An adult in flight feeding one of its fledglings. And let’s just say it’s being done enthusiastically by both participants.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
There isn’t a lot I need to say about the behavior here, what’s going on is pretty obvious – the adult is feeding an insect to its youngster (photo taken three years ago at Bear River MBR). Over a period of perhaps 10 minutes I was able to get a variety of shots of the feeding behavior but I thought this one was extra interesting because of how far down the throat the adult stuffed the bug – dang near to the toes of the fledgling.
Birds of North America Online says that while Barn Swallow chicks are still in the nest “those that open mouth widest and reach forward farthest are fed” most often so perhaps this youngster opened its beak as far as it did out of habit. And the adult filled the available void with a good portion of its head.
Part of the reason I think this image works well is the complete separation of the birds except where their heads meet.
I never published this photo before because the lighting this late in the morning (10:09) in August was already harsh and there was too much contrast in the image for my tastes. But last night I played with it a little and I think I came up with an acceptable version. It still might appear a little dark but when I increased exposure during processing (both selectively and globally) the colors of the birds didn’t look natural to me so I went with this version that has only a slight exposure adjustment.
Ron
PS – I certainly hope no one was offended by my title reference because of its original crude (for lack of a better word) origin. But after all, if ‘Deep Throat’ is acceptable in the context of Woodward and Bernstein and the Washington Post during the Watergate Scandal it should be perfectly OK for me to use here. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are near-heroes in my book. I think we need more like them, especially now when folks like them are being unjustly vilified.
Well I for one am shocked — simply shocked — that you haven’t used this reference before now. 😉 Tee hee! Perfectly descriptive title — any deeper and we’d see those insects coming out the “other end” of the fledgie!
Just when I think you can’t amaze me with a shot, you prove me absolutely WRONG! I’d sure be curious to see what Dick could do with this shot as a model for one of his carvings.
Thanks, Marty. Might be kind of a tricky carving for Dick with the birds touching each other but only at the heads.
If anyone could do it, he could! 🙂
I am always amazed at how you get your shots. When I saw the email about a photo of the inflight feeding of a barn swallow, I immediately had to see what you had. It’s better than anything I imagined. The young bird is all but swallowing the parent. And it’s not as if anyone’s posing. The things you shoot happen in the blink of an eye. Thank you, once again. Jack
Thanks for those very kind words, Jack. If you shoot enough shots you almost have to get lucky with poses occasionally and in part that’s what happened here. I took a lot of photos of these swallows.
You WILL eat the meal I have been to so much trouble to catch and prepare.
Stunning image. And I suspect the demanding young un was (very temporarily) shut up after that feed.
Not for long, EC. Not for long. Thanks.
That images is so well titled! I love the sculptural quality of it…thinknit would make a great carving or sculpture…
I was very hesitant to use that title, Patty. But in the end I couldn’t resist.
Don’t tell Dick Harlow about your carving idea… 🙂
Hey! Dick…..😉
No wonder baby birds look so much bigger than their parents…they’ve swallowed them!!!!
I liked that!
Me too! Glad I finished my sip of Coke Zero before I read your comment, else I’d be mopping my keyboard!
Beside being an amazing image capture, I find it somehow very painterly, almost surreal in a way.
I’m glad you like it, Lyle. Thank you.
That’s a SERIOUSLY cool image! And what a SERIOUS challenge it is to keep the swallow kids fed, but that deep-throat strategy is a great way to make sure the kids eat their vegetables(insects). No backtalk accepted. LOL! Overall, this parenting thing is serious business!
Swallows amaze me. The whole concept of catching your meal on the fly takes me into gobsmacked territory, asking yet again, “How do they DO that?” That takes FAR more coordination than I’ve EVER had! And here we are again at our inadequacies as a species. 🙂
Thanks very much, Laura.
Ron, your title gives us a sneak peak into your thoughts! When my husband was with the Toronto Police many years ago, they ‘had to watch’ that movie!!!
Ha, I don’t envy him, Judy.
