Summer's End and the Vaux's Swifts
The afternoons are still warm as summer comes to an end, but the nights are becoming quite cool. An extra blanket has gone on the bed, the hummingbirds have left along with the violet green swallows and we are preparing for the arrival of the Vaux's Swifts at Chapman Elementary School in Northwest Portland, Oregon. This gathering of swifts in the chimney of the school is an annual birding event attracting thousands of people on September evenings to watch the 15,000 to 40,000 swifts swirl in a huge cloud of birds that dives into the chimney to roost for the night. Cooper's hawks and Peregrine Falcons can also be seen in expectation of a meal
