There are a number of things I would have liked to have changed when shooting this but things happen quickly and sometimes you just have to take what you get! I was at a field as I was determined to get a swallow in flight (definitely not easy and nearly impossible I have discovered!). In this field there are Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows constantly in motion flying low over the grass. I happened to notice there were a number of young Barn Swallows and the parents kept coming back and were feeding them literally on the fly. A few young ones finally landed in a tree so I stood there patiently waiting for the parents to come by because I had seen them feeding their young and I thought it would make a great image. Well that feeding lasts about all of 2 seconds so not a lot of time. So since I am learning, I wish I had set a bit higher f stop to get the adult in focus as the young bird is. I would have set up on a tripod instead of hand holding for the shot, and I would have stayed a little longer to get more opportunities for a strong image. As it is, this was shot with the Canon T3i, Tamron 150 - 600mm set at 500mm so I could be sure to get both birds in, 1/2000 at ISO 800 and f/6.3. Some shadow lightening in LR, I cloned a branch and leaf out above the birds, and I turned the gray sky blue in PS CC. Handheld, AF.
You got a great shot of a very difficult subject! I love the contortions of the baby. Would be nice to see a little more of the parent's face, but you take what you're given. I assume you were in burst mode. Hope you'll be able to keep shooting here while the action lasts.
Enough DOF to get the parent in focus may have cost too much in terms of high ISO and lower SS. At this sort of magnification, DOF is really limited and sometimes not worth trying for. The specs you had look like a good choice to me.
If the action is going to be confined to a relatively small area, as this seems to have been, with the babies waiting in a known spot, a tripod could be a great asset. But if the action demands a fast shutter speed anyway, it may not be a lot of help for sharpness, if you can handhold steadily. If I'm watching a situation where I need to handhold, such a birds flying around a nest, I find bringing a folding chair helps. I can rest the camera in my lap and have it at my eye very quickly when a bird shows up.
Thanks Diane. I was back there today and I haven't had a chance to check out the shots yet. I am shooting in burst mode and this time I set up on a tripod and focused on one baby and locked the focus then used a remote shutter release when I saw a parent dive in. I'll be interested to see what results I got. I like the chair idea, I have a 3 legged stool I use in my blind that might just work out for this venture!