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Author Topic: Welcome Swallow at Rest  (Read 4427 times)

Mongo

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Welcome Swallow at Rest
« on: May 03, 2016, 06:36:21 »

You usually see these guys flashing past at speeds near the sound barrier.  A few days ago, Mongo was shocked (but delighted) to see two of them just sitting in the warm early afternoon sun on a bush in Kurnell . They showed little fear or bother as Mongo stood very close to them for about 20 minutes taking a couple of hundred frames. This was a rare treat. They seem to be wearing their winter coats. Here are just five of them. Hope you like them.

D800E, Nikon 200-500mm @f8, ISO between 125 and 320, shutter various, monopod
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Mike G

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2016, 09:24:41 »
Mongo, that looks like a fledgling and parent to as the youngster still seems to have baby down!
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Jakov Minić

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2016, 09:56:16 »
Shooting birds and not overexposing them is a true skill that Mongo exhibits over and over again.
Lovely images!
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rosko

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2016, 10:37:01 »
Mongo gave us a treat...Superb series with nice lightings, framing and sharp images.

Bravo !
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Francis Devrainne

John Geerts

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2016, 10:39:27 »
Yes, beautifull.  Impressive details of the Swallows.
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Akira

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2016, 11:18:10 »
Mongo, there are much prettiness this time!  Are these any special kind of swallows?  I'm not sure if the orange color around the neck is part of the feature of the most common swallows...
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Mongo

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2016, 12:24:27 »
Quote from: Mike G on May 03, 2016, 09:24:41
Mongo, that looks like a fledgling and parent to as the youngster still seems to have baby down!

Thank you Mike. Thinking back now at the interaction of the two birds, Mongo thinks you are very correct. What Mongo thought was a "winter coat" is really the fledgling's baby down.

Quote from: Jakov Minić on May 03, 2016, 09:56:16
Shooting birds and not overexposing them is a true skill that Mongo exhibits over and over again.
Lovely images!

Thank you Jakov - much appreciated. Now that you mention exposure, Mongo realises that he stopped shooting in aperture priority quite some time ago and has been shooting in manual exposure mode.
It is the only real way to try and get close to the correct exposure. Mongo does this by taking a meter reading from green grass or foliage exposed to the same light near the subject and then uses those readings until the light changes again. Mongo should just remember to bring his Minolta light meter instead.

Quote from: Akira on May 03, 2016, 11:18:10
Mongo, there are much prettiness this time!  Are these any special kind of swallows?  I'm not sure if the orange color around the neck is part of the feature of the most common swallows...

thank you Akira. These are called "Welcome Swallows". Mongo has no idea why they are called that. They are found in Australia and have the colours you see in this post. However, there are numerous  different kinds of swallow throughout the world and all have a great deal of variation in their colour and features. Mongo has only seen this type in Australia so far.

Also, thank you Rosko and John for looking in and for your kind comments.
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Jacques Pochoy

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #7 on: May 03, 2016, 13:22:11 »
Quite extraordinary pictures of those swallows !!! I think I like the juvenile best, some sort of almost painting effect... :-)
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Akira

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #8 on: May 03, 2016, 16:14:41 »
Quote from: Mongo on May 03, 2016, 12:24:27
thank you Akira. These are called "Welcome Swallows". Mongo has no idea why they are called that. They are found in Australia and have the colours you see in this post. However, there are numerous  different kinds of swallow throughout the world and all have a great deal of variation in their colour and features. Mongo has only seen this type in Australia so far.

Thanks, Mongo for the detailed explanation.  Or sorry that I never realized the title was actually the name of the swallow!

I googled and found that the swallow commonly seen in Japan also had orange parts around its neck and at the front of the forehead, but not around the eyes.
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Mike G

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2016, 16:38:23 »
I would think they are called that because they are harbingers of summer!
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Mongo

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #10 on: May 04, 2016, 00:51:04 »
thank you Jaques. It is Mongo's favourite as well. It was processed in the normal way only.

Akira, after your question, Mongo also goggled swallows and found a great deal of variation in the colours. Some have no orange at all or have white instead of the orange and many other variations.

Mike, very good close guess as to why the are called "welcome" swallows. It seems the name ‘Welcome’ swallow comes from sailors who knew that the sight of a swallow meant that land was not far away. Although, in some parts of the world, Mike's reasoning for their name may be correct. Mongo only just found that out from looking into some of the questions raised about its name.

thanks all for your interest and comments.

Mongo was also very surprised that these were also from the swallow family - "woodswallows"). D800, nikon AFS 300mm f4 @ f8, ISO 400, 1/400th, -o.3EV

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Peter Connan

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #11 on: May 05, 2016, 20:37:03 »
Beautiful photos Mongo!
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Mongo

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #12 on: May 07, 2016, 06:30:22 »
Quote from: Peter Connan on May 05, 2016, 20:37:03
Beautiful photos Mongo!

Mongo thanks you Peter
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Akira

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #13 on: May 07, 2016, 08:39:49 »
Mongo, the woodswallow images look more like those of your style.  :)
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Ron Scubadiver

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Re: Welcome Swallow at Rest
« Reply #14 on: May 07, 2016, 09:59:25 »
Nice birdies!
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