 Northern Rough-winged Swallow beginning a tight turn in pursuit of an insect. On April 5th I posted on Neotropic Cormorants and Violet-green Swallows at Agua Caliente Park, see Agua Caliente Park, Spring 2025: Wings Over Pond 1. As chance would have it, on April 19th I wandered over to Ft. Lowell Park on North Craycroft and was surprised by a mass of swallows flying in tight circles over the pond. Of the ~100 swallows, my guess is that ~90% were Northern Rough-winged, kettling with a handful of Barn Swallows and a few Violet-greens. So here we go! Northern Rough-winged Swallow Canon R5 Mark II, RF 800mm prime, 1/4000 sec., f/11, ISO 8000, +0.33 EV
 Canon R5 Mark II, RF 800mm prime, 1/4000 sec., f/11, ISO 3200, +0.33 EV Below, a Rough-winged Swallow opening up for a bug over the water. In spite of shooting thousands of images, including a set of "open wide" takes of the swallow, I was not able to catch an insect on the wing about to be eaten! For the photo geeks: All these images were captured on a Canon R5 Mark II, set on precapture, electronic shutter, at high shutter speeds and frame rates. These birds were flying so fast, in circular patterns, that I frankly had little idea of what I was getting as I tried to pan and follow birds who were rapidly changing direction, right to left, or forward or away. I got many frames with very little on the frame or blurred blobs. The observant reader may note that the images above were captured with an 800mm prime lens. However this proved to be too much magnification for tracking purposes, and I switched to the RF 100-500 zoom relying on the R5 Mk II 45mp sensor to facilitate cropping post-production. Note that this pond has a large fountain/aerator in them middle, which provided the bright white blobs (large drops of water) seen on many of the images.  Canon R5 Mark II, RF 800mm prime, 1/4000 sec., f/11, ISO 4000, +0.33 EV All About Birds, the Cornell Lab website, reports that Rough-winged Swallows fly low over bodies of water and often seek areas with more trees or other obstructions. The pond at Ft. Lowell matches this preference, making these eye-level photos possible. Below is a series I discovered in the process of editing. A Rough-winged Swallow is gliding left to right in front of the fountain when he spots an insect to his right, prompting a very sharp right turn! Note: the two sexes are similar in appearance, I am assuming this is a male, but it could be a female.  Canon R5 Mark II, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/6400 sec., f/7.1, ISO 4000, +0.33 EV  Above, the swallow spots something to his right, and initiates a right turn, flaring his tail and banking. Below, the tail flares more, the wing tips come back a bit, and he raises his alula, the "bastard thumb" at his "wrist" to increase the surface area of the wing and avoid a stall as his speed slows.  Below, an enlargement of the image above, showing the wing detail and the alula. For more on the alula see: The Meadow Trail, Mt. Lemmon, Arizona, Summer 2021 wrap-up.  Above and below the turn tightens and our swallow comes around on his pursuit. The tail stays flared wide. Research on Cliff Swallows in flight, published in 2014, estimates that they can pull 7.8 g in a turn, well above the 5 to 6 g that would make a fighter piolet pass out. Ref: Battling Birds Pull Extreme Aerial Maneuvers.  Barn Swallow Canon R5 Mark II, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/6400 sec., f/7.1, ISO 4000, +0.33 EV The Barn Swallow is the most abundant and widely distributed swallow species in the world, breeding throughout the Northern Hemisphere and wintering in much of the Southern Hemisphere, see the range map below. Barn Swallows are glistening cobalt blue above and tawny below, with colors bolder in the male. They have long deeply forked tails which aid rapid maneuverability in flight. The forked tail is a key characteristic also of the the Swallow-tailed Kite, a raptor, who uses its forked tail to maneuver in flight while the wings stay locked in place. Flicking and rotating its tail, this kite can switch from a straight course to a tight turn quickly as it scans for prey. For more on the Swallow-tailed Kite, see my post from Panama in March of 2024: Bocas Del Toro, Panama, March 2024: Part 1, Mountains. 
Birds that are "nesting generalists" have a better chance of surviving as a species over time, vs. "nesting specialists" who insist on a specific set of conditions to breed and nest. For more on the risk of being a "nesting specialist" see Kirtland's Warbler Conservation Team.  Canon R5 Mark II, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/4000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 3200, +0.33 EV Above and below we see a Barn Swallow foraging close to the water, and close to ~100 other swallows feeding over the same pond.   Below, our subject, on the right, has pulled the mid-portion of the tail in to decrease drag, while maintaining extra maneuverability with the long outer feathers that create the forked tail. The bird to the left in the photo is a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, just out of the focal plane of the photograph.  Canon R5 Mark II, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/6400 sec., f/7.1, ISO 2500, +0.33 EV Violet-green Swallow Canon R5 Mark II, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/4000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 3200, +0.33 EV On April 5th I posted on the Neotropic Cormorant and the Violet-green Swallow foraging over Pond 1 at Agua Caliente Park. For details on the Violet-green Swallow, including breeding on Mt Lemmon in 2020, see this link: Agua Caliente Park, Spring 2025: Wings Over Pond 1. Here we see the Violet-green Swallow again in small numbers, mixing in with the other swallows over the pond at Ft Lowell Park. The white spots in the background are drops from the large fountain in the middle of the pond which keeps the water aerated. We can see the green back, the violet tail, and white "saddle bags" typical of the species.    Before I close, let's look at some other species of swallow seen in the U.S. Purple Martin Canon R6 Mark II, RF 100-500mm with 1.4 Ext., at 420mm, 1/4000 sec., f/10, ISO 1600, +0.33 EV Purple Martins are in fact swallows, feeding on insects over bodies of water and nesting in large colonies on the east coast, and breeding in smaller numbers in Saguaro Cactus on the Sonoran Desert. Above, two Purple Martins at their apartment in May of 2022 on Muddy Creek Bay on Lake Erie, west of Cleveland and close to the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area. For more on Purple Martins, see: NW Ohio Spring Migration 2022, Part 5, Wrap Up! Bank Swallow Canon R6 Mark II, RF 100-500mm at 500mm, 1/4000 sec., f/7.1, ISO 1600, +1 EV Bank Swallows are the smallest of North American swallows, wintering on the Pacific Coast of Mexico and breeding in the northern U.S., throughout Canada and into Alaska. This bird was photographed near Lake Erie in May of 2022, likely in migration to Canada. They eat flying and jumping insects, foraging often as high as 50 feet above water or open ground. Bank Swallows nest in vertical banks and bluffs, often in large colonies. They are listed by Partners in Flight as a common bird in steep decline, with numbers down 89% since 1970. Declining numbers are likely due to loss of habitat with human development removing or altering the steep banks they nest in. Although declining, they are still present in large numbers. Unlike the Barn Swallow, which moved from cave nesting to structures, Bank Swallows insist on banks or cliffs for their colonies.  That's all for now! Stay tuned, more to come. Happy trails!
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