{"id":2580,"date":"2011-06-27T14:36:02","date_gmt":"2011-06-27T21:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=2580"},"modified":"2025-02-13T04:12:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T10:12:09","slug":"cliff-swallow-juveniles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/06\/27\/cliff-swallow-juveniles\/","title":{"rendered":"Cliff Swallow Juveniles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CliffCliff Swallow juvenile (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/125, ISO 400, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light <\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday there were literally thousands of adult and immature swallows visible at Bear River MBR<\/span><\/a>. A great number of them were Cliff Swallows like the immature bird above.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0had a difficult time obtaining an image of this bird that showed detail, sharpness and had enough depth of field. The light was low, there was a breeze blowing the Hard-stemmed Bulrush around and with it; the bird. I took more images than normal trying for a crisp, detailed photo. I shot this in Aperture Priority which means that\u00a0I select the aperture and the ISO while the camera selects the shutter speed, I don’t like to go over ISO 400 with my D200 because noise can creep in and become a major issue so I sacrificed some shutter speed for this image. If I had gone to f7.1 or f8 my shutter speed would have dropped even more. A bit of a compromise but I think this turned out well.<\/p>\n

\"JuvenileJuvenile Cliff Swallow – pale-throated variant – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 400, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light <\/span><\/p>\n

Later in the day this juvenile Cliff Swallow cooperated and stayed perched for quite a few frames. I’m not sure if the plant is a Water Parsnip or a Water Hemlock but I enjoy the lacy flowers that remind me of Queen Anne’s Lace. I also like how the out of focus vegetation gives this image a depth it might not have without the out of focus stems and flowers in the background. I had more light for this photo that gave me a more acceptable shutter speed. I dialed back the exposure compensation so the whites of the flowers didn’t blow out.<\/p>\n

There is a large variance in the appearance of juvenile Cliff Swallows though they all have dark auriculars. This young bird appears to be a pale-throated variant. Cliff Swallow juveniles seem a little stickier than the adults are and can be fun to photograph.<\/p>\n

Cliff Swallows catch and eat flying insects of many species the\u00a0wing so I adore them because they eat mosquitoes, an insect that I personally despise! Go Cliff Swallows!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Cliff Swallow photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cliff Swallows catch and eat flying insects of many species the wing so I adore them because they eat mosquitoes, an insect that I personally despise! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,489,26],"tags":[4008,2420,642,4067,56,11413,4104,641,3470,4193],"class_list":["post-2580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-cliff-swallows","category-utah","tag-box-elder-county","tag-cliff-swallow","tag-hard-stemmed-bulrush","tag-immature","tag-juveniles-2","tag-pale-throated-variant","tag-perched","tag-petrochelidon-pyrrhonota","tag-swallows","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cliff-swallow-juvenile-pale-throated-utah-perched-mia-mcpherson-8975.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-FC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58774,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/06\/30\/juvenile-cliff-swallows-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":2580,"position":0},"title":"Juvenile Cliff Swallows At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The soft, early morning light was beautiful when I took these juvenile Cliff Swallow images and I am pleased with how the photos came out.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Early morning juvenile Cliff Swallow, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5249.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5249.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5249.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5249.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37463,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/03\/26\/cliff-swallow-nesting-season-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":2580,"position":1},"title":"Cliff Swallow Nesting Season at Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"More of the swallows will migrate to the refuge very soon and the Cliff Swallow nesting season will start.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-nests-mia-mcpherson-8130.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-nests-mia-mcpherson-8130.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-nests-mia-mcpherson-8130.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-nests-mia-mcpherson-8130.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100381,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/05\/swallow-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":2580,"position":3},"title":"Swallow Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I wanted to share swallow photos that show the six species of swallows I see and photograph in northern Utah while they are here for their nesting season.","rel":"","context":"In "Bank Swallows"","block_context":{"text":"Bank Swallows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/swallows\/bank-swallows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Violet-green Swallow adult back view, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/violet-green-swallow-male-back-view-mia-mcpherson-1622.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/violet-green-swallow-male-back-view-mia-mcpherson-1622.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/violet-green-swallow-male-back-view-mia-mcpherson-1622.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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