{"id":23463,"date":"2015-05-12T05:21:15","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T11:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=23463"},"modified":"2025-03-29T08:56:22","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T13:56:22","slug":"preening-cliff-swallow-and-a-short-video-of-the-flock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/05\/12\/preening-cliff-swallow-and-a-short-video-of-the-flock\/","title":{"rendered":"Preening Cliff Swallow And A Short Video Of The Flock"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PreeningPreening Cliff Swallow – Nikon D810, f8, 1\/800, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
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The Cliff Swallows at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/a><\/span> are busy catching bugs and building nests but they do take time out to preen and fluff like this one did yesterday. There are thousands of Cliff Swallows at the refuge and they can be seen flying over the marshes catching bugs in the air and I am always grateful when they gobble up the mosquitoes. I really don’t like biting bugs.<\/p>\n

The swallow in the image above was preening when I photographed it and its tail is actually twisted because it was getting oil from the uropygial gland or preening gland. Its perch is a winter worn, sun-dried phragmites stalk, new growth of the phrags can be seen\u00a0 in the background.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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