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DOUBLE HOURS FOR CHIMNEY SWIFT PROJECT (see below for details and please make sure to note the project when you submit hours)
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Receive 1 hour of volunteer credit for each list you submit (contact Joelle Finley for help with lists). All hour submissions must include a list of species in the notes section to qualify for approval.
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A Swift Night Out
By Katie L. Percy, Avian Biologist, Audubon Louisiana
Please help monitor Chimney Swift and Vaux’s Swift populations by reporting swifts on one or more evenings this September. “A Swift Night Out” is a community led effort - occurring across the continent - to count Chimney Swifts and Vaux’s Swifts as they enter communal roosting sites just after dusk. Both Chimney and Vaux’s Swift populations have been in a long-term range-wide decline, which is why wildlife biologists and amateur birders are monitoring roost locations to better understand the rate and causes of population decline.
During the breeding season, Chimney Swifts are located across the eastern United States and into Canada, while Vaux’s Swifts are located along the Pacific Coast of North America. Both species are long distance migrants, retreating to South America for the winter. (Side note: Vaux’s Swift will occasionally visit Louisiana during winter.)
From late summer through early fall, swifts congregate in communal roosts prior to their southward migration. Historically, swifts primarily nested and roosted in old, hollow trees. Following European settlement, however, they soon adapted to man-made chimneys. As the eastern forests were cleared over the subsequent decades, swifts became increasingly dependent on chimneys.
In recent decades, chimney designs have changed, often explicitly to prevent intrusion by wildlife. As a result, swift populations have sharply declined with only about half as many around today compared to 50 years ago.
Audubon Louisiana would greatly appreciate your assistance locating roost sites within the state and conducting counts through the end of the month, or until communal roosting activity draws to an end for the season.
Submit your counts at eBird.org, noting in the comment section that you were counting swifts as they entered a roost site.
Count tips:
Show up at a known or suspected roost site about 30 minutes before sunset.
Listen for the high-pitched, chattering calls of Chimney Swifts as they begin to congregate in the air before entering the roost.
Find a spot with good visibility, where you can see birds entering the roost. Pay close attention! Swifts will often swoop towards the entrance but not actually enter the roost. Count birds only as they enter.
Email Katie Percy (kpercy@audubon.org) with any questions or to report a roost location.
No shifts have been set up for this event yet.
Contact the event organizers: