Yesterday, I shared photos of baby American Coots. Today, I am sharing an image of Barn Swallow chicks taken on the same day and location as the young coots.
Hungry Barn Swallow chicks in Salt Lake County – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1/200, ISO 2000, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
These Barn Swallow chicks were pointed out to me by a kind gentleman who struck up a conversation with me while I was photographing the baby American Coots. He was very helpful and gracious to tell me where these swallow nestlings were.
It’s important; at least for me, to give credit when and where it’s due.
The gentleman also informed me that this was the second brood of Barn Swallows at this nest this nesting season. I missed out on the first brood because I was back east somewhere at that time.
Photographing these Barn Swallow nestlings was challenging due to the low-light conditions caused by the nest being under a roof. I increased my ISO to achieve a sufficient shutter speed for capturing the begging behavior of the hungry chicks.
Additionally, I locked down my camera and large lens on my tripod head to minimize any movement when I pressed the shutter button. Whenever one of the parents flew in with food, I could count on the swallow chicks opening their yellow bills wide.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough shutter speed or depth of field to capture images that contained the adults in sharp focus. The silver lining is that my focus was on capturing photos of the chicks, not the adults.
It does seem a little late in the breeding season to see Barn Swallow chicks this young and still in their nest, as their fall migration is only weeks away. By the end of October, almost all of the Barn Swallows will have taken wing leaving northern Utah behind.
Where did late spring and summer go?
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Barn Swallow photos plus facts and information about this species.
Great shot! Reminds me of my kids when they were little. Wait! What am I saying? They remind me of my kids now! Thanks Mia.
Just love this shot! Thanks to you, and to the generous gentleman.
What a brilliant shot. Huge thanks to that gentleman – and you.
So cute, there is a second brood at the Smiths I go to also. Smiths use to knock down the nests. I am so glad they stopped!
Cuteness overload! 😍😍😍 Grateful to the kind gentleman who led you to these darlings and grateful to you for sharing them with us. Here’s to them growing up fast! ❤️
Great photo!
Those are so great! The mouth size compared to their tiny little heads is amazing.
Such a cool picture!! Well done.