Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Chimney Swifts over the West River

It's close to impossible to get a close-up view of a Chimney Swift. They are spending most of their lives on the wing, feeding, drinking, even copulating in midair. They roost in chimneys, or other man-built structures, using their clawed feet to cling to the walls while bracing themselves with their spiny tails. With the change in the urban landscape and loss of suitable roosting places their numbers are diminishing. 


On a recent late afternoon I saw a loose, widely spaced group of Chimney Swifts, numbering perhaps thirty (see comment below), hawking for insects over the West River and surrounding fields. They were swooping and twisting overhead, cutting through the air, then rising suddenly on fluttering wings high into the sky and seeming to disappear over the trees and hills, only to reappear just as suddenly. They were changing so rapidly that I trouble focusing the camera on any particular bird. At home I had to do a lot of post-processing of the RAW images to give the birds shape and volume rather than showing them just as black silhouettes.

While soaring the bird often fans its tail

Here you get a suggestion of spikes in the tail.


A couple of months ago, standing on my deck, I was surprised by a loudly chirping trio swooping and circling and making sharp turns overhead. It only lasted for a couple of exhilarating minutes and then they were gone. Later I found out that this was probably part of a courtship display with two males chasing and courting one female.

James Audubon's wonderful painting of the Chimney Swift illustrates their hawking flight with gape wide open to catch insects. It also shows the claw-like feet, and lastly how a nest is constructed and glued to the wall with saliva, similar to the nest of a Cliff Swallow, - although swifts, contrary to expectation, are actually related to hummingbirds.







To really appreciate the beauty of this painting click to enlarge these images.

Cheers and Good Birding!


Comment on estimating numbers: It seems we are born with an innate sense of numbers

A study -- published online in a recent issue of Developmental Science -- indicates that math ability in preschool children is strongly linked to their inborn and primitive "number sense," called an "Approximate Number System" or ANS.
The article contains a link where you can test your own sense of numbers.


Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment.



24 comments:

  1. Oh yes, I love those flying cigars! Delightful paintings

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  2. Hilke, I took the Panamath test. Wow. What a bummer. I'll never be able to claim high bird counts with a straight face ever again. Aparently. Unless, they are blue or yellow birds. :)

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  3. What an interesting post! I did not know that swifts were related to hummingbirds! I see them quite often where I live now. They fly over my yard and over the bog and over the town I live in. I also see them in Colchester, CT where my mother lives. I know eBird put out a call for sightings of chimney swifts a few years ago for the very reasons you mentioned. I try to record any sighting of the species to them for that reason.

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  4. They sure are difficult to photograph!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  5. Well, I took the test and did very well on accuracy but I had a slow response time. Oh well. It was fun anyways!

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  6. Hi Hilke. James Barber of NWO Birds ID'd The herons as immature American Bitterns. Thanks for your help. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  7. A beautiful bird..
    I can watch our Swifts we get in the UK for hours feeding high above my house in the summer months. It's only August but they seem to have already migrated.

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  8. Lovely post! I love Swifts, they are so charming and pretty!

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  9. Great photos. In-flight swifts and swallows have so far eluded my camera :-(

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  10. Masters of the air.
    I agree with Andrew, fascinating birds to watch.

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  11. They are neat birds to see flying around, great captures. I saw them for the time this summer.

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  12. Great catches Hilke. Talk about putting your auto-focus system to the test! It's fun to watch someone trying to catch an in-flight of these wickedly fast and maneuverable fliers. It is a head spinning event!
    Their outline in the air is unmistakable. Thanks for the Audubon section, I hope bird painting never becomes a lost art!

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  13. Hi Hilke

    Thank you for a very interesting post on a facinating bird. I really enjoyed it.

    Guy

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  14. Kudos to you for these wonderful shots! I've tried to capture them as they swooped overhead to no avail!

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  15. You did a great job with your captures!
    Much thanks for the infor.

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  16. They are not called Swifts for nothing! It is amazing that you caught them in flight at all. Hats off to you!

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  17. I've tried to photograph and never never able to get. Good job in capturing them!

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  18. Hi - good job getting the swifts - I took the test and 30% of the time there werr no dots at all! I dont really know what that means!!

    Cheers Stewart M - Australia

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  19. Thanks for all your comments! They are much appreciated!

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  20. I love Chimney Swifts too, Hilke! ...but they are harder to photograph than kingfishers! :-) There is a small colony near my house and they often fly over our deck. I loved your post and how you brought Audubon's paintings in. Also enjoyed your Peaceable Kingdom post...

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  21. Excellent sighting and cool you could get shots to show it to us!! The paintings are really nice!

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