Drop Off Point

Swallows have been the fun birds to capture this year.  I had to get out and bird.  I began my job again after a long hot summer and just needed to unwind.  So I headed on the way home and stopped off at Sweetwater for a short hour walk in the afternoon heat.  I never know what to expect at this place and came prepared.

I remember saying before that I may never get Barn Swallows, Tree Swallows, Cliff Swallows or Swallow anything.  They're so quick.  So fast.  But these baby birds need feeding which require the adults to feed them:)  And that is how I got to get close and personal with my subjects.

The key to taking pics of swallows is tracking their flight patterns.  It's like clockwork.  Juvenile flaps wings and says, "AH AH!" and moments later the parent quickly flies by and deposits food into their mouths. Several minutes pass by and the juvenile gives me, inadvertantly, the warning that someone is coming to feed them.  And like clockwork the parent shows up and does it all over again.

I was pretty excited about this shoot until I saw the epic photography by Warren.  You want up close and personal?  Click here.  I still am amazed by his photography of these beautiful birds.

So I have changed my tune from, "It's impossible to capture swallows in Tucson." to "It's completely possible."

One more round.....

.....and yet another......

....until the sweat and heat are too much for me.  And it's time to call it a wrap.

I wait one last time until the parent swallow flies off and then I go home.