MONROE — A swirl of birds diving into Frank Wagner Elementary’s chimney is a sight for people, but just a stopover for the Vaux’s swifts.
They’ve come a long way, baby: They spend the year migrating up and down the West Coast; these ones are on their flight south from Canada.
The public event at 839 W. Main St. is Saturday, Sept. 7 from 4 p.m. to dusk. The free show begins to flourish at sunset. They dive into the chimney tailfirst for the night, and exit in the morning to continue their migratory journey.
“It is a very unique phenomena that happens in our backyard,” said Cindy Easterson, the president of the bird-oriented Pilchuck Audubon Society.
The swifts began reaching Monroe last month.
Last fall’s count spotted approximately 145,000 inside the chimney on their southbound migration. The swifts visit in spring, too.
They use chimneys and trees because they do not perch. They use their toes to cling to brick walls.
“These are little critters that fly all day long,” Easterson said.
The Vaux’s (pronounced “voxes”) swifts resemble swallows but are more closely related to hummingbirds, and have embedded themselves in city culture. It became the official bird of the city in 2016; the statue at Main and Lewis streets depicts their chimney swirl.
“I’m just so thrilled and tickled with the city of Monroe” and its interest in swifts, Easterson said.
Tracking swifts is a relatively recent trend, and it began from wonder: Birders noticed the swifts about 15 years ago. The first Swifts Night Out happened around 2007.
The Audubon Society supports keeping old chimneys for the birds.
Frank Wagner Elementary’s chimney is one saved through the Pilchuck Audubon Society’s lobbyist efforts. The Monroe School District evaluated dismantling the bricks because of safety concerns, Easterson said. Instead, the lobbying work helped get a state grant to seismically retrofit the chimney in summer 2010.
Earlier this decade, birders prevented the chimney demolition at Chapman Elementary School in Portland. It’s one of the swifts’ most popular chimneys.
The most popular resting spot is the McNear Brickyard in San Rafael, California, north of San Francisco, which has oodles of prepared chimneys. More than half a million Vaux’s swifts have been spotted there during a migration.
A byproduct is aerial predators are becoming attracted to Frank Wagner’s chimney. Crows and merlins pick off swifts for a quick meal.
A swift supporter climbed to the chimney and put up anti-crow netting to abate the problem. The merlins are more recent, Easterson said.
Swifts sometimes see the predators and disperse. It means swifts might be taking individual roost in home chimneys or trees, Easterson said. A homeowner would be none the wiser.
Swifts Night Out on Saturday, Sept. 7 will include children’s games and crafts. Parking is available at the Wagner Center and at Monroe City Hall (806 W. Main St.). ADA-accessible parking is available kitty corner nearby in Windermere Real Estate’s parking lot.
