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A SWIFT NIGHT OUT 2012 A Continent-wide Chimney Swift Roost Monitoring Project ___________________________________________
INDIVIDUAL REPORTS |
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Ft. Walton Beach, FL
Well, forgive me for taking so long to report. But our SNO was anticlimactic. Zero birds! We're not sure why. We're quite sure we had a family in our chimney all summer, and could hear the babies getting bigger and bigger until they all sounded like adults. Then they were gone. They seemed to be gone 2-3 weeks before SNO weekend in August.
We are hopeful that our chimney will be a congregating place in Sept, and that we'll have more birds to report at that time.
Robin Horne
Rock Island, IL
Tonight August 22, 2012 at 19:55 I observed approx. 200 to 300 swifts flying around this funeral home a block away from my home in Rock Island, Illinois. I watched for approx. 15 minutes as the swifts flew around and around and one by one entered the chimney of the funeral home. I was in total awe I watched until the last one entered the chimney the address I’m not sure but is located on the corner of 7th avenue and 21 street tomorrow night I’m going to try and get an exact count.... this was the second night that I observed them.
Bruce Gilbert
Jacksonville, FL
birds counted approx. 70 @ 7 pm on 8/11/2012 where Jacksonville, FL 32244 in my residential fire place clear-- provoked my husband and i just moved into a rental property a few weeks ago, me and my daughter were outside in the pool and my husband was trimming a palm tree with a chainsaw when we noticed a swam of birds flying over us, we never seen them before and thought they were strange looking bats, he stopped with the chainsaw and we watched them trying to get a better look, (they fly fast) and to our amazement we watch them in groups of 1-4 at a time fly into our chimney. wow! at first we were scared we have bats, then we started watching them and realized they were birds, I've heard the name before but never knew exactly what it was. thank you for setting up this site now we can enjoy our birds,
Sueann
Austin, TX
Laurie Foss and I counted Chimney Swifts at the ACC Rio Grande campus last night. We arrived around 7:45p and there were only three swifts circling around the area. Before very long, a lot more birds arrived. The first swift entered the chimney at 8:06p. Most of the swifts entered between 8:15p and 8:22p. All were in by 8:25p. Our average number was 140.
It seemed like at this site, we were closer to the birds. I guess this was due to the chimney not being as high as the chimneys at the other sites we've monitored. And these birds were cooperative. They, very considerately, entered individually instead of in groups of 10 or 20 birds! Of course, they kept it challenging for us in other ways. There were many fake-outs and some birds would come up from behind and below the entrance and then fly up just above the chimney entrance and drop in without much preparation or warning. We persisted and did our best to meet all challenges. ( : As usual, we had a great time with the birds.
Shelia Hargis
I was unable to observe the Chimney Swifts Aug 10, 11 or 12, but thought it a report of the swifts last night may be of interest to you. Saint Joseph, MO
August 28, 2012 Milwaukee, WI
9/2/12 7:15 pm - 8:00 pm 1104 N. Marshall St., Milwaukee, WI 53202 (apartment building) cloudy? 87 swifts counted
Anne Epstein
Austin, TX
Victor Emanuel, Dawn Dickson and I were at Travis High School this evening. It seems that almost all the chimney swifts have flown from this roosting site. We were there from 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.. During that time we saw a few swifts, usually 3 to 5 at a time, come and fly around the area near the tall chimney. Then they would fly away and not be seen for a while. At the most we counted 9 swifts at one time. Ultimately we observed only 2 drop into the chimney before it became too dark to see. Place: Travis High School, Austin, TX, brick incinerator chimney Date: Friday, September 7, 2012 Time: 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Weather: Clear, dry, hot (~ 101 F); a cool front predicted to move into the area following day Swifts observed: at least 9 flying, 2 entered chimney We will be interested to learn what is seen at the other sites in Austin.
Marcia Sims
Byran and I counted swifts at Zilker Elementary incinerator chimney last night (Friday 9/7/12) and came up with a count of 365. Time was between 7:50 and 8:15. Didn't get the temp but in the mid-90's, partly cloudy and very calm.
Cindy Sperry
Ridgewood, NJ
Sept. 7, 2012, 6:50 to 7:45PM Athens, GA
203 chimney swifts |