to share this shot with us. It is an excellent capture.
Great shot Mia! Unfortunately we/I have only seen 2 barn swallows fly over our area this summer, when in the past we would have dozens. We have had several farms go out of business, not sure if that is the whole reason.