Swallow Speed Feeding

KentYeti · #1 (**permalink**) 14-08-2011, 10:02 PM

Amazing to watch the two adult Swallows feed their 5/6 recently fledged chicks at Elmley tonight. Whilst I was supposed to be on Owl watch! LOL!

Thankully I had a number of attempts in dull light that I checked before my chance came in sunshine.

That meant I had to start a burst of shots the instant the chicks all opened their mouths after moving the focus sensor to focus on a point that left room for the adult to appear where I hoped it would. The speed the adult arrived, chose which chick to feed, inserted it's beak well into the chicks throat, deposited the food and flew off again was astonishing. If I'd have waited until the adult was in the viewfinder it would have been gone before I even got one photo.

It also meant I had to use 1/2000th second to stop the action. And because I had no idea which chick the adult would feed I had to stop down to F11 by using ISO 3200. Even then depth of field was very thin as I was close up with the Nikon 300mm lens.

Yes. I would love to have got more of the chick to the right in the shot. But it was impossble to frame any shot properly because of the incredibly short time the adult was in view. And the fact that the chicks were spread quite wide.

For once I'm reasonably happy with a bird photo.

Cheers,

Bryan

PS. With that feeding technique I doubt a Swallow has ever endeared a chick to "eat it all up dear".

tigertom · #2 (**permalink**) 14-08-2011, 10:10 PM

Great shot well done

MIKE

shenk1 · #3 (**permalink**) 14-08-2011, 10:13 PM

Beautiful

Says it all really

KentYeti · #4 (**permalink**) 15-08-2011, 08:53 AM

Thanks guys.

What really surprised me was how intimate the feeding was. Compared with how it looked without the camera.

As just an observer it looked like the adult flew in, fluttered near a chick very, very briefly and then flew off. Almost like it had decided against feeding. Any contact was over a fractional period of time, but it couldn't really be seen with just the naked eye.

I guess they have to be so quick. My RSPB book says a brood needs 6000 insects a day to survive! Even with two adults working flat out all day, and presumably catching more than one insect for each feed, the whole process has to be extremely quick to achieve that.

Anway. An amazing sight to watch and photograph. Lucky to have a brood hatched inside a toilet that have become so acclimatised to human observers.

This shot was taken without sunshine and is a bit more grainy and dull and lacks any bite. But it does show how far into the chicks mouth the adult has gone with the food. I find it quite astonishing. All happening in a fraction of a second.

Cheers,

Bryan

Mele · #5 (**permalink**) 15-08-2011, 11:33 AM

Pictures can say more than a thousand words.
That adult is almost inside the chick! No messing about.
A very tight time:energy budget.
Lovely shots Bryan, thanks for sharing

Mel

solus · #6 (**permalink**) 15-08-2011, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KentYeti

Lucky to have a brood hatched inside a toilet.

I bet they'll have some tales to tell!

KentYeti · #7 (**permalink**) 15-08-2011, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solus

I bet they'll have some tales to tell!

About a Yeti seen loitering there with a camera!

I did start, and then quickly stop, trying to take photos inside the toilet.

The adults saw me when they flew in with food, and went back out without feeding the chicks. With the incredible feeding rate they need there was no way I would use the toilets except when absolutely needed after seeing that. I want to get story telling photos. But not if they cause that sort of disturbance.

A year or two back I am told a pied wagtail, (I think that was the bird), built a nest just above the urinal in there. So guys standing there could suddenly have a female pied wagtail come through the window just in front of them to feed the chicks!

Bryan