...a pied crow was escorting a falcon out of its territory.
I saw this for an instant as I pulled our car out, and by the time that I got out of the car, they were gone. Flying at speed.
Talking about speed, I also have some other speed merchants in here, and they are much faster than the crow and the falcon. Very difficult to get them on camera, but I persevered and had some successes with my efforts. Hundreds of little midges rose up from the bushes, because the water sprayers started to come on, and a flock of swallows had a party, as they came diving, and swirling around to catch the insects above the bushes.
Let's have a look at what I got.
No, I didn't swing the camera around trying to follow them, as instead, I would focus on a spot, and then wait for a swallow to speed through.
The first spot that I focussed on was a mountain top.
All different swallows in the pictures.
I liked this one below, as one can clearly see the sun reflecting the holes in the swallow's tail.
And then I focussed the camera in an easterly direction.
Careful to avoid the sun's glare, and it worked.
The swallows do not hunt in pairs, as each one does its own thing.
They looked like White-throated Swallows (Hirundo albigularis, intra-Africa migrants that simply means as soon as Winter arrives, they migrate to the hotter parts on the north-African continent. We love instances like this and even in the first picture, as it always comes with surprises. I am not one to sit in a bird hide waiting for birds, as I prefer to hunt them with my camera on the loose.
I practice the same system, of focusing on a spot, on the flying insects that I get, and it works well for me with clear shots. Basically, I would stake out a plant or a flower and then wait for the insect that I saw flying around approaching to get it on camera. Birds and insects, and so many other things, don't like it when a person runs around or moves fast, as that scares them away. Best is to stand in one spot and to wait.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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