Swift-watching with friends and family has been an annual ritual for thousands across the country.
Nationwide, the Swift Night Out gatherings are to enjoy the sight of chimney swifts diving into, well, chimneys at dusk to roost for the night. The events are accompanied by a talk or other educational activities.
But in the West, a Swift Night Out is all about migrating Vaux’s swifts. In Monroe, birdwatchers and other curious viewers can bring their lawn chairs and blankets and hang out at the Frank Wagner Center, 639 W. Main St., on Sept. 8 from about 4 p.m. until the show starts at dusk. There will be education booths and a Vaux’s swift program, children’s games, apple crisp and hot dogs.
It’s one of the largest congregations in North America. As many as 26,000 Vaux’s swifts have been seen entering this chimney (Sept. 7, 2016).
Watch thousands of swifts circle and call out, perhaps to help other swifts in the area find the roost before pouring into the chimney, incredibly overlapping inside. Swifts don’t have a hind toe, so they can’t stand or perch, but their four hook-shaped claws and stiff feathers allow them to cling to rough vertical structures.
The birds only land to roost, nest or to avoid rain.
Historically, trees damaged by fires or storms provided shelter. Those numbers have fallen as trees are cleared for agriculture, homes and businesses, and logging. Swifts are also blocked from most residential chimneys.
But the adaptable swift learned to roost in old industrial chimneys. When they came down, even less habitat was available, and Vaux’s swift numbers declined.
But humans are trying to make a difference. The Vaux’s Happening Project (vauxhappening.org) is led by coordinator Larry Schwitters to research and monitor the birds, and work on saving large chimneys.
Research has shown requirements for the best chimneys. According to the project’s website, they include:
■ It’s located on the migration route.
■ Open at the top but not the bottom. When the project sealed the old Northern State Hospital chimney’s bottom access, the counts immediately jumped from single digits to thousands.
■ It’s made of brick, which store and release heat. The better roosting chimneys have thick brick walls, large on the outside but not much larger than 3 feet squared. Once the bricks are warm inside, the temperature might drop less than a degree during the night.
■ If the bottom of the chimney is larger than the top, no spot on the roost will get rained on. It’s also a positive for keeping out owls and hawks.
■ The site must have enough room. The Monroe chimney has 31 vertical feet of 4-foot-square surface area, enough to accommodate 14,000 Vaux’s. If there are more, they can roost two or three deep.
■ It’s built before 1941. Chimneys built after that have a smooth liner, which swifts can’t cling to. Wagner was built in 1940.
■ There is little predation. The calls to attract other swifts also can attract predators such as hawks and falcons. If that happens, there is a risk that the site will be abandoned. To discourage predators from sitting on the top edges of the chimney and waiting for the swifts to leave, spikes can be added. Wagner’s crow pokers have been wildly successful.
■ An abundant food supply of flying insects is nearby.
The chance to see thousands of Vaux’s swifts disappear into a chimney, while not rare, is unusual, especially with an easily accessible public area for viewing. Thanks to the Pilchuck Audubon Society for making it happen.
Out and about. Area sightings since Aug. 12 include a banded Caspian tern at Bracket’s Landing; a great egret, semipalmated plovers and a huge flock of Western sandpipers, viewed from North View Park; four kingbirds, two pectoral sandpipers and yellow-headed cowbird at Wylie Slough; and more than 100 white pelicans in two flocks at Crockett Lake.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or songandword@rockisland.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
