Most of the Swallows that I see zooming erratically through the sky as they chase flying insects are Tree Swallows. But if I look carefully I will see another type flying among them. This one has a deeply forked tail that immediately identifies it as a Barn Swallow. They build their nests on buildings and they nest at the maintenance buildings on the Parker River NWR every summer. This is a pair using a refurbished nest from last summer.
They have a small beak, typical for Swallows. They are blue on the back with a tawny colored underside. I spent some time trying to capture them flying in and out of their nest sites. These inflight photos of varying sharpness highlight their colors and forked tails.
We observed some Cliff Swallows using a barn as a nesting site recently. But they also use cliffs, bridges and culverts. Barn Swallows use human buildings almost exclusively. So their name is very fitting.
Birds in My Viewfinder 