Great shot. And I find interesting to see what happens when the sun is high in the sky.(those shadows on the adult’s body)
On a side note I was intrigued by some comments of your readers saying that they could zoom into your images. I never did it maybe because they always looked fine on my PC. But today I decided to give it a try and … what a revelation. They look even better.
By the way my browser is Google Chrome and I never had issues seeing your posts.
“They look even better”
Imagine how they’d look if I posted them at a higher resolution, Jorge.
Yes, harsh light later in the day sure raises havoc with my images.
When we feed them with syringes we have to stuff it way down their throat so they do not aspirate.
Interesting. Thanks, April.
Ah – I’d forgotten that aspect of feeding baby birds – Thx April 🙂
Hi April,
Is aspirating like us breathing when we should only be swallowing? I thought birds’ had a better separation of these things than mammals.
I believed it was being stuck so far down the throat so the fledgling doesn’t drop the bug.
When we feed baby birds we use a formula that is the consistency of Yoplait yogurt. Their tracheal opening is in the back of their beak, the tongue splits and you can see the trachea opening. If food sits in the beak the bird can aspirate food into it’s lungs and either drown or it causes pneumonia that can kill the bird. Stuffing the syringe further down the throat to the crop will alleviate the pooling of food in the back of the mouth. That is why we do not like people giving water to sick birds before they bring them in. They can drown the bird very easily by putting water in it’s beak with eyedroppers or syringes. This is an image of a chicken but all birds are similar.
http://heritance.me/anatomy-of-a-chicken-throat/anatomy-of-a-chicken-throat-where-is-the-trachea-backyard-chickens.
Wonderful explanation, April – with graphics even! Great teaching job!
I’d encourage everyone who see’s April’s post to open her link. It’s nothing short of excellent for the points she made.
Having briefly seen a Barn Swallow feeding a chick on several occasions, I marvel at being able to capture the action so beautifully as you have with this shot. The action is lighting fast. I love that you were able to capture this behavior.
Thanks very much, Susan. Yes, this happens in a flash – the adult is usually only there for a split second and then it’s gone.
Another wonderful photo of bird behavior!
Hey I wanted to tell you I spuse Safari too and have no problem zooming in on the photo.
Kent
Good! Thanks for that feedback, Kent. I hope Suze sees it too.
I’m not sure if you’ve changed something about your website, but I can no longer zoom into your pictures on my mobile iPhone using Safari. I can’t get into the shot enough see what’s actually happening here.
I believe this inability to zoom is a fairly recent change on your site- maybe a security change you’ve made? In any case I do enjoy your work so much but I guess I won’t be able to on my phone…
Whatever it is it isn’t something I’ve done on my end, Suze. Maye it’s Safari – have you tried a different browser?
A most clever catch! These by far are my favorite of the swallows first because of their coloring and because secondly, there is something about their faces that rivals and tops the ‘angry bluebird’ look (in my opinion). I’ve seen a nest with several in and all you do see is gaping mouths. They do seem to have bigger mouths than other birds. I have no offense with your title choice…I’ve felt that way for quite a while!
“They do seem to have bigger mouths than other birds”
I believe you’re right, Kathy. That’s part of their genetic legacy so they can more easily catch insects in flight once they fledge.
I guess “Deep Throat”! 🙂 Amazing shot, Ron. 🙂 No chance of that meal getting away for sure.;) Surprised they don’t get tangled up and crash! 🙂 The young do seem to wiggle and open out of habit long after they’re big enough to catch their own grub for sure.
“No chance of that meal getting away for sure”
Good point, Judy. If I remember correctly I photographed these same two birds dropping one of the insects during the transfer. It does happen so they have to be careful about it.
Spectacular shot, Ron! I’m always amazed by your ability to capture behaviors that occur so quickly that my brain barely has time to process if I’m just watching the activity through my bins. Well done! (And no offense taken- I agree wholeheartedly!)
I’m often amazed too. Typically I don’t even know what I’ve captured until later so it’s at least partly due to the wonders of technology. Thanks, Diane.