View allAll Photos Tagged Swift
One of many attempts to catch a Swift in flight. Great to watch, tough to capture. Taken at Abberton Reservoir.
Melting snow from the south-facing flanks of the Italian Alps funnels into the Rio Sesia and makes a swift, cold rush to eventually join the Po River southwest of Milan. In the background, the shoulders of Monte Rosa push through morning clouds while the summit remains shrouded. I visited this location in hopes of seeing the sunrise clouds burn brightly over the summit but instead enjoyed the cool air of morning and the sound of hurried water.
The visit to Alagna Valsesia and the surrounding mountains was a highlight of our family's trip to northern Italy last summer. Even better, we were able to meet up with a Flickr contact and his family and join them for a beautiful meal and some wine after a day in the hills (Marco, it was such a pleasure!). Given the recent coronavirus outbreak, I believe Marco, his family, and many others who are uninfected are now under quarantine per government mandate in an attempt to halt the spread of the illness. Many people are now suffering from fear, uncertainty, and sometimes loss. My hope is that this, too, shall pass, and with a minimum of additional pain.
Stay well!
This is the second time in 2020 that I have observed mating swifts over the Somerset skies. The prolonged good weather and visibility has been a great help.
Canon EOS R5
RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM
Æ’/7.1 500.0 mm 1/4000 640
The swift is a medium-sized aerial bird, which is a superb flyer. Sleeping, eating, bathing and even mating on the wing, swifts rarely touch the ground. They are also the fastest birds in level flight, with an impressive top speed of 69mph.
Swifts are plain sooty brown, with a white throat, but in flight against the sky they appear black. They have long, scythe-like wings and a short, forked tail. Swifts are summer visitors, breeding across the UK, but are most numerous in the south and east. Spending their winters in Africa, swifts migrate 3,400 miles twice a year, stopping off to refuel in places like Portugal and France along the way.
After a long flight back from their summer in Africa, swifts have one thing on their minds - to mate. Swifts pair for life, returning to the same site each year for a little nest renovation before laying and incubating their eggs. They like to live in houses and churches, squeezing through tiny gaps to nest inside roofs. But as more old buildings are renovated and gaps in soffits closed up, swift nest sites are fast disappearing. This, in part, has resulted in swifts being added to the Red list in the 2021 UK Conservation Status Report.
Red is the highest conservation priority, with species on this list needing urgent action. Species on this list, such as swifts, are globally threatened, with big declines in breeding populations and ranges. That’s why swifts urgently need our help. By installing a swift brick in a wall, or putting up a nestbox, you could give a swift a place to rest and raise a family.
Decided to try the 100-400GM today -- it's a little faster, and should be faster focusing as well.
Definitely the clearest photo so far of a Swift. But there is a distressing resemblance to a fish - possibly a salmon.
Up in Vail this weekend and caught a shot of the swift waters running down into Gore Creek from The Mountains of Vail. ENJOY! www.matthewmcewanphoto.com
Swift over Chasewater dam, Staffordshire. Very much a lucky shot but one I have been attempting for a long time.
I have to say, out of all the birds I’ve photographed, the swift has to be the most challenging. I have a hard drive full of swift shots and only found a few I’m happy with, this being one of them!
Swift Crab Spider (Mecaphesa celer), immature female. Found on Spiraea nipponica in my front yard. Arvada, Jefferson Co., Colo.
I've never really tried taking photos of swifts but there were a few flying around the sea wall at RSPB Frampton Marsh so I thought I'd give it a go. As I expected it wasn't easy but I was quite happy with some of the photos I got
had a bit of fun with the swifts had plenty of sharp ones but these had some light on them as the sun dropped under the thick cloud
On a hazy day back when RoadRailer trains were a thing, solo UP6754 (GE C44AC) rolls around Tehachapi Loop with 37 Swift RoadRailer units in September 2000.
(00.063.03_UP6754_SwiftRRailerWt)
Well, I am becoming obsessed with adding colorful lines to the images. I think this one turned out good, but it could have been better. Hope you guys like it. She looks amazing by the way! :)
++Next edit will be of The Jonas Brothers. <3
Stranded swift - gone a couple of minutes later - no idea what the problem was unless we disturbed a predator.