Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) were back at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge this past Thursday and they seemed a bit cranky. They carried on their heated disputes in the air and on the ground as they checked out nesting boxes.
I don’t know if you have ever observed Tree Swallows, but they are small and fast. Worst of all from the perspective of a photographer, they fly erratically and turn quickly and often. For those reason, I am especially happy with the first image. I should note that it is a cropped image—the original image had a lot more sky showing.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
The bottom photo made me laugh. It’s like one bird is yelling angrily at the other and pointing – what an avian dressing-down that is!
I like the posture of the one who is being yelled at–totally impassive. 🙂
That’s so true! Oh, its annoying to be so mad that you’re spitting tacks and the object of your fury is totally impassive!
Crystal clear…….Michael
And who doesn’t love Swallows
I can never see them enough when I spot them! Such acrobats ;-D
That first capture is definitely worth being happy about, Mike! Their flight patterns are hard to follow and to get them both with their beaks open is a real feat! They are fun to watch and your second image not only tells a story but the colors in the right hand bird are great.
Thank, Ellen. Fellow photographers have a much better understanding of the degree of difficulty associated with getting certain shots. I tend to attach greater significance to shots that were tough to capture, but have come to realize that for the most part people will judge the result and not the effort. 🙂