ML139148331

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

***MEGA: At 5:50, soon after Jalen and I (Cole) arrived at the refuge, we noticed a medium-sized flock of swallows circling around the observation platform. To our amazement, this flock turned out to be mostly Bank Swallows (There were at least 13, probably more like 20-25 in the refuge today, the most of these we've ever seen at once). We also noticed the Cliff, NRW, Barn (mostly juveniles), and Tree swallows mixed into the flock, in smaller concentrations. This flock was very skittish, flushing off of the platform whenever so much as a goose called. Each time the flock took off, it would mix with other swallows over the impoundments, changing the numbers of each swallow species in the flock. At 6:06 a goose chase (actually) ensued and the flock flushed further than they had been. When they returned, they were reluctant to land (probably because it was starting to get warm with the sun). This time there were the most CLSWs that we had yet seen at one time (6) and we noticed an odd-looking "Cliff Swallow" mixed in, loosely associating with the other CLSWs. When the Cliff Swallows separated from the Bank Swallows and headed left over the dike, I told Jalen that we needed to get on that bird. That bird separated from the CLSWs and headed toward the river for 15 yards or so and then headed back to the right over the dike and back towards us. When the bird went below the tree line over the lower impoundment was when we had the first looks at the plumage marks on the bird (and the first photos). The first thing that I noticed was the tawny/pale rufous (I'm not really sure how to describe the color) rump, confirming that it was a a Petrochelidon swallow. Then when it banked, turning toward us, I saw the orangish forehead, rather than white, which is what first made me think Cave. Knowing that that the throat was another major field mark, I looked there and noticed that it was very light tawny, rather than the deep red of the nearby CLSWs. In fact, the throat was lighter than the forehead, a trait not even matched by the Southwestern/Mexican subspecies of Cliff. At that point I was exclaiming the bird's plumage, mark by mark. to Jalen. Meanwhile, he was doing a very nice job tracking the bird and getting excellent identification photographs (swallows are tough!) The photos also reveal light gray streaks on the flanks, contrasting somewhat with the whitish belly. Also, confirming that the bird is an adult (I don't think a juvenile CLSW is possible this early, but then again there were juvenile barn swallows here today!) there are two white streaks clearly visible on the back of the bird in the photos. Well, I found out today that species comments are limited to 4000 characters. The full comment, including some notes about condition, behavior, and the ID process, is posted on this photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/peregrine_falcon/8857021063/in/set-72157633743776970/ Here are the photos:

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

ISO

1250

Focal length

300 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/500 sec

Dimensions

2785 pixels x 1330 pixels

Original file size

733.72 KB