Date: 8/30/26 10:51 pm From: dt via groups.io <dtandelsie...> Subject: [NEBirds] Chimney Swift Communal Roost in Gothenburg
Hi all,Last night in Gothenburg from 20:30 to 20:45 (8:30 to 8:45 pm), I watched a magical vortex of chimney swifts swirling around and chittering animatedly until they finally disappeared down a single chimney of the Edward Jones building on 10th Street and Lake Avenue. I thought it interesting that there is no record of large numbers of swifts in Gothenburg on eBird, so I wonder if their use of the chimney has just never been noticed by the right people and documented. No other nearby chimney was used, though several appeared available. I suspect that there may be a degree of fidelity to the specific chimneys used in subsequent years.
I would have loved to stay another night and more diligently count the numbers as they entered the chimney, especially after one night's experience. And I also wish I had been able to see them emerge predawn. I am attaching an informative article and hope to pique a local birder's interest to perhaps monitor it every so often this fall. I would be very interested in the results. And if peak numbers are typically reached around mid-September and extending into early October in Missouri, who knows what numbers in Gothenburg could look like in several weeks? It would be a worthy outing for a bird group as well. The attached article gives a good description of how to estimate numbers as they enter the chimney. I caught on to what the birds were doing after a number had already entered, because when first seen, they mostly circled and did not enter, and then when they did, at first I could not tell if they were going down the chimney or circling around. If anyone takes me up on checking it out, I would love to hear what you find.
Aren't birds great???
Diane Thomas in Laramie, Wyoming
Birds in Big Numbers: Migratory Chimney Swift Roosts | Columbia Audubon Society
