Following Jay and Carol Hadlock's directions last week, my wife Ginger and
I went to see the Chimney Swifts at the Luther Jackson Middle School on Gallows
Road in Fairfax County. We arrived behind the school at 7:05 p.m. to see the
birds flying high above the school, with some of them circling as far away as
200 yards.
Peter Munroe and Patty Bagley arrived around 7:10, and together we watched
the show. As it got darker, the birds flew in tighter, but erratic
circles--clockwise, then counter clockwise. Every few minutes, one or two
dropped into the chimney. At 7:30, the flight pattern became denser--many more
birds than we had seen earlier, flying in tighter circles. Suddenly at 7:35,
large numbers of birds began dropping into the chimney--sometimes 10 per
second. This continued until 7:50, when it got too dark to see the few who
were still entering the chimney. Patty estimated that we had seen 2000 birds
enter the chimney.
Then off to see the Nighthawks! Peter led the way 2 1/2 miles north on
Gallows Road to Aline Avenue, where there is a tall office building with a
bright illuminated pyramidal roof. Flying above the lighted roof were a dozen
or so Nighthawks and their prey--large moths. With binoculars, it was easy to
see the Nighthawks in action--each one diverting its flight path ever so
slightly to effortlessly intercept a moth. An impressive display!
Bill
