Audubon
Society of Forsyth County will host a Chimney Swift Watch
on Thursday, September 15th from 7:15 to 8:30 PM, location to be announced.
Each year, several thousand swifts amass downtown and at other county locations preparatory to migration to South America. Although swifts may use several chimneys in the area, most of them usually pick one. In the downtown area, sites of large roosts vary from year to year, and sometimes even week to week. In past years, they have been at a warehouse near Krankies, the Millenium Center, the Stevens Center and the old courthouse.
In 2010, there was a very large roost at Northwest Middle School. Other places to look include the Old School in Clemmons and at Griffith, Vienna, Speas, Sherwood Forest, Lewisville and Kernersville Elementary Schools.
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Chimney
Swift image (public domain) from www.yankeegardener.com
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Line art drawing of Chimney Swift by Pearson
Scott Foresman
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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!.
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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.
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