Pacific Northwest Birders

I am requesting your participation in a regional project to inventory
waterfalls for nesting Black Swifts. Your volunteer assistance will help us gather
important information on the nesting status and population of one of the most
unique and little-known birds in the avifauna of the Pacific Northwest.

I encourage you to adopt a waterfall(s) from the web page <A HREF="http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/BLSW/BLSW.html">
http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/BLSW/BLSW.html</A> and take part in this unique effort.? The
survey protocol (on the Data Sheet and the Introduction pages at the web site) is
very simple.? Just visit the waterfall(s) you have selected and spend one
evening in July and one in August for a 2-hour period just before dusk.? The
visits should be at least 10 days apart.? The highest count of adult Black Swifts
seen at any one point in time is the population for the site.?

Beyond the importance of the project to assess the status of Black Swifts,
consider this project an opportunity to explore areas you have never seen
before.? Make a day or a weekend of it, either by camping or staying in nearby
lodging.? Take the spouse or significant other and make it a romantic getaway.?
Have a picnic dinner at the falls or nearby, and then spend time under the
evening looking for Black Swifts.? Have fun with a new experience for most of us.

I strongly recommend 2 people conduct the survey.? First of all, it helps to
have four eyes looking for these high flying bullets, and you can space
yourself to maximize visibility at the falls and in the sky above the falls.? More
importantly, many of the locations are remote and whether camping nearby or
walking out after dark, safety is concern number one!? Be extremely careful
walking along trails and near the falls.? Don't take any risks on accessing areas
where you are not comfortable.

The accessibility to waterfalls is highly variable, ranging from roadside
viewing to lengthy hikes of varying difficulty.? Staying at the waterfall till
dusk means walking out will be in the dark.? I recommend camping nearby for any
waterfall where there is a significantly long or a difficult hike.? Whether
you choose to walk out or camp, a flashlight or head lamp is absolutely
essential.? Don't forget it!? It will be important for you to assess your personal
comfort level with camping and/or hiking when you select your site.? Information
on the accessibility of each waterfall is described on the web page or at the
click-on link to each waterfall which takes you to
www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/regions.htm.

The waterfalls listed on the web page are ones that I have selected as
potentially hosting nesting Black Swifts based on what is known about Black Swift
nest site criteria (see Introduction on web page), and what I can glean from the
pictures and descriptions of these sites from various sources.? If you know
of waterfalls not listed on the web page that you think have potential for
nesting Black Swifts, feel free to adopt those waterfalls for your survey.? Please
let me know as soon as possible so I can get them into the data base.? If you
do not have access to the internet to read about the waterfalls and the
protocol, or cannot download or print data sheets, please call or email me
(information below) and I can help you find a site and can mail the protocol and data
sheets to you.

Thanks for your interest and hopefully your participation.

Bob Altman
American Bird Conservancy
Northern Pacific Rainforest BCR Coordinator
311 NE Mistletoe
Corvallis, OR 97330
phone/fax - 541 745-5339
baltman at abcbirds.org