{"id":92104,"date":"2021-07-12T05:25:57","date_gmt":"2021-07-12T11:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=92104"},"modified":"2025-03-29T13:13:45","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T18:13:45","slug":"wasatch-mountain-canyon-cliff-swallow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/07\/12\/wasatch-mountain-canyon-cliff-swallow\/","title":{"rendered":"Wasatch Mountain Canyon Cliff Swallow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week before the smoke<\/span><\/a> started to darken the skies in northern Utah I had a few seconds to photograph an adult Cliff Swallow next to a steep mountain road.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Cliff Swallow perched on a dead branch \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I found two Cliff Swallows in this spot that overlooked a creek at the bottom of the canyon. I focused on this swallow because I liked the aged look of the branch and the two tiny orange lichens on it.<\/p>\n

I’ve photographed Cliff Swallows in the Wasatch Mountains before but I am always thrilled to have them in my viewfinder whether they are at high altitudes or in the marshes that surround the Great Salt Lake including my best spot for this species which is at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge where they can be found in large numbers during the breeding season.<\/p>\n

I was only able to take 13 images of this Cliff Swallow before it flew off and there were only a few where I had eye contact.<\/p>\n

Last week I saw more Bank, Barn, and Cliff Swallows in the mountains canyons than I have seen since they arrived during spring migration. It was a relief to see them in larger numbers catching prey on the wing after what seemed to be a slow start earlier in the year.<\/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":"

Last week before the smoke started to darken the skies in northern Utah I had a few seconds to photograph an adult Cliff Swallow next to a steep mountain road.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":142276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,489,1731,26,773],"tags":[4004,4897,3940,2420,4992,9979,4069,4104,641,2315,4807,3470],"class_list":["post-92104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-cliff-swallows","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-branch","tag-canyon","tag-cliff-swallow","tag-dead","tag-lichens","tag-mountains","tag-perched","tag-petrochelidon-pyrrhonota","tag-summer-3","tag-swallow","tag-swallows"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-adult-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-8735.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-nXy","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":90704,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/06\/23\/cliff-swallows-gathering-nesting-materials\/","url_meta":{"origin":92104,"position":0},"title":"Cliff Swallows Gathering Nesting Materials","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I photographed Cliff Swallows gathering nesting materials and fighting in bright morning light high in the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cliff Swallow adult gathering nesting material, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-adult-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-8764.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-adult-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-8764.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-adult-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-8764.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-adult-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-8764.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52542,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/06\/12\/northern-rough-winged-swallow-in-a-wasatch-mountain-canyon\/","url_meta":{"origin":92104,"position":1},"title":"Northern Rough-winged Swallow In A Wasatch Mountain Canyon","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Of the photos that I took that morning I liked this one Rough-winged Swallow the most because I could see its entire body while the other swallow had the out of focus perch in front of the body of the bird.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern Rough-winged Swallow perched, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/northern-rough-winged-swallow-canyon-mia-mcpherson-9562.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/northern-rough-winged-swallow-canyon-mia-mcpherson-9562.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/northern-rough-winged-swallow-canyon-mia-mcpherson-9562.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/northern-rough-winged-swallow-canyon-mia-mcpherson-9562.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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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, 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":15032,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/05\/23\/nesting-cliff-swallows\/","url_meta":{"origin":92104,"position":3},"title":"Nesting Cliff Swallows","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday at East Canyon State Park in Morgan County I was able to photograph nesting Cliff Swallows on a cliff face that overlooks the reservoir.","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":"Cliff Swallow nests, East Canyon State Park, Morgan County, 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":37463,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/03\/26\/cliff-swallow-nesting-season-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":92104,"position":4},"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 Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bear River Cliff Swallow perched on phragmites, 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-adult-mia-mcpherson-1307.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-adult-mia-mcpherson-1307.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-adult-mia-mcpherson-1307.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cliff-swallow-adult-mia-mcpherson-1307.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":92104,"position":5},"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 Swallows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/swallows\/barn-swallows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Barn Swallow stretching on a post, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, 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