Larry and Tweeters,

Yes, Vaux's Swifts like large chimneys. However, they also use small brick
chimney as roosting places in migration, and, not infrequently, for
breeding. For example, about 1990, I observed a single pair of Vaux's Swifts
repeatedly entering a small chimney in Loomis, WA, and I'm sure they were
nesting there.
(This was during the Breeding Bird Atlas project.)

In the spring of 1996, I observed over 100 Vaux's Swifts entering a fairly
small church chimney in Merritt, BC. This was in early May during the normal
migration period. I did not see them use this chimney in subsequent years.

I don't disagree with the importance of large chimneys as roosting sites
during migration. However, there are far more small chimneys than large
chimneys, and since the number of birds using each is smaller, they probably
escape notice most of the time. However, I suspect that only a small
percentage of the population uses the few large chimneys that are well
known.

By all means, let's check out the large chimneys for use during migration,
and try to prevent the destruction of those that are known to be important
to swifts. But, let's not ignore all the smaller chimneys in the process.

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net




-----Original Message-----
From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Larry
Schwitters
Sent: April-11-08 6:45 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] Swifts like huge chimneys.

The sort of structure that Vaux's Swifts seem to prefer for communal
migration roosting are huge brick chimneys. The bigger the better.
Unfortunately, these keep getting capped or torn down. Let's make a
list of the 20 largest chimneys in Washington State. I'll start.

1. Near the Canadian Border in the middle of some small town is a
biggie, but I don't think its brick. Everson sounds right. Right?

2. In the middle of Sedro-Woolley is the Skagit Steel round brick
structure. We know it has been used by Vaux's in the past. Was there
another huge chimney that was recently torn down in Sedro-Woolley?

3. Mt Vernon has a large tube with tulips painted on it.

4. By the Stanwood sewage ponds in a something that would look good if
it was made out of brick.

5. What's that in Concrete that had the Goshawk on it?

6. Going east on highway 2 out of Monroe, is a large enough, but not
brick enough, tower to give Wagoner Elementary serious competition.
Swifts have been seen there too.

7. A mile NE of Snoqualmie Falls was a very tall Weyerhaeuser plant
brick something. Was it five years ago they wiped that out?

8. The University of Washington Campus-Red Square, it's big, it's
beautiful, it's brick. Does it ventilate the parking Garage?

9. On Capital Hill at like James and 17th? Some medical facility.
It's got a ton of bricks in it. I could not tell if it had a screen
over it.

10. Does Seattle University have something?

11. Just east of Buckley, near the Rainier School, is a state shop
with a large chimney.

Wouldn't it be something if you discovered an unknown roost with
thousands of birds using it?

Your turns.

Larry Schwitters
Issaquah

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