Back at the great architects

 

I spent the last two evenings down in the valley at a colony of Cliff Swallows I found about three weeks ago underneath a bridge that crosses the Little Maquoketa River. Since then the swallows were so kind to built some new nests on the outside of the bridge so I didn’t have to climb underneath anymore, between big boulders and the mud of the river. The nests are still under an overhang of the bridge and it is necessary to throw some additional light at them for a good picture. For now I used my speed light mounted directly on top of the camera and it delivered some acceptable results. I may try my little softbox the next time and use it off camera for an even softer light with less shadows.

Cliff Swallows are some amazing architects who build their gourd-shaped nests out of mud and the darker color of some parts told me that they still work on them. The whole colony was very busy catching insects. We have gazillions of annoying little gnats here at the moment and some mosquitos as well, so there is food in abundance. Standing beside the river with a tripod for a long time requires the use of some bug spray on your skin to make it halfway bearable. Other than that, it is a lot of fun and very interesting to watch their interaction with each other.

It didn’t look like that they had laid their eggs yet. The swallows came repeatedly back to their nests, rested for a little while, and went out again for another feeding frenzy.

I can’t let this opportunity, to have these beautiful Cliff Swallows relatively close to our home, pass by and I hope I’m able to see them raising their offspring soon. I’ll keep you posted…

Nature clicks #225 - Cliff Swallow

 

Back in early May I reintroduced you to several of the swallow species that we can find here in Eastern Iowa. If you missed this post but still like to have a look, just click HERE and a new window will open and will bring you back to this post. One species was missing, the Cliff Swallow, although I had seen it in 2013. Luckily a few days ago I recognized some swallows flying under one of the bridges that cross the Little Maquoketa River down in our valley. Pretty soon I identified them as Cliff Swallows, mainly by the distinctive spot on their forehead. I came back last Sunday, prepared to climb under the bridge into the mud of the river bed. They were in process of building their nests out of the mud that they can just find below in the river.

I think it is fascinating to watch these little architects how they do this. For them the structure of the bridge is a perfect place and a great habitat to raise their offspring. The building material is right below, the bridge protects them from predators and weather, and they have plenty of food available because of all the insects that call the river bed home. The only concern that I have is a big river flood, as we have seen it before, when the water level may reach the lower parts of the bridge. This would cut them off from the nest and may put their chicks in danger.

I shot these images in an awkward position on a steep slope under the bridge for about thirty minutes. The mosquitos were biting, it was muddy and slippery, and I was concerned, not so much about myself, but about my gear falling into the river. At the end I was very happy about to see the Cliff Swallows again and bring home some decent photos that tell a little story about these master architects.