Earlier this week we reported on the mysterious absence of Vaux’s Swifts around Roseburg. The Umpqua Valley Audubon Society wanted help tracking flocks of these migratory birds, and now the watch parties are back on after a thousand swifts were sighted around town. Both the UVAS and the City of Roseburg announced the new watch parties on Wednesday.
“We often have some community members who perform some very nice background music and wait for the birds to arrive,” said Mark Hamm, president of the Umpqua Valley Audubon Society. He said the swifts dart and dance around the chimney repeatedly, often tricking people into thinking they’ll do their final descent any moment.
“Until they form like a big cyclone and dive in there," he told KLCC. "Kids love it.”
Hamm theorizes that the Vaux’s Swifts may have found new forest snags after the wildfires of the past few years, and weren’t apt to roost in their usual spots. But he added that’s just his theory, and other factors including climate change could have played a part.
During the migratory periods for Vaux’s Swifts – which tend to be spring and late summer – the UVAS urges people to turn off their outdoor lights to make sure the birds aren’t disoriented or confused.
The UVAS said that while there are several chimneys around Roseburg where hundreds of birds have roosted in previous years. Typically, the largest group would use the Umpqua Valley Arts’ Clay Place chimney in Fir Grove Park, as they had for decades.
According to a city press release, the swifts abandoned that chimney several years ago. For a time, they were spotted at the Douglas County Courthouse. But there was a problem with that location.
"The county’s chimney had to be capped because that still serves as a backup to the courthouse’s heating system," the city's press release stated. "The chimney’s activation would have endangered any Vaux’s Swifts roosting there."
From that point on, the numbers of Vaux’s Swifts appeared to take a hit. Earlier this week, the UVAS and the City of Roseburg spread the word, asking the public to keep an eye out for the missing birds.
Then on Monday, UVAS said it started receiving reports that swifts were spotted back at the Clay Place. Hamm told KLCC that he went out the next evening and captured—on video—an estimated 1,000 Vaux’s Swifts descending into the chimney as daylight began to fade.
A release from the City of Roseburg says there will be two “Swift Watch” events held in Fir Grove Park on the nights of Sept. 19 and 26 starting at 6:30 p.m. The Clay Place chimney is at 1624 W. Harvard Ave. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets for the free events.
Audubon Society members will be on hand to answer questions about the birds. Local flutists, the Winds of Umpqua, are scheduled to perform Native American-style music both nights.
“We can’t guarantee they’ll be there any particular night. They might disappear from the Clay Place tonight,” former UVAS president Diana Wales said in the city's press release.
People wanting more information can contact UVAS at info@umpquaaudubon.org.
