≡ Menu

Cliff Swallows Return To Northern California

Cliff Swallows Feeding Near Singer Creek Bridge photos by Larry Jordan

I travelled to Chico yesterday to check on our Burrowing Owl that moved into the artificial burrows we installed last month.  I didn’t see the owl on this trip but I found a large flight of Cliff Swallows feeding at Singer Creek bridge where we had seen another Burrowing Owl last month.

These birds are amazing to watch as they feed, on the wing, in groups sometimes numbering in the thousands.

I recorded a video this morning when I found another flight of Cliff Swallows at a bridge near Oak Run.  I wanted to show how fast these birds maneuver and record their calls as they feed.

Here you can find another video, this one showing the Cliff Swallows building their mud nests that I posted last year when the swallows arrived.

To see more interesting birds, visit Bird Photography Weekly.

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Mick March 27, 2010, 11:54 pm

    Great photos. I find it very hard to get good sharp photos of swallows on the wing. The second photo is my favorite!
    .-= Mick´s last blog ..Red-backed Fairy-Wren =-.

  • Nicole March 28, 2010, 12:42 am

    Those shots are amazing!
    I can only imagine how awesome it must be to see so many at once!
    .-= Nicole´s last blog ..Fun birding weekend =-.

  • Müge March 28, 2010, 1:42 am

    Gorgeous shots indeed! The second and third photos are my favorites too! Have a beautiful Sunday!
    .-= Müge´s last blog ..Dişi Serçe (Female House Sparrow) =-.

  • phil March 28, 2010, 5:48 am

    Nice ones Larry. I remember seeing a colony under a bridge in Ontarion but also twitching one in the UK on Isles of Scilly – shame on me.
    .-= phil´s last blog ..Back to The Woolly Hat =-.

  • Wren March 28, 2010, 5:48 am

    Great photos – the individuals are so sharp & clear in their photos, and I know how fast they move.

    Hope our swifts and swallows show up soon!
    .-= Wren´s last blog ..sandhill cranes: bird photography weekly =-.

  • Cheryl March 28, 2010, 3:52 pm

    Glad to hear and see that the swallows are in N. Calif. We are on the eastern side of the Cascades in Central Oregon and they have not made it up here yet. In the past years they have arrived on or near the legendary March 19th date. I’m wondering if the hard freeze we experienced last December reduced the insects. We are just now beginning to see spring insect hatches.

  • Neil March 28, 2010, 4:48 pm

    Great photos and by the looks of the video I would not like to try and count them.
    .-= Neil´s last blog ..Whimbrel, Red-necked Stint , Double-banded Plover =-.

  • Lana March 28, 2010, 8:51 pm

    Nice action captures on the swallows. I find them particularly challenging to photograph on the wing.
    .-= Lana´s last blog ..They’re (Starting to Get) Heeeeere! =-.

  • Kelly March 29, 2010, 3:43 am

    Ooooh…I loved this post. The video and the fab flight shots. These are such cool birds…
    .-= Kelly´s last blog ..Painting #19, Painting #20, and Painting #21 – Studies of an English House Sparrow in the Snow =-.

  • Mama Zen March 29, 2010, 11:13 am

    Beautiful shots!
    .-= Mama Zen´s last blog ..Even Fish Do It =-.

  • NatureFooostep Fåglar/Birds March 30, 2010, 1:28 am

    swallows are one of my favourite birds. This one does not come to us sadly enough. 🙁
    .-= NatureFooostep Fåglar/Birds´s last blog ..BPW83 New arrivals this week =-.

  • Amber Coakley March 30, 2010, 6:32 am

    Hi Larry! Even before I saw that cool video, I knew that I was looking at photographic genius. I’ve tried, feebly, to photograph swallows – any species of swallow – in flight. I’ve been happy with blurry images that suggest a swallow-like bird and some color. 🙂

    BUT – where are the coconuts?
    .-= Amber Coakley´s last blog ..Herps are Here! =-.