BirdWatching USA – September-October 2019

The Spiral Birdfeeder original

See what happens when the

chief engineer for NASA's

giant antennas becomes an

avid birder. Unique, space-

age, indestructible, year-round

feeders designed from the

'birds' point of view. The

amazing video proof is

on Facebook/Spiral

birdfeeder page and at

http://www.ribspreader.com

produces high-quality super telephoto
images that compare favorably with
much-heavier f/4 500mm and 600mm
glass. Thanks to the lighter lens, I was
freed from the anchor of a tripod, to
easily hike across a lot of open territory
and photograph harriers hand-held.
Typically, successful camera settings
are shutter speeds of at least 1/2000,
with the lens one stop down from wide
open. For instance, the Nikon 600mm
f/4 would be set to aperture 5.6. The
ISO would be set to automatic, to meet
light conditions at the moment. Some
prefer manual mode for the camera,
but shutter priority mode, especially
with auto ISO, usually produces
excellent results.
Coastal wetlands are also attractive
to harriers, and birders and photogra-
phers who visit them may be rewarded
with sightings of the big raptors as they
methodically traverse the airspace just
feet above tall, golden marsh grasses.
The Forsythe refugee is a geographical
magnet for the harriers, as they journey
along the East Coast oceanfront in
winter months.
Atlantic City’s neon-topped casinos
pierce the horizon, standing in stark
contrast to the natural beauty of the
wide-open wetlands at Forsythe, also

known to locals as Brigantine, in

reference to a nearby town.

It is while standing along the coastal

marsh enduring the brisk breezes and

fading light of a winter’s afternoon that

my thoughts often turn with anticipa-

tion to the coming warmer months and

another seasonal favorite — Barn

Swallows. These diminutive f leeting

f lyers can be a major challenge to the

avian photographer. But it is when

they’re bringing food to patiently

perched nestlings that we can see them

in all their beauty.

The good news is that Barn Swallows

are the most prolific of the North

American swallows. They can be found

in all types of environments, from cities

to suburbs and into remote rural areas

where they build nests in cliffs and

abandoned structures. They are most

easily spotted f licking across open fields

in early summer.

For the longest time, the birds’

wildly erratic f light patterns stymied

my countless attempts to photograph

them in f light. Several years ago,

however, I stumbled upon a discovery

that made it much more likely that I’d

capture a worthy photograph of a

swallow in f light.

The swallow’s frenetic f light antics

are more than a ploy to annoy photog-

raphers. The birds are on the hunt for

similarly unpredictable f lyers — the

insects that are the food for mature

birds as well as their nestlings and

f ledglings. And that realization led me

to a successful photographic strategy.

Since adults are swarming to capture

insects, I figured that the nest or a

f ledgling perch must be nearby. At a

friend’s farm, I found ideal environmen-

tal factors for swallows: a barn, an open

patch that collected rain water with the

resulting mud for nest material, open

fields swarming with bugs, and the

field-edge thorny bushes where the

f ledglings held court as they awaited the

Both species

have unique

characteristics

that make them

ideal targets for

the active bird

photographer.

22 BirdWatching • September/October 2019