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A SWIFT NIGHT OUT 2012 A Continent-wide Chimney Swift Roost Monitoring Project ___________________________________________
INDIVIDUAL REPORTS |
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Santa Rosa, CA
On Saturday 09/15/12 at the Rio Lindo Academy in Healdsburg, Ca I estimated 6,840 Vaux's Swifts entering the chimney. With 1 interruption of a lurking Peregrine Falcon.
Dave Barry
Tawas City, MI
Swift Night Out...nights in September were Fri. 9/7, Sat. 9/8, and Sun 9/9. We were out on Friday with my grandsons looking but it was very near dusk and we thought perhaps we just missed them...too late. So on Saturday the four of us went out at about 7:15. Not a Chimney Swift anywhere...none flying, no chittering, no sight of a one. We sat on the Northland Federal Credit Union landscape wall hoping for something...a miracle perhaps. Also we tripped back and forth between the courthouse and some local chimneys up town. Nothing. Also earlier in the week, Gary and I had been out and about town listening and watching. None earlier either. I’d say they were gone by Sept. 1. Zero swifts Sept 7-8, 2012--Fri and Sat. evenings Tawas St. Joseph Hospital and Iosco County Building in Tawas City, MI 48763. Observers had been watching these chimneys and the sky over our city beginning Sept 1. There have been no swift sightings this year in the Tawas City area after 9/1.
Larry VanWagoner
Chagrin Falls, OH
Barb Holtz
Farmington Hills, MI
Tonight, I saw the Farmington swift show at the location Barbara gave earlier. Two or three birds were circling around 7:20 PM. Numbers built quickly and I believe the first ones entered at 7:30 PM. Several times areas of the sky were almost black with birds - amazing that they weren't bumping into each other. Last ones were in by 8:06 PM. Some other folks were watching too. A couple of people on bikes came by and thought they were bats. A little re-education and they ended up staying almost until the end. They were quite noisy and easy to hear in spite of the traffic on Grand River and in the shopping center across the street. Great fun!
Diane Pruden
Hi all, Last evening there was a wonderful display of Chimney swifts swarming in from all directions to roost in the old LaSalle Winery smoke stack on GrandRiver and Orchard Lake Rd. in Farmington. It was amazing to watch! We arrived on site about 7:40 and saw only a couple of birds. Then in a few minutes the swifts started arriving. Pretty soon they were swirling around and around the chimney. Some would fly in, but others would spread out and then start swarming around the chimney again. A must see for sure! I would estimate about a 1000 of them....
Ann Arbor, MI
Tonight, Sept 16, 2012 the chimney swifts in Ann arbor used the chimney of the University of Michigan's intramural Building at the corner of State Street and Hoover Street. They were all inside by about 8:10. It was a clear warm night, counting conditions were excellent. There were 1242 of them. The two were the baby swifts raised by the Bird Center of Washtenaw County and released at that time. I had to count by 10's. Up 400 since last month's count.
Sherri Smith
Holly Springs, MI
We’ve been counting roosting swifts and the numbers have been great. They have mainly been using the tower that was up when you were here, but Bubba watched a large group enter into one of our newer towers…it was difficult for him to get a count due to trees in background.
Anyway…September 11th, starting at 7:15 thru about 7:30…203 swifts into oldest tower! Others may have entered other towers, but again, it’s difficult to see at dusk due to tree background. Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Holly Springs, MS Clear skies, around 75-80 degrees.
Kristin Lamberson
Katy, TX
A pleasant surprise last Tuesday night at dusk. We could hear them before we even got out of the Jeep when we arrived around 6:30PM. We heard and saw them all during our walk back around the Wetlands Trail. As we were getting ready to leave around dusk they really started circling around the parking lot. Chimney Swifts. That's when I knew the show was about to begin. With the sun below the horizon to the Olathe, KS
* Number of swifts counted -150
Sarah Ellis Hampton, GA Frank Fenn
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