Last weekend at Huntley Meadows Park, a Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) seemed determined to scare off potential competitors by screaming loudly and vigorously flapping its wings as it sat atop a pole to which a nesting box was attached. The swallow spent a lot of time looking upwards, scanning the skies for rivals. I couldn’t tell if the swallow’s mate was inside of the nesting box or if it was simply staking a claim to the box for future use.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Beautiful portraits, Mike. Adrian
Wonderful portraits. That sense of movement in the first image is excellent.