Bryan Gates wondered,

> Which brings up my next questions: Does this species tend to return to the
> same chimney(s) in successive seasons? Is the site reported in Olympia a
> "traditional" migratory stopover?

Someone with more definite information may have to correct me, but I'm
quite sure the swifts were reported going into a different chimney, in
the same neighborhood, last spring. I believe they were only there for
an evening or two. It's probably unusual for the birds to be hanging
around this one place for so long, but this raises the question I asked
earlier: is it possible that every day some birds are moving on to the
north while others move in from the south? That would explain the
variations in numbers that people have reported, and it would explain why
the birds are roosting in this one place for a long time when you'd expect
them to be continually moving onward.

Burt Guttman guttmanb at elwha.evergreen.edu
The Evergreen State College Voice: 360-866-6000, x. 6755
Olympia, WA 98505 FAX: 360-866-6794