Tree Swallow...

When I met Brendan Kelly (a 17 year old conservationist and growing photographer) about 4 years ago he brought me to a small pond not far from his house. Here he had placed a number of nest boxes for them to use upon their arrival in Spring. It was the first time I had seen a Tree Swallow and I was amazed at their flying ability. They are constantly on the move chasing flies and gathering nesting material.  In the past four years pretty much every box has been used to raise young and this year Brendan has setup even more.

On Saturday we headed out to the pond to see if the swallows had began their nest building. It appeared many of the swallows where just males and they were flying from box to box placing some material in them to entice any females in the area. 

With such an abundance of swallows and their tame nature we always do a few short photo sessions with them. We gather interesting perches and setup them up next to the nest boxes for them to rest on while they build. Below are some shots from the weekends session and also a short video I captured of a pair having a few choice words...

Out of the 20 plus swallows only two pairs really seemed to be preparing to nest so it was a little early to capture some images of them with material. Next weekend we will return to enjoy these stunning birds.