Lake Apopka Swallows

Saving the best for last from my Lake Apopka North Shore Drive trip we revisit the Barn Swallows. When I first started noticing them they were flying over the canal to my right. I was trying to figure if I should get out and try some flight shots but that would have meant shooting into the Sun and hoping for any shots captured in frame. Swallows are so darned fast!

I edged the car forward toward the turn and glanced out to the left. Swallows began to settle on the branches just to my left. In the good light.



One after another, the Barn Swallows settled for a few minutes and twittered away.



Among the adults, a few juveniles dropped by for a few seconds.



A short time later, I drove down the road. Flocks of Barn Swallows where on the wires and there is a small bridge where the birds are nesting and they were feeding and flying under the bridge to feed young.



I made another round of the drive since I had missed one of the legs along the lake but I kept thinking about the Barn Swallows all along the trip. When I got back to the corner there were not birds in the trees but settling down on the railing of a maintenance structure.



This younger bird stayed on the rial longer than others and I snapped away.



A few adult Barn Swallow would stop for a few seconds before heading back into the air in search of insects.



The variety of orange on these birds was remarkable, especially on the older birds.



The juvenile bird would occasionally make little calls, apparently begging to be fed.



I was about to drive away when I noticed another bird flying in next to the juvenile.



While I was taking photos my first thought was that this was a leucistic (a partial loss of pigmentation in an animal resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales or cuticle, but not the eyes) Barn Swallow.



I even mentioned this to some friends I rolled up on later. Then I started thinking about thing I had noticed like a slight size and shape difference. The two interacted for a while before they both flew off. When I got home I processed photos and had major 2nd thoughts and sent the photos into the world of birding forums.



Once I culled all of the responses it seems like the overall conclusion is this is probably a Barn Swallow and Tree Swallow hybrid. There have been Tree Swallows in the area that stayed later than they typically do and it is breeding season. We will never know conclusively but that seems to be the most likely answer.



Definitely not a pure Barn, by any means, but a pretty little bird.



Glad I decided to make that second pass. It was well worth it with just this discovery alone. The entirety of the visit was just as special and I can't wait for a chance to get back out there.