Date: 11/16/25 10:46 am From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] WOS Monthly Meeting, December 1, 2025: (on-line only)
The Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) is pleased to announce our next Monthly Meeting: on Monday, December 1, Larry Schwitters will present "Vaux's Happening: 27 million and Counting." The tiny, narrow-winged Vaux's Swift is found only in the western hemisphere. In the words of our speaker, Mr. Swift - Schwitters: "Because of its anatomy, a swift is unable to perch and so needs a rough, vertical surface to hook its claws into; it then puts its tail down like a kickstand." The high-flying lives of these long-distance migrants are largely spent coursing 'swiftly' (what else?) through the air, moving along routes that extend from British Columbia, through the western states and into at least Central America.
Following three decades as a teacher in the public schools, Larry Schwitters became totally engrossed with the Vaux's Swift, and for some 20 consecutive years, has carefully followed their movements (that's 36 migrations and documentation of 200 roost sites) and much more, assisted by an ever-expanding legion of volunteer observers. Since 2019, Larry has taken the lead in revising the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's chapter in Birds of the World on the Vaux's Swift. Birder's World magazine covered his work in an article titled, "46 Minutes of WOW." Larry is the recipient of the National Audubon Society's 2023 National Volunteer of the Year Award. We are in for a tour-de-force presentation on these wee birds whose territory ranges from the Yukon to Guatemala!
This meeting will be conducted virtually, via Zoom (no in-person attendance). Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm, and the meeting commences at 7:30 pm. Please go to the WOS Monthly Meetings page: https://wos.org/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link.
When joining the meeting, we ask that you mute your device and make certain that your camera is turned off.
This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend. Thanks to the generosity of our presenters, recordings of past programs are available at the following link to the WOS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@washingtonornithologicalso7839/videos
If you are not yet a member of WOS, we hope you will consider becoming one at https://wos.org
