The appearance of swallows buzzing around the refuge–more than almost anything else– announces that spring is imminent. Today, March 19, 2015, at the Ridgefield NWR, I stopped in the woods and noticed all the tree swallows clamoring to make claim on their choice of tree cavity for nesting. I took some shots of swallows near their potential tree nest openings. One swallow flew down to a lone teasel stem and stayed there for a few seconds, half hovering and half perched on this unlikely choice of perches. The bird provided me about a dozen poses in those few seconds and I’ve chosen the above image to share first. (I’ll share a few more in upcoming days). Happy beginning of Spring (Fall in the southern hemisphere!)!
Canon 5D Mark III, 1/1250, f4, ISO 1000, 500mm, 10:43 a.m.
