After work on Wednesday evening, I went to Silver Mine Lake in Harriman State Park. I was following up on an eBird report of Cliff Swallows being observed there. It was quite an evening – I located the Cliff Swallows almost immediately, and I was able to observe and photograph behavior that I’d never seen before – they were nest building. I estimate there were (6) individuals, and they were all collecting mud from the bank of Bockey Swamp Brook and taking it to the underside of the footbridge right near the parking area. I was able to stand on the bridge and watch as they went to work; going to the bank of the brook an returning to the underside of the bridge repeatedly. It was a cool experience, and I am really pleased with the photos I got – they definitely exceeded my expectations. It was species #187 for me in Orange County for 2026.
All images are Cliff Swallows taken at Silver Mine Lake, 06/24/26. I used my Canon 7d Mark II with the EF 100-400mm IS II lens.
Very cool to be able to see them at work.
It was really cool Bill! They were busy! Matt
Excellent shots, Matt! What settings were you using?
I shoot on aperture priority. I had the lens wide open at f5.6 and because the birds were flying towards me, I bumped the ISO up to 800, which was giving me a shutter speed of around 1/4000s. I’ve found that I need a super fast shutter speed for any birds flying directly towards me. Matt