ML101859761

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

The Chimney Swift appeared at precisely 6:45am flying in from northwest direction from the Dairy Mart Pond area where Dave Povey had seen it flying a bit earlier. Some 5-10 minutes later Vaux's Swift began to arrive to make up a group about 10 birds in total. I left about 8:20am and bird still present. Watched by several observers this morning. The Chimney Swift appeared slightly larger in size than nearby Vaux's Swift with larger primary bulge after the secondaries and larger primary wing shape visible in many angles and not only when wing flexed wide open. Also more uniformly dark in coloration with small contrast in the upperparts, pale throat patch noticeable against darker belly, face rather aggressive looking with fine white line above and stopping just forward of the eye visible. Underparts quite dark and could be picked out readily from paler Vaux's especially when green willow trees in the background. Flight style was noticeably different from the Vaux's with slightly slower flapping but more powerful looking flight generation than twittery haywire flight energy of the Vaux's. Also, as other observers noted, the Chimney Swift taking long continuous glides in horizontal flight across the feeding area of the swifts. In addition did seem to often appear a bit higher in the sky more regularly. Feather wear apparent and matches photos taken by yesterday's observers.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

2500

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/3200 sec

Dimensions

1600 pixels x 1200 pixels

Original file size

45.48 KB