Hi, Tweets

Our Saturday night watch for Vaux's swifts didn't turn in the hordes,
numberwise, but the 566 we counted put on quite a show. Not much
activity until after 6pm, but by then there were nearly 50 people
awaiting the evening drama. Our smallish group was circling around
doing their normal swooping and chittering when a merlin flew in from
the south, turned west at the chimney without stopping, and flew into
the sunset. In an instant, the swifts were sky high, barely
discernible with the naked eye. They stayed high for quite some time
even though the merlin had shown no interest - or had a full crop.
Then the swifts decided it was bedtime and the first group literally
dove in a spiral toward the chimney and dropped in (not head first,
of course, but it was still lightning quick). In a period of fifteen
minutes, two other groups did the same, swirling in a tight vortex
toward the chimney. The change of direction (head first to breast
first) was almost impossible to see. In a bare twenty minutes, most
of the flock had entered the chimney. We always have an early one or
two and the late one going in as it's almost dark.

The show is still going on. Don't miss it!

Cheers, Diann

Diann MacRae
Olympic Vulture Study
22622 - 53rd Avenue S.E.
Bothell, WA 98021
tvulture at vei.net