Vaux's Swifts

Last Saturday night we went to the Chapman school on 25th and Pettygrove in Portland to see the Vaux's swifts come in to roost in the chimney. This is an annual ritual here in PDX: this particular species of swift will find, during its autumn migration, a safe roosting place en masse--usually a hollow tree, but in this case, a tall chimney. They come in by the thousands at sunset. After filling the skies in the vicinity of the school for a couple hours, they start to work their way down towards the chimney in great whirling funnels, cylinders, and ribbons. At last they start to descend down into the chimney to find a roosting spot, sometimes flapping back out for another go. But by dark, they're all in. Hundreds of people gather on the school's lawn to watch this spectacle (along with a hungry hawk or two), which happens every night for about the entire month of September. When chillier temperatures arrive, the swifts begin to move further south. (Credit goes to Steve Warner and Portland Upside for the photo above.)

Read about this amazing phenomenon here: http://audubonportland.org/local-birding/swiftwatch

Take a look at this video of Vaux's Swifts roosting in a Eugene, Oregon, chimney. It's exactly what you'll see at Chapman school, but this particular footage is so outstanding that I had to link you to it: http://www.formula1movies.com/video/1TT07lAdNaM/Thousands-of-Vaux-s-Swifts-Roost-in-Eugene-OR.html

And enjoy this artist's rendering of the scene (second row down); I must say he captures the mysterious beauty of it well: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32310833@N06/page5/

Adios,
~CD