Northern Rough-winged Swallow
birdfotos.com
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
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A small bird about 5 to 6 inches in length.
I really have a hard time telling them from the Bank Swallow.
Except there is no brownish breast/throat band.
Nest in or along river banks.
Unlike the Bank Swallow this one does not form large colonies.
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In Arizona we have canals or water ways.
When ever I get the opportunity I will drive along them looking for birds.
Also I look to see if there are holes in the muddy banks along these water canals.
Next I will wait to see if there any birds going to these holes.
In this case I see swallows along the banks of this water way.
If you stop and look at the holes in the muddy banks you may see the Swallows going in and out of them such as did.
As you can see I set my camera up behind the side of the car away from the water so as to hide my self from the view of the birds as best I can.
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Here is what I have my camera trained on.
Click on the above photo to see an animation
if your using a standard dial up modem it may take a bit to load.
As it turned out every hole had a bird either coming or going from it.
It all happens so quick it's almost impossible to get a photo of the bird at the hole.
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SO, let's do the almost impossible first.
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OK, now that we have done that, let's do an ever more impossible photo of these Swallows.
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Believe me, this was not a planned photo.
When taking the photo I only saw the one bird coming to the nest hole.
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If you have ever seen these birds flitting around catching bugs in the air,
you know it would virtually impossible to photograph one flying in mid air, correct?
Wrong.
I think it's going to try a landing on the twig.
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Yep, I was right & it did.
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If this was a Bank Swallow it would have brownish band on its breast.
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Now why would anyone photograph a bird from the back side?
Well, as I have said repeatedly, always try to photograph the birds from as many angles as possible.
It not only helps me identify them but also helps you in identifying them.
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You may contact me at birdfotos@aol.com