Barn Swallow

May 16, 2024

Photography and, more specifically the drive to get out into nature to hunt for photographic subjects, is a strong motivator to me.  Leaving home I often head out to habitats that offer strong possibilities for good subjects but not before having done my homework on weather and tide conditions as well as recent sitings of interesting subjects reported on social media.  Ideally I lock in on areas reputed to be ‘target rich environments’.  Despite best laid plans as often as not, it seems, I end up freelancing, looking for something else to photograph because my self-assigned primary subject did not materialize or the weather did not cooperate.  For me freelancing like that is when the fun gets better.  DISCOVERY! GO FIND SOMETHING PRATT!! LOOK HARDER, PUT ELEMENTS TOGETHER.   The next phase of discovery happens when I get home and research something I have photographed.  I really like this photo of a Barn Swallow, a subject I happened to stumble upon.  The Wikipedia article on Barn Swallows is extensive and I recommend it if you want to learn a lot about them.  I will share here that I was surprise to learn that Barn Swallows are the most wide spread species of swallows in the world. They are found on all continents, even Antarctica. Their range is approximately 97 million square miles.  By comparison Delaware is only 1,948 square miles and the whole continental US is 3,119,884.  Barn Swallow’s global range is about 31 times the size of the continental US.  They get around!  I love discovery through photography.

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