It’s that time of year—the Vaux’s swifts have returned to Chapman Elementary School, where they spend every night in an old unused brick chimney for a month before heading south for the winter. It’s an incredible spectacle, watching thousands or even tens of thousands of them fly around in these swirling formations before diving into the chimney just after sunset. People gather on the lawn like they’re at a concert to watch them go to bed. Sometimes a hawk shows up and plays the villain, and the whole audience boos. One fun fact I learned as a result of drawing the bird: swifts have spine-tipped tail feathers, which (along with their tiny velcro-like feet) are used to help brace them in their vertical sleeping position for the night. They’d rather sleep in old-growth trees, but we’ve destroyed too many of those, and now they make do with chimneys. Another fun fact: this chimney was still in use in the 1980s when the swifts showed up, so the school went without heat in Sept/Oct to accommodate them. Eventually @portlandaudubon raised the funds to buy the school a new heating system and preserve the chimney for the swifts. Although the swifts are flying high up in the sky, my Merlin bird ID app from @cornellbirds was able to hear them! . . . #vauxswifts #swiftsofinstagram #birdwatching #birdwatcher #paintingbirds #drawingbirds #birddrawing #birdpainting #birdpaintings #birdillustration #traveloregon #travelportland #birdsofinstagram #pnwbirds #naturesketching #naturejournal #pdxartist #pdxartists #chapmanswifts (at Chapman Elementary School) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTkUwoVH5kw/?utm_medium=tumblr
