Valley flocks to Wagner Elementary for Swift Night Out

Every year in the fall, birds known as Vaux's swifts linger in Monroe before continuing on with their southerly migration. Each day at sunset, thousands of swifts gracefully swirl around the old Frank Wagner Elementary School chimney, before discreetly tucking themselves in for the night.

And every year in the fall, hundreds of Sky Valley residents attend Monroe's Swift Night Out event to watch the birds perform their nightly ritual.

This year's Swift Night Out event took place from 5 p.m. to sunset, on Saturday, Sept. 12. Hosted by various local agencies, including the Pilchuck Audubon Society, the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Monroe Swift Watch, the Monroe Swift Night Out Committee and the Monroe School District, the event included a spaghetti dinner, apple crisp, educational booths, children's activities and a lecture by renowned swift expert Larry Schwitters.-á

While swift attendance was light this year, at about 220 birds, human attendance was not. Hundreds of guests gathered on the grassy area surrounding the old brick chimney to watch the agile-winged avians pack themselves in for the night.

The cluster of swifts was spotted high above the Wagner auditorium moments before they began to approach the chimney. The crowd was swept up in anticipation as it watched the flock engage in its triumphant dance, circling the chimney with great finesse. At sunset, as though responding to some silent call, clusters of birds began to drop tail-first into the flue.

As the number of circling swifts became fewer, the crowd began to cheer each time a swift entered the old brick structure. The final four swifts seemed to enjoy the show they were putting on, soaring through the air for several victory laps, until bird by bird, they bid the crowd a good night.

"Who would have ever thought that 200 birds could provide this much entertainment,GÇ¥ Schwitters said. "It was spectacular.GÇ¥ -á -á

The Frank Wagner chimney, a 4-foot by 4-foot square that reaches 31 feet in height, was slated for demolition in 2007 after being identified as a safety hazard. The Pilchuck Audubon Society heard of the Monroe School District's plans to remove the chimney, and recruited Schwitters to serve as its resident expert. Schwitters, a retired science teacher and swift enthusiast, was tasked with determining whether or not swifts were still using the chimney and, if so, how many.-á

Schwitters, who has been involved in swift research since the early 1980s, titled his project "Vaux's Happening,GÇ¥ and went to work. He discovered that not only were Vaux's swifts using the chimney, the amount of birds was significant ' numbers recorded during the spring migration in 2008 reflected more than 20,000 swifts.

The Vaux's swifts migrate from Canada to Mexico, Central America and Venezuela and back again. The northerly migration typically takes place in May, with the southerly migration taking place in September. The first Monroe Swift Night Out event was held in September 2008, as a way of bringing attention to the chimney and celebrating the Vaux's swifts that rested there.

"The bottom line is Monroe has something very few places have,GÇ¥ Schwitters said during a presentation at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce last week.-á "And that's a communal migratory roost site for Vaux's swifts.GÇ¥

Using grant money awarded by the state of Washington, seismic upgrades were performed on the chimney in 2010 to safeguard the structure in the event of an earthquake. It was equipped with live webcam equipment, so that researchers can observe the birds as they cozy up together inside the chimney.

Further modifications were eventually made to protect the swifts from predators, as the early morning camera footage caught crows lingering at the top of the chimney, poaching the swifts as they attempted to emerge. In 2013, the Frank Wagner chimney was recognized as an official Important Bird Area (IBA), a designation that proclaims the chimney a significant roosting site for migrating swifts.

"It's like the academy award for habitat,GÇ¥ Schwitters said.

Eastside Audubon named Schwitters the 2014 "Environmentalist of the YearGÇ¥ for preserving habitat for Vaux's swifts and raising widespread awareness of the unique little birds.

There are roughly 10,000 different species of birds, about half of which are considered perching birds. This means they are able to land on a tree branch or a powerline and perch there. Swifts are not perching birds. They have a three-clawed foot that is able to cling to rough surfaces, such as tree trunks and bricks, but not to perch.

It is believed that swifts began utilizing chimneys out of necessity, as the quantity of large hollowed-out trees that they historically took shelter in has gradually diminished over the years. Once inside, the birds overlap each other like shingles, huddling up to stay warm. As they rest, their metabolism slows to a nearly dormant state to conserve their energy.-á -á

When gripping the top of a brick or other rough surface, swifts almost look as though they're doing a pull-up. Unless they are resting inside a chimney or on the side of a tree, they spend the majority of their time flying around catching insects. Swifts fly an estimated average of 50 miles a day, and eat up to 20,000 bugs in that timespan.-á

"What they're most closely related to are hummingbirds, and it's mostly because of the structure of the wing bones,GÇ¥ Schwitters said.

Vaux's swifts are relatively small in stature, measuring roughly 5 inches in length and weighing around 18 grams. Schwitters has continued to research swifts as a park of his Vaux's Happening project, and is striving to learn more about the species that he has long been passionate about. He has identified the 12 most-used Vaux's swifts roosting sites, with four each in Washington, Oregon and California.

He is continuing to research swift roosting locations in Mexico, including Mexico City and the Northern Baja Sea of Cortez.

While the swift count was light during Saturday's Swift Night Out event, the birds are definitely still calling the Wagner chimney their home. Counts of swifts taken during the first week of September fluctuated from 4,062 up to 14,763. The swifts are counted by local volunteers, who use clickers to count the birds 10 at a time as they drop inside the chimney.

The United States Partners in Flight organization estimates the total North American population of Vaux's swifts to be around 350,000. Schwitters' own research indicates a lower number; he estimates the population to be around 200,000.-á -á

For more information on Monroe's Swift Night Out, visit http://monroeswifts.org/. To donate to swift research, visit: http://vauxhappening.org/Vauxs_Happening_Home.html.