Yosemite Birds

Female Violet-green Swallow in Yosemite Valley. ©2012 James McGrew
I've always loved swallows for their beauty and acrobatics while pursuing insects in the air (and of course for migrating while apparently carrying coconuts which we use for making horse-hoof sounds). However, I've never been so close to one that perched. I was painting sunrise near Tunnelview and as the air warmed and insects began flying, so did the swallows and swifts. At one point this individual seemed curious about me, standing alone for a couple hours in the same location on the rocks above the swallows' nests. She flew up to this rock as if to check me out for a moment. I had a Canon 400 f4 DO on my 1DmkII, ready to capture fast moving wildlife at any moment. I discretely picked up the camera lying at my feet and snapped a few quick frames before this bird zipped off to capture more insects.

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