Do Cliff Swallows Ever Collide? The Canon EOS R5 Answered that Question.

Cliff swallows flying around their community nesting sites appear to be in chaotic synchronization. While birds are flying everywhere, each seems to accomplish its task, arriving at and leaving their mud nests.

Today's question answered is, do cliff swallows ever collide? Until now, I would have answered "No." However, I was wrong, and this image makes the question rhetorical.

Photographing the cliff swallow chaos in Badlands National Park was a huge challenge, and the keeper rate was low. Aligning the lens into the area where hundreds of birds were approaching and hitting the shutter release as soon as one entered the frame was the technique deployed for this capture. The Canon EOS R5's impressive subject detection and tracking capabilities were relied on for focusing.

Capturing a pair of cliff swallows large in the frame during a mid-air collision with a supporting juxtaposition of blurred birds was a gift.

A larger version of this image is available here.