Corvallis Vaux's Swift Watch

[Mary Garrard]

Hello, Jolene Broich and I watched and counted about 1140 swifts entering the Whiteside chimney between 8 and 8:15 tonight. Others have seen swifts at various locations around town, but the Whiteside seems to be the main roost being used this fall. I checked Weigand once and didn't see any but I may have been too late in the evening.

This year's North American Swift Night Out is September 10, coming up Saturday. Since the Whiteside looks to be good, that's where we'll have it. I'll bring my spotting scope and set up around 7:30. Please join us, bring binoculars and a scope if you like. The best viewing spot from the street is halfway between Monroe and Madison on Fourth.

Volunteers are needed to count on other nights, so if you have an evening free please consider contributing to this project. You can enter your own data from the link below, or send me the information and I can enter it. The data you'll need to collect is on an attachment.

I plan to do another count tomorrow, Wednesday, and will be at the spot on Fourth by 7:30, and if you would like to join me I can do a quick orientation. I've also attached some information from Nicole about counting swifts that might be helpful.

The late summer weather looks perfect for spending an evening or three counting swifts. Come enjoy the company of other swifters!

Mary Garrard

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Nicole Nielsen-Pincus <nnielse...@yahoo.com>
Subject: Oregon Vaux's Swift Count

Swifters,

I've had some reports that the swifts are back!  Where did summer go, as usual?  Before the "peak" in migration, I've anecdotally noticed that the birds seems to use smaller, residential chimneys before communing in large groups in the main roosts in August, so keep you eyes out for them in your neighborhoods.

A couple of changes this season...Instead of hounding you to give up your Saturday nights to count swifts for a month, we'll focus on one big Saturday/weekend.  That targets September 10, which is this years North American Swift Night out.  I want to encourage you all to do as many observations as you are moved to do from now through September do and report that data.  I have felt that in addition to having trouble getting volunteers, we also miss potential big counts due to weather or other factors when we focus only on 1 day a week.  If there are many of you in one town, coordinate amongst yourselves or through your local Audubon to cover as many nights as possible please!  Those of you that are in the Eugene area, let me know if you're planning to go out and count and I will do my best to fill in the gaps. 

Also,  while I love getting your data, maybe the best strategy would be to enter it directly here:
   https://waacda.wufoo.com/forms/x7p9a5/
for Larry Schwitters, our West coast regional swift man.   see: http://www.vauxhappening.org/Vauxs_Happening/Vauxs_Happening_Home.html

This on-line form is very easy to use and saves me from being the middle man.  I will get the Oregon report from Larry each week and share it with you all so you can see how important your contribution is to this project! 

Let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to hearing about the counts near you over the next few weeks.

Thanks!
Nicole Nielsen-Pincus
Oregon Vaux's Swift County State Coordinator

[Mary Garrard]

Thanks to everyone who showed up on Saturday to watch the Vaux's swifts swirl around and drop fluttering in a lively vortex to fill up the chimney at the Whiteside Theater! It was definitely the place to be on Saturday and a very fun event! The rising nearly full moon was an added attraction.

Even if you missed it on Saturday, you haven't missed your chance to see some swift action this fall. Those awesome little birds will be stopping by the Whiteside to spend the night before they head on south the next morning to continue their migration, for the next couple of weeks. We've had 700-1000 each time I've counted over the past week.

The best spot to watch from is on 4th between Madison & Monroe. Stand on the west side of the street and look east to the chimney. Binoculars aren't necessary but nice to have for a closer look. There's also good viewing from the alley between 3rd & 4th. So get out and invite your friends! But don't delay, numbers will dwindle after the big wave of migrants passes through.

Here are some links to check out if you want to delve further into the fascinating world of swift migration:

Vaux's Happening has some cool video clips and lots of information including past years' migration counts.

West Coast Swifts also has a cool video of swifts entering the chimney at Agate Hall in Eugene.

Best,

Mary Garrard