Finding perching swallows in australia

It seems that swallows are always flying but they’re not, how can I find perching swallows for observing photographing and just admiring there color.

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It’s a bit of a luck thing. I look on fences and buildings, Particularly aerials. They usually have a particular spot the like to sit on.

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A few days ago, I went to the garden section of a local store; it’s “half outside”, ie. it has a roof, but no walls on two sides, just some fences. A family of barn swallows had made their nest under the roof, and could be seen perching around the area - on a motion sensor mounted on one of the walls, on a rack of strawberry plants right next to the entrance (with people walking right past it just a meter or so away), and on one of the display hooks (that the store uses to hang products on). I was mesmerized for five minutes, watching the swallow stretching on the display hook from a couple of meters away.

Based on this single experience, I would suggest trying to see if you can find a nest next to a busy place - the birds might be perching in the area around the nest, and be used to people walking around.

If you search for them along waterways like rivers and mudflats, they’ll often rest/perch on dead trees, rocks etc, so that can be a good opportunity

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In the US and in Asia I often see them on rooflines and on fence posts.

I photograph a lot of violet green swallows, and in my experience they have areas that they prefer to hang out. If you watch them fly long enough, they tend to circle and congregate. Around here they prefer rooftops and tall tree branches. I’ve seen them perch on wires too. Basically just keep an eye on the flying ones until you figure out where they like to rest

Snags and other straight tall perches near bodys of water are always a good bet. Other than that, finding a nest usually can result in good photo ops of perching swallows, as they often perch near the nest for short periods of time in my experience. Another good bet is finding fledglings, adults will sometimes sit on a branch or fence post next to a fledgling to feed it…

Okay thanks for answering!

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Hey guys,
Yesterday I finally saw a perching swallow on my aerial thanks for the tips!

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