Swallow on Teasel

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.

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.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

My Gear:

  • Canon EOS 5D Mark IV & Grip
  • Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Canon EF 500mm f4L IS II
  • Canon EF 24-105mm f4L
  • Canon EF 50mm f1.8
  • Canon 1.4X III Extender
  • Canon 2x III Extender
  • Canon 580EX Flash
  • Zoom H1 Recorder
  • Better Beamer
  • Manfrotto tripod/monopod
  • Manfrotto Gimbal Head
  • Sandisk Compact Flash Cards
  • The Molar Bean Bag by Vertex
  • Joby Gorillapod Focus & Ballhead
  • Canon EG200 Backpack
  • Storm Jacket Camera Cover
  • Kinesis Safari Sack
  • Original Bug Shirt Elite Edition

Software:

  • Adobe Photoshop CC
  • Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic
  • Nik Color EFEX Pro 4
  • Nik Sharpener 3
  • Nik Dfine 2.0
  • Nik Viveza 2
  • Nik HDR Efex Pro 2
  • Nik Silver Efex Pro 2
  • Nik Analog Efex Pro