Tree Swallows

Binocular views of swallows are often less than satisfactory, as they quickly maneuver through the sky making rapid movements and sharp turns. That's why I was thrilled to get these shots of one of our more common species of swallow, Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor).


The bird in the photograph above is an adult male; the one below is a drab adult female. Some female Tree Swallows have more blue pigmentation in their feathers and thus more closely resemble the male.


I remember when I used to mow softball fields at Painesville Township Park in northeast Ohio, before I knew anything at all about birds, and the swallows (Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica), as far as I can recall) would dive-bomb me the entire time. It wasn't until a few years later when I realized that they weren't at all dive-bombing me, but instead they were feeding on the insects that I was kicking up with the mower.