Cliff swallows, like all swallows, a buoyant, graceful, and highly maneuverable fliers, and consequently are hard to photograph.   These birds were inside their mud nest under the eaves of the Mono Lake Visitor Center in eastern California, at Bear River migratory bird refuge in Utah, and gathering mud in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

• Canon 1D Mk. II, 30D, or 1D4; 500 mm f4 IS lens + 2X converter or 800 mm IS lens plus 1.4X converter, extension tubes, fill-in flash (2007, 2012, 2014, 2018)