At 21:02 25/05/97 -0700, you wrote:
>Hi Tweets,
>
>Biked up to Cecil Green Park in UBC early this AM, then back along Marine
>Drive & Spanish Banks; a couple of sightings from Jericho Pk.
>
>Conditions: Temp: 14C-16C; Wind: W 0-5 km/hr, increasing to W 15; Barom:
>weak High; Cloud: 9/10, dispersing to 1/10 by 1100 hrs; Precip: nil; Tide:
>slow ebb; Sea: light westerly rippled; Time 0630--1130 PDT.
>
>Some highlights:
>
>First, watched a pair of Vaux's Swifts barrelling down into a chimney of a
>large mock-Tudor house on NW Marine Drive--the same location as two years
>before. Without recourse to producing the actual nest, this entry indicates
>potential nesting. A couple years ago, they exited and re-entered this
>chimney several times during mid-morning about this same time of year.
>Virtually no nesting records for Vancouver BC for this species.

After reading Michael's post I am reminded of the swifts that have been
visiting the chimney at my house. No one has confirmed their nesting here
in Port Alberni (mid-vancouver island) either but large flocks of them have
been reported diving into a few specific local chimneys. The last three
mornings, I have been waking to the sounds of chattering 'chimney' swifts,
not being too coherent at 4am or so, I am never quite able to determine if
there is a large number of them present, are they really in the chimney
(it's still dark out!), the sounds are coming from that direction, and are
they considering nesting? I was going to sweep the chimney this summer,
guess I'd better 'shed some light' on the subject first!

cheers,

Don Cecile
dcecile at cln.etc.bc.ca