Swift Watch 2010
September 15th

ASFC CHIMNEY SWIFT SPECTACLE!
Date:	Wednesday Sept. 15th
Time:	7:15 - 8:30PM (Sunset = 7:16PM)
Location:	Fourth and Chestnut Streets, Downtown Winston-Salem, near Krankie's.
Audubon Society of Forsyth County will host a Chimney Swift Watch on Wednesday, September 15th from 7:15 to 8:30 PM at Fourth and Chestnut Streets in Downtown Winston-Salem. Swifts are using a warehouse chimney across Fourth Street from Krankie's parking lot. Each year, several thousand swifts amass downtown and at some other county locations preparatory to migration to South America. Although swifts may use several chimneys in the area, most of them usually pick one. Last year, the main roost was at a warehouse on 4th Street across from Krankies. In 2008, the main roost was at the Millenium Center..		Chimney Swift image (public domain) from www.yankeegardener.com
Line art drawing of Chimney Swift by Pearson Scott Foresman	This is a fantastic opportunity for members of ASFC and the general public to witness one of the many marvels of bird biology and it's a lot of fun for those of us who have been treading that path for a long time! To learn more about Chimney Swifts and their migration, see www.chimneyswifts.org. Throughout most of September, there are other opportunities to observe swift roosts in Forsyth County. They often roost at large chimneys at some our older schools, such as Sherwood, Vienna, Lewisville, Spaes and Gibson, and at the old school in Clemmons. As dusk approaches, the numbers build gradually as the birds swirl around in cyclonic fashion above the roost area and then quickly go down the chimney in a rapid stream. Simpley awesome!.
This is a rain or shine event! We plan to carry on with it, short of a hard rain. Contact Ron Morris (ronmorris@triad.rr.com, 725-1254) or Bill Gifford (bill@martingiffordlaw.com, 721-0201) with any questions.
Calling All Volunteers! We will need several ASFC members to assist with the following activities including parking lot management, explaining what we are observing, signage, spotting scopes and counting swifts. Contact Ron or Bill if you can help.