Canyon visitors

bgarland

These are not crisp but I still like them. Does anyone know what the name of the small bird is? They ride the winds along the rim of the Grand canyon and flit around with the same erratic flight as bats eating insects. I was just shooting the tree and got a lucky capture (although not in focus) of one of the little guys.

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Crop of that shot to see the fuzzed out bird a little better.
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Hunter58

The little bird is a Swallow, probably a Cliff Swallow. The raptor looks to me like a Golden Eagle. Hard to tell on the last one, looks like a Raven.

bgarland

Hunter58 wrote: »

The little bird is a Swallow, probably a Cliff Swallow. The raptor looks to me like a Golden Eagle. Hard to tell on the last one, looks like a Raven.

Thanks. The Swallows were fun to watch and had bright green backs when lit up by the sun. Almost impossible to capture in flight since they dart around so erratically.

Yes, the larger guy is a Raven. One of the images does look like a hawk or eagle beak but it was just an illusion. All the other images in the series clearly show it is a Raven. Maybe next time I'll get lucky and find and Eagle.

Hunter58

bgarland wrote: »

Thanks. The Swallows were fun to watch and had bright green backs when lit up by the sun. Almost impossible to capture in flight since they dart around so erratically.

Yes, the larger guy is a Raven. One of the images does look like a hawk or eagle beak but it was just an illusion. All the other images in the series clearly show it is a Raven. Maybe next time I'll get lucky and find and Eagle.

I guess I should have looked closer the first time, sure enough it's a Raven. The sun must have been reflecting on the beak. I should have noticed the talons or lack thereof.

I have a tough time telling apart Swallows unless you get close. Now that you mention bright green backs leads me to believe it would be a "Violet-green Swallow" which is a western bird.

bgarland

Hunter58 wrote: »

I guess I should have looked closer the first time, sure enough it's a Raven. The sun must have been reflecting on the beak. I should have noticed the talons or lack thereof.

I have a tough time telling apart Swallows unless you get close. Now that you mention bright green backs leads me to believe it would be a "Violet-green Swallow" which is a western bird.

Your right. I looked them up in a bird book tonight and that was the one I landed on as well.

Thanks again for your help.