As a birder, sometimes you need to remind yourself to look at things other than trees, bushes, yards, and fields to see birds.
Like bridges—this one is over the Huron River at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan—where you see Cliff Swallow nests as you look up from the trail.
This morning Cliff Swallow adults were busy feeding their young, swooping in to the nest, briefly stopping to feed their young, before quickly flying off to catch more insects in mid-air.
And return to the nest again.
Our birding group saw dozens of adult birds flying to and from the nests; it was hard to get any decent, non-blurry photo of them.
They move fast!
It’s not one of my best photos, but I like this photo because it showed the bird with its outspread wings.
And I could see distinguishing features for the Cliff Swallow:
- Short, square tail
- Buffy orange rump
- White forehead
- Cinnamon face
If you look closely at the photo, you’ll see a second Cliff Swallow is feeding their young, below the bird with outstretched wings.
You’ll also notice blue sky peeking through the silver metal bridge railing in the top right of the photo.
Something new I learned today during our Washtenaw Audubon hike: Cliff Swallows are the only swallow in our area that raises two broods in one year.