{"id":7931,"date":"2013-03-24T03:55:05","date_gmt":"2013-03-24T09:55:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=7931"},"modified":"2025-05-09T13:44:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T18:44:38","slug":"male-tree-swallow-in-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/03\/24\/male-tree-swallow-in-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Male Tree Swallow In Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Tree Swallow in flight – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I have been seeing Tree Swallows this past week, another sure sign of Spring’s impending arrival. I’ve seen them skimming over fields looking for insects and enjoyed the brilliant flashes of the sapphire blues of the males.<\/p>\n

This male Tree Swallow in flight image was taken two years ago at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge<\/span><\/a> in Montana and for some reason I had not processed it until now.<\/p>\n

The Tree Swallows were looking to take over an active Mountain Bluebird nest box and the bluebirds were busy defending the nest box while still trying to find food for their chicks. It was actually very interesting to watch and photograph the skirmishes.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

This male Tree Swallow in flight image was taken two years ago at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana and for some reason I had not processed it until now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143928,"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":[27,12,608,2171],"tags":[4004,4052,4122,4062,3969,835,165,4807,3470,4377,1523,30,5434,5271],"class_list":["post-7931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-montana","category-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge","category-tree-swallows","tag-adult","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-male","tag-montana","tag-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-spring","tag-swallow","tag-swallows","tag-tachycineta-bicolor","tag-tree-swallow","tag-utah-2","tag-valley","tag-wet-meadow"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-male-mia-mcpherson-5662.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-23V","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26418,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/07\/07\/a-tree-swallow-defending-its-nest-for-the-memory-of-a-great-friend\/","url_meta":{"origin":7931,"position":0},"title":"Tree Swallow Defending Its Nest Photo In Memory Of A Great Friend","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm posting this Tree Swallow image that was taken at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in memory of a great friend, Rohn McKee.","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":"Male Tree Swallow defending its nest, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-flight-mia-mcpherson-0693.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-flight-mia-mcpherson-0693.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-flight-mia-mcpherson-0693.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-flight-mia-mcpherson-0693.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8574,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/12\/male-tree-swallow-in-morning-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":7931,"position":1},"title":"Male Tree Swallow in morning light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This male Tree Swallow was perched on a fence post in western Montana last week when I photographed him while the morning light lit him up beautifully.","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":"Male Tree Swallow with shaded mountains in the background, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2703.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-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2703.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2703.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/tree-swallow-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2703.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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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, 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