Introduction
Once again, as my nestbox projects slowed down for the summer, I felt compelled to count Chimney Swifts as they sought evening shelter in chimneys in or near Delaware County during their autumn journey to Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and the northwest corner of Brazil. I started counting on August 8 and spent 57 evenings counting at nine different locations before the last swifts were counted on October 15, after which I watched for two more evenings to confirm that October 15 was the latest date that I saw swifts.
Most evenings, I counted alone after my last meal of the day, but more than a dozen times, I was joined by other counters or folks just curious as to what I was looking at. Prior to the season, I checked out two swift study skins and a set of wings attached to a swift tail from the Ohio Wesleyan Zoology Museum and placed each specimen onto a bed of tissues in its own clear plastic sandwich container. In a plastic sandwich bag, I kept a small colored map that I had downloaded from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. The map shows both hemispheres where our swifts seek seasonal homes and I had to label four countries where they are migrating. I list other natural history facts on an index card so I can quickly extract answers to questions.
Whenever inquisitive onlookers approached me, I would show them the specimens and point to the chimney where the birds were about to put on a good show. I used the specimens as educational props eight times for on-the-spot interpretive programs that involved a total of 65 people of all ages. If school children were involved, I always asked if they planned to take Spanish in school. One student was taking Spanish and I encouraged her to tell her teacher about watching swifts that were on their way to countries where their citizens speak Spanish, unless the swifts were going to spend our winter in Brazil where Portuguese is spoken. And, of course, the kids were always enthralled by close inspections of the study skins that remained safe inside their sandwich containers.
Counts
Chimney Swift counts for 2014, N (total number of counts) = 57. Times listed are for first and last swifts entering their chimneys.
Galena Village Hall
Building formerly the Galena United Methodist Church, 109 Harrison Street, 43021, Galena, n=8)
| August 8 | 642 swifts | 20:33-21:02 |
| August 15 | 970 swifts | 20:00-20:52 |
| August 21 | 1742 swifts | 20:09-20:42 |
| August 30 | 2050 swifts | 19:58-20:33 |
| September 6 | 455 swifts | 19:58-20:18 |
| September 13 | 2 swifts | 19:54 |
| September 28 | 26 swifts | 19:32-19:43 |
| October 16 | Zero swifts, |
Edwards Gym, OWU, Northeast chimney on east face, n=14
| August 9 | 89 swifts | 20:36-21:02 |
| August 19 | 215 swifts | 20:33-20:45 |
| August 22 | 340 swifts | 20:28-20:47 |
| August 24 | 384 swifts | 20:33-20:46 |
| August 28 | 653 swifts | 20:08-20:35 |
| September 1 | 432 swifts | 20:11-20:32 |
| September 5 | 370 swifts | 20:03-20:28 |
| September 9 | 187 swifts | 20:01-20:14 |
| September 11 | 178 swifts | 19:50-20:10 |
| September 14 | 370 swifts | 19:54-20:05 |
| September 19 | 341 swifts | 19:45-19:57 |
| September 26 | 6 swifts | 19:25-19:44 |
| September 29 | 4 swifts | 19:27-19:36 |
| October 3 | Zero swifts |
Note: lots of construction activity going on in and around the building.
Carlisle Elementary School, 746 West Central Ave., n=9
| August 10 | 251 swifts | 20:33-21:00 |
| August 20 | 685 swifts | 20:32-20:50 |
| August 22 | 1520 swifts | 20:32-20:42 |
| August 29 | 867 swifts | 19:54-20:36 |
| September 2 | 1538 swifts | 20:07-20:32 |
| September 7 | 337 swifts | 19:59-20:23 |
| September 10 | 28 swifts | 19:47-20:10 |
| September 10, | Editor’s note: Dick turned 70 today! | |
| September 16 | 4 swifts | 19:54-19:59 |
| September 20 | 1 swift | 19:53 |
Delaware County Bank
41 North Sandusky St., n=2
| August 11 | zero swifts | ||
| August 25 | 1 | swift | 20:36 |
Zion United Church of Christ
51 West Central Ave., n=2
| August 12 | 108 swifts | 20:22-20:52 |
| September 4 | Zero swifts |
Gray Chapel, OWU
west chimney on north face, n=4
| August 13 | 95 swifts | 20:25-20:44 |
| August 27 | 340 swifts | 20:25-20:44 |
| September 3 | 83 swifts | 20:19-20:31 |
| September 27 | 25 swifts | 19:34 |
Columbus Audubon Swift Night Out program
28 South State St. Downtown Westerville, Ohio 43081, n=1.
| September 12 | 47 swifts | 19:49-20:06 |
Sells Middle School, Dublin, n=2.
| September 23 | 1550 swifts | 18:40-19:57 |
| October 13 | Since I was on my way to a meeting of the Columbus Natural History Society, I only had time to confirm that swifts were still migrating. I counted two dozen in flight before I left at 19:00. | |
Downtown Delaware
Every year, as the end of swift migration approaches, I count at the same chimney for the last several weeks in order to “see” peaks in their counts. This year, I wanted to finish the season counting at Edwards Gym but too much construction was going on and I thought the swifts were avoiding its chimneys. Consequently, I selected to sit in the first block of West Winter Street in Downtown Delaware where three chimneys were active and close enough to each other so I could watch all at once. Swifts also flew east and northeast in order to use other chimneys in the city that I could not see from my favorite site next to the Delaware County Bank building. Here are my counts, n=15.
| September 30 | 17 swifts | 19:20-19:33 |
| October 1 | 42 swifts | 19:12-19:31 |
| October 2 | 40 swifts | 19:18-19:30 |
| October 4 | See text below. | |
| October 5 | 64 swifts | 19:14-19:20 |
| October 6 | 31 swifts | 19:06-19:16 |
| October 7 | 78 swifts | 19:01-19:18 |
| October 8 | 53 swifts | 19:13-19:20 |
| October 9 | 35 swifts | 18:59-19:12 |
| October 10 | 40 swifts | 18:50-19:05 |
| October 11 | 75 swifts (a peak) | 18:42-19:10 |
| October 12 | 15 swifts | 18:53-19:07 |
| October 14 | 18 swifts | 18:38-19:08 |
| October 15 | 7 swifts | 18:53-18:55 |
| October 17 | Zero swifts |
On October 4, cold temperatures nearly set new records. As I passed through downtown Delaware at 12:19, swifts were swarming in a condensed flock above three chimneys that I had chosen to watch until the migration ended. I believe the birds had just emerged from their roosts and the Bank’s marquee listed the temperature as 48 degrees, too cold for most insects to be airborne. I parked my car and watched to see no swifts enter or leave any chimneys.
At 17:00 the same day, swifts were again flying low over the city and I watched for the next 46 minutes to see them disappear by 17:36 after they flew east to where chimneys awaited them out of my sight. During this observation, the temperature was 45 degrees.
When it is too cold for insects to fly, swifts will sometimes fly more like their hummingbird cousins and will poke or pounce on clumps of leaves sheltering insects. As the insects are flushed from their shelters, the swifts pluck them from the air. Of course, the food energy attained must be greater than the energy expended, or it makes more sense to “roost-it-out” until warmer temperatures arrive to support flying insects. Ah, sometimes it’s cold out there.
Happy climate change everyone, and swift on!