Hi Tweets,

Janet Hardin writes:

>Michael Hobbs reported (among other sightings at Marymoor):
>
>> the first VAUX'S SWIFT! This
>>is the first time I've seen one before May.
>
>Is it me, or do reports of swifts indeed seem early this year? Haven't seen
>one myself yet, but I do remember wanting to point them out to murrelet
>survey trainees in May of years past, and not having any around to show
>them (even in areas where they nest later in the season). Are they early
>this year? If so, Jack Bowling, any ideas as to why? Is it "buggier" aloft
>this year?

Vaux's Swift (VASW) average northbound arrival in Vancouver BC is 4/17, so
the timing of this report's not far off the norm for this part of the Region.

The difficulty in finding a good, fined-down average arrival date for VASW
is that even quite experienced birders can get fooled (sometimes much
earlier in the season) by Violet-Green Swallows (VGSW) in 'stiff-wing'
territorial and sexual display. As I write this, I'm watching several groups
of VGSW's doing precisely this as they court and contest for entry holes to
nesting sites in vents and and crevices in our and surrounding buildings.

The difference between VASW & VGSW is that the latter eventually returns to
swallow flight pattern & profile and the swift doesn't.

M

Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
mprice at mindlink.net


M