Another swallow confrontation

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Another swallow confrontation

May 3, 2013 by Mike Powell

Are Barn Swallows normally hostile toward each other?

As I was looking over once more the shots that I took on Monday, I came across this little series of images of two Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) interacting. I had passed over these photos when I did my first sorting, because they were seriously underexposed. Unlike the photo that I posted earlier this week of a confrontation between two swallows, I was not using a flash for these photos, which meant, however, that I was able to take a burst of photos. (When I used my pop-up flash, I had to wait for the flash to re-cycle in order to shoot again.)

I tweaked these photos in Photoshop Elements (and cleaned up the background a little) and was amazed to discover that this confrontation seems to have escalated a bit beyond the previous one. The flying swallow seems much more aggressive and threatening, going beyond the squawking I had seen before, and looking more like he was ready to attack the sitting swallow, who seems to be paying attention to the incoming bird.

These photos would have been better with a higher shutter speed and better light, but I am amazed that I was able to capture this moment. I love interactions between members of the same species (and between different species) and I enjoy trying to catch those moments.

Posted in Birds, commentary, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Barn Swallow, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, controntation, Hirundo rustica, hostility, Huntley Meadows Park, swallow | 10 Comments

10 Responses

on May 3, 2013 at 7:01 am | Reply New Hampshire Gardener

Such confrontations must happen thousands of time each day, but seeing one is rare. Excellent shots.
- on May 3, 2013 at 1:33 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. You’re probably right that these kind of incidents happen all the time. The only equivalent I can think of that I see often is the interaction of geese. They can get awfully loud and aggressive.
on May 3, 2013 at 7:53 am | Reply Sue

These are great photos, Mike. Pretty aggressive, you’re right. The breat feather are pale rust color, instead of bright, but it looks like two males having a dispute over territorial space (or a female).
on May 3, 2013 at 11:39 am | Reply Another Perspective Photography

Having recently made a few attempts to photograph birds- I know that it isn’t easy… so stop picking on yourself for light/shutterspeed etc. You know that nature/birds/weather don’t check with photogs to give us ideal conditions before we go out to shoot right??? lol.
Shoot first, ask questions later… as a wise person once said.
These are great- and in fact I find that the motion blur adds to the tension of the moment!!!
P.S. I LOVE that this blog gives all of us a chance to share, compare and talk shop across entire continents. I LOVE photography, and seeing others work, like yours- just makes me happy.
on May 3, 2013 at 12:16 pm | Reply anisja rossi

Great capture.
- on May 3, 2013 at 1:31 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. There was a lot of luck involved with this one.
on May 3, 2013 at 3:52 pm | Reply caleephotography

Excellent pictures, Mike! I really love how you’ve captured this argument, I can almost hear them shouting at each other 😉
on May 3, 2013 at 9:36 pm | Reply lylekrahn

Great. Up close and personal.
on May 14, 2013 at 6:14 pm | Reply krikitarts

A simple “like” is not enough for these. Wonderful, Mike!
- on May 14, 2013 at 7:09 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Gary. As you can well imagine, there was a significant amount of luck involved in getting those shots.