[Click images to view in a lightbox.]

There’s a tiny valley I know that was clear-cut a few years ago. While some new trees—probably future Christmas trees—are growing there now, the ground is strewn with stumps and jagged fragments of old trees, like the branch in this photo. The perches may not be pretty for the photographer, but these Violet-green Swallows—a female, juvenile, and male (from left to right)—don’t seem to mind. In fact, there are quite a few birds in that field: mostly robins, but also Yellow-rumped Warblers, White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows, Northern Flickers, and, at the far end, a Red-tailed Hawk.

I watched these swallows for a long time on Sunday. Eventually the juvenile left but the adults stuck around. They let me get remarkably close too. It was lightly raining, and now that I see the photos I wish I would have slowed down my shutter speed to really accentuate the rain.

Next time.

Location: Marion County, Oregon

Date: May 9, 2021

Exposure: 1/800 second, f/6.3, ISO 800

Focal Length: 600 mm

Gear:

• Camera: Nikon D750

• Lens: Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary