Mud wrestling - wrestling for mud!

Last week a large flock of swallows flew in to the canyon and claimed a few spots on the Rimrock. I believe there may be two flocks, since I have identified both the Barn Swallow split tail and a square tail, which could be Cliff Swallows or just bad I.D. on my part. Going for the mail this morning saw them swarming a mudhole at the end of the drive. Closest mud around, though there's a creek across the road. Just a few quick shots D7200 with 80-400 4.5-5.6D.

Kenya-Treetops

Sandy although there might be a Barn Swallow somewhere in your images, most are Cliff Swallows. The last photo clearly shows Cliff Swallows at the far left and far right - buffy rumps and near-square tails pretty much clinches the ID over almost all of the US. Here in NM they are sometimes called mud swallows. They nest colonially under many bridges over the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, tho in the "good old days" they built their mud nests on cliffs. Cool photos, thanks for posting, you too JDMvW.

thanks for posting,

Thank YOU for the bird I.D. and comment!

Untitled by Tom Yin, on Flickr

 

On a hike this morning I came across a group of Swallowtail butterflies congregating on a slightly muddy patch of dirt. I read that butterflies congregate on mud primarily for salts.