Rick, Matty and I went to VOA park this morning for a short bit of birding. The Tree Swallows were spectacular and had already claimed nest boxes. I had my hand up, pointing towards a nest box in the distance for Rick, and a swallow slowly hovered around me and was within three feet of landing on my hand. It was a lot of fun. We also saw our first Bobolink of the year and a migrating Horned Grebe, plus Wilson’s Snipe, Meadowlarks, Song Sparrows and all the other usual suspects! I’ll have photos over the next couple of days from this trip.
Paul...thanks! The swallows at VOA are way ahead of the swallows at Pine Hill Lakes...less than 4 miles away from each other, but a huge difference in timing.
Matt...thank you!
Warren...the sun shining on them really brings out their iridescent color. Thank you!!
Laure...thanks...the first one cracks me up. I laugh every time I see it.
Jayne...I can't believe how lucky we were. They were in a playful mood. One almost landed on my hand. I think if I had stayed there for a couple of hours on a chair...eventually, they would have.
Andy...thank you!
FAB...I wonder if their mood will ever be repeated. They are often described as "gregarious," and they surely were Saturday! The sun really brought out their iridescent blue colors.
How beautiful and such great photos. I've been seeing some sort of swallow swooping over the water at the wetlands, but neither of us has succeeded in getting a descent photo yet. They are so fast and so small to track.
I hand hold the camera for all my photos (I used to use a monopod or tripod for distance and macro, but the VR lenses don't seem to require it). I crop the images down in Aperture (I'm a Mac).
The Story Behind "Red and the Peanut"
Red and the Peanut is named after my first bird memory. When I was about six, I was at my Great Aunt Mary's house and she was telling me about Red and the peanut. "Red" was a Northern Cardinal that had trained Aunt Mary to feed it peanuts on demand. Since Aunt Mary's "Red" started it all, what better name could I choose?
12 comments:
Oh my!! What a beautiful bird!! What beautiful photos Kelly!! I've never seen that bird. The colors are so brilliant!
...Tree Swallows are fun, beautiful and they sound cute too. I can't get enough of them.
Beautiful pictures of the Tree Swallows!
Not seen any Swallows here yet, will be keeping my eye out again today.
Tree Swallows are beautiful and you have captured some beautiful images here.
Blue swallows! amazing! Happy easter Kelly
Just love the playfulness of the first photo, Kelly! Such gorgeous birds - would love to see them in person - maybe one day!! : )
Oh, so very beautiful Kelly! We saw more Tree Swallows yesterday too, but my shots weren't nearly as close or sharp. :c)
Love the top photo.
Great series.
Wow...FAB close-ups of Tree Swallows & so blue.
Paul...thanks! The swallows at VOA are way ahead of the swallows at Pine Hill Lakes...less than 4 miles away from each other, but a huge difference in timing.
Matt...thank you!
Warren...the sun shining on them really brings out their iridescent color. Thank you!!
Laure...thanks...the first one cracks me up. I laugh every time I see it.
Jayne...I can't believe how lucky we were. They were in a playful mood. One almost landed on my hand. I think if I had stayed there for a couple of hours on a chair...eventually, they would have.
Andy...thank you!
FAB...I wonder if their mood will ever be repeated. They are often described as "gregarious," and they surely were Saturday! The sun really brought out their iridescent blue colors.
How beautiful and such great photos. I've been seeing some sort of swallow swooping over the water at the wetlands, but neither of us has succeeded in getting a descent photo yet. They are so fast and so small to track.
Mary, you're right. They are so fast...and really fun to watch!
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