Riverside: Young Swallows
As we walked towards the section of the river for observing the otters, we got distracted. A couple of swallow chicks were perched close by on the riverbank. Normally, they fly off as soon as you approach, but these two held steady. Both parents were busy flying sorties over the river surface, catching insects to bring back for their young. I was lucky with the light, the last beam sun shone through on to the branch perfectly, illuminating the birds and darkening the background.
It became fairly easy to predict when an adult was about to return – as the motionless young suddenly and frantically begging with wide gaping mouths a few seconds before their arrival.
The speed in which the adult entered was impressive and difficult to capture – handheld, low light, no use of flash.
Only during processing this images did I realise just how precisely they place the food in the young’s mouth.
– John
All Rights Reserved – © John Shackleton – Wild Asturias
Thank you for these beautiful pictures and thank you in general for your posts. I visited Spain many years ago, but never went farther north than Segovia. Your pictures show me a whole different side of Spain!
Hi Theresa. Many thanks for your kind comment, greatly appreciated. The north is certainly different, well worth a visit if you ever comeback. Glad you enjoyed our posts.