Watch the Swifts' nightly roost in September!

    We went down to Fir Grove Park, by the very tall chimney at The Clay Place (between the soccer fields and the Arts Center), to watch the Vaux's Swifts ("vawks") come in to land and roost for the night tonight. It was SOOOOO neat! ☺

    We learned that they arrive in Oregon in late April, court their mates in May/June, and have their 4-6 eggs laid and hatched by July. They depart beginning in late August. During the month of September, large groups of swifts pass through Oregon, locating appropriate chimneys and hollowed snags to return to year after year. During their migration, they typically only stay a few days to a couple of weeks before continuing on their migratory journey.

    Here's what you should know if you go to watch the swifts:

    The peak of the swifts migrating through Roseburg is right about now, for the next few days to a week. If you arrive around sunset, literally thousands of them will descend into the chimney within 10-20 minutes, so you may want to come 5-10 minutes before the sunset times listed below, just so you don't miss them. It's actually pretty amazing to watch! On Friday evenings (Sept 4-25, 2015), they have kids' crafts starting at 6:30, and Umpqua Valley Audobon volunteers will be on hand to provide information about the swifts and their behavior. But you can actually arrive any evening in September on your own and watch the swifts do their nightly descent. I think we'll go again this weekend to watch it!

Here are the sunset times for September:

Sept. 12 - 7:38 p.m.
Sept. 13 - 7:26 p.m.
Sept. 14 - 7:24 p.m.
Sept. 15 - 7:22 p.m.
Sept. 16 - 7:20 p.m.
Sept. 17 - 7:19 p.m.
Sept. 18 - 7:17 p.m. (FRIDAY - crafts start at 6:30 p.m.)
Sept. 19 - 7:15 p.m.
Sept. 20 - 7:13 p.m.
Sept. 21 - 7:11 p.m.
Sept. 22 - 7:10 p.m.
Sept. 23 - 7:08 p.m.
Sept. 24 - 7:06 p.m.
Sept. 25 - 7:04 p.m. (FRIDAY - crafts start at 6:30 p.m.)
Sept. 26 - 7:02 p.m.
Sept. 27 - 7:00 p.m.
Sept. 28 - 6:59 p.m.
Sept. 29 - 6:57 p.m.
Sept. 30 - 6:55 p.m.

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