Carolyn McGlothlin and I arrived in Sumas this evening at 6:45 pm. With the low clouds and rain in the forecast I was worried that the swifts would be entering the chimney of the Old Custom House before we got there.

7:15: In one fell swope, in from the south came 30 swifts circulating in a counter-clockwise direction above the Old Courthouse roof. They would "form up" in a vortex, increasing their speed as they circled overhead, and then spill out to the north or west.
7:20: Twenty more swifts arrived.
7:35: Light rain begins to fall.
7:40: Additional swifts arrive, perhaps 100 in all. For twenty minutes they would vortex above the roof, then spill out, to form up again in the distance and then return. At one point toward 8:00 it looked like one or two were beginning to descend into the chimney, the others circulating ever more quickly now just above the chimney. BUT NO SWIFT ENTERED THE CHIMNEY.
8:10: The intense circulation of swifts spills out to the north.
8:45: Dark now, no swifts have returned.
NOT ONE SWIFT ENTERED THE CHIMNEY

This is really amazing. Has the chimney been capped? Is there something in the chimney itself that has kept the swifts from descending into it? What other roosting sites are available? Gosh, where will they spend the night?

How come this feels like not so good news? :(

Gayle Stebbings
Bellingham, WA
gstebbings at comcast dot net
Around the corner from the Roeder Home