A Swift Night Out

Anyone know of a chimney swift roost in the area? The annual Swift Night Out is approaching this weekend. This is an opportunity to contribute to our knowledge of these intriguing birds. The first Swift Night Out weekend is 10, 11, 12 August, followed by September 7, 8, 9 next month.

For a short history and instructions, see this link.

There is a chimney swift tower at Wild Bird Rescue, but unfortunately, it has never been used as a roost site. Maybe in future years.

If you know of an area roost, please post in the comments.

Good birding!

Bird Lectures at OU

Since Norman, OK isn't all that far away, I want to pass on information about some birding lectures at OU this week. Here is the announcement from OKBIRDS:

"Dr. Masakazu (Mark) Konishi from Caltech, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, will be on the OU campus next week to give two lectures on the two fields he pioneered. He will speak on "The Science of Birdsong" at the Sam Noble Museum Tuesday, October 6 at 7 PM (reception following) and will give a presentation on "How Owls Catch Prey in the Dark" in George Lynn Cross Hall 123, Wednesday, October 6 at 4:30 PM. Both are free and open to the public."

Swift Night Out Coming Up

Photo from Wikimedia Commons, taken by National Park Service.

The Austin-based Driftwood Association is hosting a "Swift Night Out" the weekend of August 6, 7, 8. Chimney Swifts are among my favorite birds; our chimney swift tower at Wild Bird Rescue hosts a breeding pair every year.

The Swift Night Out is a project to collect information on chimney swifts. If you have some time, consider participating, especially if you are lucky enough to have a roost in your chimney.

Good birding!

Fall Migration Underway

There is no doubt the birds are beginning to move. There are very few Western Kingbirds left--I saw my last one over the past weekend. There may well be a few left in the area, but not many.

The purple martins are not gone, but the ones that nested around Wild Bird Rescue have dispersed. Usually someone finds the roost where the birds are staging before departure, but not so this year. It was a very poor nesting year for many of the colonies in the area, judging from the number of emaciated birds brought in to WBR this season.

One of my favorite birds is the chimney swift. It is time again for the "Swift Night Out," sponsored by the Driftwood Association, taking a census of chimney swifts congregating for migration. Instructions are on their web site.

Good birding!