This is good news! About 10 years ago a large colony nested in an unused chimney at the gymnasium at Vermont College; one year they failed to return, not sure why.

John Snell
Montpelier


On May 13, 2013, at 6:23 PM, Scott Sainsbury wrote:

> This afternoon, in Montpelier, a merlin -- probably that seen often recently and reported here by the city's denizens -- caught my eye.  
> 
> Near it, were a few Chimney Swifts.  Soon, the Merlin headed back toward the State House and out of my view.  But the Swifts did not.  
> 
> First there were a few.  Then 10.  Then twenty or thirty.  Soon there were well over a hundred -- more than I can ever recall having seen at one time.  
> 
> It was a wondrous aerial show.  They seemed to concentrate over the hillside where National Life sits.  Then, they would wave over downtown, and circle back to the south.  
> 
> After about 10 minutes, they just melted away.  In 30 seconds or so, there wasn't a single one in sight.  If you asked me, I couldn't tell you where they went -- or even what direction.  They just suddenly weren't there.  
> 
> It was like it never happened.  And what was even stranger was that there was a large number of people around me, walking up and down Main Street.  Here I was standing in the middle of the path looking up at the sky through binoculars, virtually blocking their way, and not a single person looked up.  It was kind of eerie -- like I was in the Chimney Swift Twilight Zone and no one else got it.  I think it's one of those great birding moments you tend to remember for a long while.
> 
> Scott Sainsbury
> Moretown