Waiting for the Swifts in Monroe, image from NationalAudubon video

This weekend hundreds of people gather in Monroe, Washington to see thousands of Vaux’s Swifts descend into the chimney of an elementary school.

The event is part of the Puget Sound Bird Fest and is called Swift Night Out. It takes place at the Frank Wagner Elementary School (map) where the birds have taken a liking to the chimney there. This is actually the second largest Vaux’s Swift population in the United States!

The official number of Vaux’s Swifts counted over the past few nights have all been over 10,000 with September 7th at over 26,000! So I’m thinking there should be some good numbers for the event on Saturday evening, the 11th of September.

Below is a wonderful video that talks about the Vaux’s Swift, the event and the efforts to preserve the chimney for future generations. The video was actually filmed the first year that I went. I had a really good time! After watching a great presentation about the bird in the school’s auditorium, we went outside to watch. When the Vaux’s Swifts started to spiral down into the chimney, the crowd started to cheer! There was a huge applause when the very last bird made it in for night!

I really like events like this. It brings people who are into birding and those who are brand new to it, together in one place. If you’re going, let me know!