Type of Swallow? Jacksonville, Fl (1 Viewer)

Newton-W

Well-known member

• Jul 6, 2015

• #1

I took this today (7/5/15) in Jacksonville, Florida. There were 5 of them, probably around 200 feet up, quite a bit higher than the Chimney Swifts. They have been flying over the yard the past couple of days. I've never seen them over my yard before, only Chimney Swifts.
I know this shot is less than stellar, but it's all I have. I did brighten it up a bit and tried to keep color noise out of it.

Thanks in advance.

-Newton

 

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fugl

Well-known member

• Jul 6, 2015

• #2

Purple Martin

 

Newton-W

Well-known member

• Jul 6, 2015

• #3

fugl said:

Purple Martin

Click to expand...

Thank you.

 

T

tom baxter

Well-known member

• Jul 6, 2015

• #4

Once you get it narrowed down to swallow-like, here are field marks for purple martin in this photo: Bulky body, deep notch in tail, bend in the elbow of the wings is more pronounced than in other swallows, and lastly very dark underside (not reliable by itself in a photo because the bird will often be backlit making it look darker).

 

Newton-W

Well-known member

• Jul 6, 2015

• #5

tom baxter said:

Once you get it narrowed down to swallow-like, here are field marks for purple martin in this photo: Bulky body, deep notch in tail, bend in the elbow of the wings is more pronounced than in other swallows, and lastly very dark underside (not reliable by itself in a photo because the bird will often be backlit making it look darker).

Click to expand...

Thanks, Tom. Another clue I picked up on after research was that they fly a bit higher than other swallows, according to my Audubon book. That book also gives a silhouette, that looks almost identical to my photo. In reality, that bird was way out of my 300mm range. A 7" bird at 200-250 feet, plus the little fella was moving pretty fast.

Thanks for the tips.

-Newton

 

Last edited: Jul 6, 2015