{"id":7384,"date":"2013-02-03T05:41:57","date_gmt":"2013-02-03T12:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=7384"},"modified":"2026-03-16T13:11:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T18:11:14","slug":"bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge-barn-swallow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/02\/03\/bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge-barn-swallow\/","title":{"rendered":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge Barn Swallow"},"content":{"rendered":"

My birding friends Kathie<\/a><\/span> and Chris<\/a><\/span> down in Arizona have reported that they are already seeing swallows so chances are it won’t be long before I see them just one state away in Utah!<\/p>\n

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/a><\/span> has five species of swallows during the warmer months, they are Tree, Northern Rough-winged, Violet-green, Cliff, and Barn Swallows.<\/p>\n

\"BarnBarn Swallow at Bear River MBR – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 250, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The swallows are drawn to Bear River MBR because of the abundance of insects at the refuge, primarily mosquitoes and midges. I’ve written before about them in a post titled \u00a0Midges and Birds – Food for Thought<\/a><\/span> that explains how midges benefit the ecosystem at Bear River NWR in northern Utah.<\/p>\n

That post also shows midge tornadoes that I find fascinating and images of a few birds that consume them too.<\/p>\n

Okay, back to swallows, it wasn’t until last night that I realized I have not posted a single\u00a0image of a Barn Swallow on my blog yet and I figured it was about time! I photographed this beautiful adult Barn Swallow on the auto tour loop back in May of 2010, that was a super day for me as far as photography went because I was also able to photograph some gorgeous Red Fox kits<\/a><\/span> that morning too.<\/p>\n

I expect to see the first Barn Swallows sometime around the end of March to the beginning of April, I can’t wait!<\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong, I love winter and the birds the cold weather brings but I am also looking forward to the birds I see in spring and summer and swallows are among them. I know that I enjoyed photographing this Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge Barn Swallow and the results of my efforts.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge has five species of swallows, they are Tree, Northern Rough-winged, Violet-green, Cliff and Barn Swallows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139629,"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":[2108,124,1148,5736,26],"tags":[4004,2111,781,4545,4062,4094,540,530,4104,4807,3470,4095],"class_list":["post-7384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-barn-swallows","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-midges","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-barn-swallow","tag-chironomidae","tag-hirundo-rustica","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-midges","tag-migration","tag-perched","tag-swallow","tag-swallows","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/barn-swallow-perched-mia-mcpherson-1401.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1V6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":100381,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/05\/swallow-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":7384,"position":0},"title":"Swallow 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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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/violet-green-swallow-male-back-view-mia-mcpherson-1622.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51012,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/02\/18\/with-midges-emerging-will-swallows-arrive-soon\/","url_meta":{"origin":7384,"position":1},"title":"With Midges Emerging Will Swallows Arrive Soon?","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"That one midge I saw in the restroom at Bear River MBR did cause me to wonder if the swallows will show up early this year in northern Utah or will the predicted cooler weather cause them arrive at their normal time.","rel":"","context":"In "Barn Swallows"","block_context":{"text":"Barn 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cliff-swallow-adult-on-road-mia-mcpherson-5414.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cliff-swallow-adult-on-road-mia-mcpherson-5414.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cliff-swallow-adult-on-road-mia-mcpherson-5414.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cliff-swallow-adult-on-road-mia-mcpherson-5414.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":116184,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/22\/late-summer-barn-swallow-delight\/","url_meta":{"origin":7384,"position":3},"title":"Late Summer Barn Swallow Delight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I was thoroughly delighted to capture several late summer Barn Swallow photos during my last trip to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I was truly thrilled.","rel":"","context":"In "Barn Swallows"","block_context":{"text":"Barn Swallows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/swallows\/barn-swallows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Late summer Barn Swallow adult, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/barn-swallow-late-summer-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0618.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/barn-swallow-late-summer-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0618.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/barn-swallow-late-summer-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0618.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/barn-swallow-late-summer-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0618.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":125851,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/25\/tree-swallows-have-migrated-into-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":7384,"position":4},"title":"Tree Swallows Have Migrated Into Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the weekend, I read on Facebook that Tree Swallows have migrated back into Northern Utah for their breeding season. I am so excited about that news!","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tree Swallow peeking out of a natural nesting cavity in the High Uintas, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-aspen-high-uintas-mia-mcpherson-6727.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-aspen-high-uintas-mia-mcpherson-6727.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-aspen-high-uintas-mia-mcpherson-6727.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-aspen-high-uintas-mia-mcpherson-6727.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46962,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/05\/28\/curbside-barn-swallow-on-a-chilly-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":7384,"position":5},"title":"Curbside Barn Swallow On A Chilly Morning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"When I arrived at the parking area where the auto tour loop begins at the refuge I spotted a fluffed up curbside Barn Swallow warming up in the sunlight and couldn't resist photographing it.","rel":"","context":"In "Barn Swallows"","block_context":{"text":"Barn Swallows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/swallows\/barn-swallows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Curbside Barn Swallow, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/barn-swallow-fluffed-up-mia-mcpherson-8046.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/barn-swallow-fluffed-up-mia-mcpherson-8046.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/barn-swallow-fluffed-up-mia-mcpherson-8046.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/barn-swallow-fluffed-up-mia-mcpherson-8046.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}