Dear Tweeters,

This evening (5-18-2010) I happened to be birding at Northern State Recreation Area, just outside Sedro-Woolley (Skagit County), when I noticed flocks of Vaux's Swifts. Then I remembered that it's swift-counting time again.

The old smokestack started filling up with Vaux's Swifts at about 7:47 PM. By 7:57 PM, only 17 swifts had entered the chimney. The slow trickle continued until about 8:04 PM, after which no swifts entered until about 8:21 PM.

At about 8:45, fives and sixes started entering the chimney. At around 8:55 PM, birds were entering by the score, with about 110 going in between 8:57 and 8:58.

However, at about this same time, swifts also began exiting the chimney. This made it impossible for me to get an accurate estimate. I am sure that at least 500 Vaux's Swifts were present, perhaps as many as 1000, but as to how many went in, I can't say, because of all the maddening coming and going.

I left the swift-counting spot at about 9:15 PM, at which time about 100 swifts were still circling the stack, well illuminated by moonlight. A few minutes later, I looked back from the one last spot where the chimney can be viewed, and saw roughly that same 100 birds still circling and flitting about the top of the chimney.

I don't remember seeing the birds do this sort of in-and-out business before, but then again, I have only made desultory observations of this phenomenon over the years. If this is the norm, I'd say that swift-counters must endure some frustrating times indeed.

Earlier in the evening, a hen California Quail popped up near the old dairy barns--my first for the location. This species bred in Sedro-Woolley last year, so maybe there are some releases going on in the area--or maybe I am seeing remnants of earlier populations from when there were more farms around Woolley.

I heard a Lazuli Bunting singing near the barns; today I also heard one at my house near Lyman, so they seem to be back for the season now.

Barn Owls were making a commotion of hissing in the barns at Northern State, too. I saw one, but I think there are young up in one of the barns.

I also found five or six late Golden-crowned Sparrows.

At the parking lot as I was getting in the car to leave, I could hear Killdeer and Greater Yellowlegs calling in the darkhess.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch ? Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA ? garybletsch at yahoo.com ? ?