{"id":16022,"date":"2022-08-07T07:16:24","date_gmt":"2022-08-06T19:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/?p=16022"},"modified":"2022-08-07T07:16:19","modified_gmt":"2022-08-06T19:16:19","slug":"swallows-and-fantails-avian-jet-interceptors-and-attack-helicopters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/16022","title":{"rendered":"Swallows and Fantails – Avian Jet Interceptors and Attack Helicopters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Fantail ascending to intercept a midge before turning back sharply<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I have spent a bit of time photographing Welcome Swallows and Fantails recently while testing the capabilities of the Nikon Z9. At the lake they both target aquatic insects at the stage that they are hatched adult flies but have a very different approach to catching their prey. The insects, largely of the midge family, live most of their life as underwater larvae before pupating and rising to the surface to emerge as adult flies which mate then lay eggs in the water to repeat the breeding cycle. The aquatic forms are preyed on by fish and diving birds but Swallows and Fantails only have access to the airborne adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swallows target these adults from the moment they emerge, often plucking them from the surface as soon as they emerge.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Welcome Swallow about to pluck a freshly emerged midge from the surface film<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Once the insects are in flight they intercept them by carving though long corridors of airspace at speed, sometimes rising through the air to catch an insect highlighted against the sky. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Welcome Swallow intercepting a midge in mid air<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This approach suits their streamlined airframe reminiscent of a jet fighter. Fast and manoeuvrable, but needing to detect their target at a distance to vector in and intercept it with some small last minute adjustment. The vibrissae around their gape may help funnel the prey into the beak in the way that the basket around the refuelling drogue from an airborne tanker accepts the refuelling probe of a recipient aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Welcome Swallow – avian jet fighter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Fantails adopt a different approach. They target the hatched insects when they are in their mating swarms rising and falling around lake edge vegetation. This requires less speed but much more manoeuvrability up and down, side to side and back and forth patrolling a cube of airspace in a manner reminiscent of a helicopter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
A Fantail drops almost vertically before flaring to catch a midge from a cloud of others.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Watching Fantails is intriguing as they twist and turn, rise and fall. They are incredibly manoeuvrable often spinning 180 degrees within their length just like a helicopter can use the tail rotor to pivot around the main rotor axis. In real time it is hard to appreciate exactly what they are doing but the acrobatics revealed in a series of still images is fascinating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Fantail catching a midge. Like the Swallow, vibrissae around the beak may help funnel the prey in to the mouth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a child I was fascinated by birds and model aircraft and as a result, aerodynamics. It is lovely to see the adaptations of the birds that mirror the features of manmade aircraft tailored for different purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Fantail rising steeply to take a midge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photos with Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 100-4000mm f4.5-5.6 VR S or Nikkor 500mm f5.6PF<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Swallows and Fantails – Contrasting the different styles of New Zealand aerial insectivores<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[20,982,3,29],"tags":[578,298,1070,144,247,921,984,221,983,609,649,651,650],"class_list":["post-16022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biology","category-bird-photography","category-birds","category-new-zealand","tag-bird","tag-fantail","tag-insectivore","tag-new-zealand","tag-new-zealand-bird","tag-nikkor-500mm-f5-6pf","tag-nikkor-z-100-400","tag-nikon","tag-nikon-z9","tag-nikonnz","tag-swallow","tag-swallow-in-flight","tag-welcome-swallow","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"\nSwallows and Fantails - 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Suggestion for Nikon Z9\/Z8 focus settings.","rel":"","context":"In "Bird Photography"","block_context":{"text":"Bird Photography","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/bird-photography"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo of Piwakawaka\/Fantail hawking a midge","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Fantail-20230607-NZ9_9841-NEF_DxO-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Fantail-20230607-NZ9_9841-NEF_DxO-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Fantail-20230607-NZ9_9841-NEF_DxO-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Fantail-20230607-NZ9_9841-NEF_DxO-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12630,"url":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/12630","url_meta":{"origin":16022,"position":1},"title":"A Familiar Walk","author":"tony","date":"August 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Another trip up the road for a familiar walk to photograph birds at Lake Okareka","rel":"","context":"In "birds"","block_context":{"text":"birds","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/birds"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/WelcomeSwallow-D85_3046-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/WelcomeSwallow-D85_3046-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/WelcomeSwallow-D85_3046-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/WelcomeSwallow-D85_3046-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18365,"url":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/18365","url_meta":{"origin":16022,"position":2},"title":"Okareka Magic","author":"tony","date":"August 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Okareka Magic - Lake Okareka never disappoints","rel":"","context":"In "Bird Photography"","block_context":{"text":"Bird Photography","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/bird-photography"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fantail-20240807-NZ9_9134-NEF-DxO_DeepPRIME-XD2-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fantail-20240807-NZ9_9134-NEF-DxO_DeepPRIME-XD2-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fantail-20240807-NZ9_9134-NEF-DxO_DeepPRIME-XD2-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fantail-20240807-NZ9_9134-NEF-DxO_DeepPRIME-XD2-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10274,"url":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/10274","url_meta":{"origin":16022,"position":3},"title":"Another Feast of Fantails","author":"tony","date":"July 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Normal colour morph Fantail hawking a tiny insect. It has been a good season for Fantails and the high numbers have meant plenty of opportunities to practice on these tiny erratic birds. In my previous post I shared some images from Lake Okareka and this week I will share a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "birds"","block_context":{"text":"birds","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/birds"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/LeucisticFantail-D5C_8282-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/LeucisticFantail-D5C_8282-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/LeucisticFantail-D5C_8282-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/LeucisticFantail-D5C_8282-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9079,"url":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/9079","url_meta":{"origin":16022,"position":4},"title":"Mirror Lakes","author":"tony","date":"June 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"During our South Island trip we used Te Anau as a base for 4 days as it was perfectly situated for a trip to Manapouri and Doubtful Sound as well as close enough to explore the road up the Eglinton Valley to Milford Sound. I had hoped to explore the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "birds"","block_context":{"text":"birds","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/birds"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fantail hawking insects over Mirror Lakes.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Fantail_DSC1380-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Fantail_DSC1380-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Fantail_DSC1380-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Fantail_DSC1380-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10683,"url":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/10683","url_meta":{"origin":16022,"position":5},"title":"Photographing Swallows in Flight","author":"tony","date":"October 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A Welcome Swallow jets past at Matata Lagoon For photographers obsessed with photographing birds, flight shots have their own special challenges depending on the bird species. Photographing swallows in flight is right up there with Fantails in level of difficulty as they are small, move fast and move erratically. They\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "birds"","block_context":{"text":"birds","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/birds"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Welcome Swallow jets past at Matata Lagoon","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/WelcomeSwallow-D85_3930-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/WelcomeSwallow-D85_3930-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/WelcomeSwallow-D85_3930-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/WelcomeSwallow-D85_3930-web.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}