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Chapman Vaux's Swifts
When a completely overcast day suddenly gave way to crystal clear sunshine late in the afternoon, I felt an overwhelming urge to not waste it. Fall is coming, and gray will soon be the norm here, which is fine. I look forward to it, actually. There's something about the darkness of Portland in the fall and winter that I find downright serene. Romantic even.
...but that's a thought for another night, because this evening's sky had become a marvelous blue, and I knew exactly what to do.
I grabbed a jacket, my camera and tripod, and I headed for the streetcar.
It's September, after all. September in Portland means it's time for the annual migration of Vaux's Swifts as they get ready to make their way to South and Central America.
Vaux's Swifts are an interesting kind of birds who seem to have a habit of perching vertically. They roost on chimneys at sunset during migration. In fact, the Chapman School in northwest Portland has the world's largest roost of swifts. They start to arrive at the school in August, but the real show is in early to mid-September when, at sunset, there may be thousands of them swooping into the school's chimney. I assume there's a lot of swift-poop at the bottom of the chimney too.
As the streetcar made its way through downtown, I had visions of giant V formations of birds soaring through the sky. "Or maybe it'll be wave after wave of birds flying in formation!" Yes, yes, surely that is what I'd see! Ooh, I could hardly wait.
I got off the streetcar at NW 23rd Ave and headed towards the school, recalling the giant V formations of birds that flew high above each fall when I was a kid living in Allentown Pennsylvania. They were beautiful, but they never landed there. Like anyone else with a shred of common sense, they flew right by that shithole town.
But this is Portland! Of course birds would want to land here.
My mistake was forgetting this town's unofficial motto: "Keep Portland Weird."
Everything is a little odd here... why should birds be any different?
Vaux's Swifts are anything but swift. These fuckers fly around like drunks at a frat party when a beautiful woman enters the room.
CHAOS.
Ahh well. It was still fun to watch as they swooped into the Chapman chimney.
A few Vaux's Swifts links to pass along:
About Vaux's Swifts
Some basic info
And, of course, Wikipedia
If you're in Portland, this last one is definitely a link to save: Swift Watch!
::::: | Filed under: photos
::::: | Posted Saturday, Sep 15 2007 at 9:15 PM
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Holly said:
Dude! I was there just last night! Were you there too? That may have been the weirdest thing I've seen yet... 150 people sitting on a hill cheering on a bunch of birds as if it was a soccer match. Portlanders. Go figure.
::::: | Posted September 16, 2007 5:21 PM
Me! said:
Yep, I was there too. I was on the sidewalk along Pettigrove, on the school's side of the park. I was hard to miss thanks to my tripod.
I took a tip from a certain Idaho senator and used a wide stance! (guffaw) ...No, really... I was standing a bit oddly to keep my feet against the feet of the tripod so no one would trip over it.
I was surprised by how many people were there, especially since this isn't a one-night thing. The swifts roost on the Chapman School's chimney every evening for about a month. Maybe it was the weather that brought out such a crowd? I don't know. I'll have to drop by again sometime... though, from here on out, there will probably be fewer and fewer birds since the timing has peaked.
...and, yeah, Portland is nutty. That's why I love it!
::::: | Posted September 17, 2007 12:41 AM
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