Hi,
I'd never seen Chimney Swifts leave a roost at sunrise so I thought it would be
interesting to check out the roost at Vienna Elementary School. I wondered in
what manner they fly out, how many are there since the last time I looked on
Friday and what time they leave.
I arrived at the adjacent library parking lot this morning at 6:47am.
At 6:59 the first swift exited the chimney, followed a few seconds later by the
next bird. Birds then exited one to five or six at a time until 7:02. Each
bird (most birds?) rose a few inches above the chimney for a fraction of a
second before quickly flying off. Most birds initially headed east. None
lingered in the area for more than several seconds. I think that most flew off
to the west but I wasn't totally paying attention.
It was cloudy and mild. Calm or almost calm and 61F. Sunrise was 7:14.
Oh, and the number was 255 birds, half that of Friday evening's watch.
Scott Baron
Vienna, Va.
