Sorry to hear that.  That probably explains why I haven't seen any recent
Swift reports from Bennington on VTBird.  I just checked eBird and there
have been only a few reports of small numbers of swifts in the past 10
years.  I saw them in May 2008, but didn't report them on eBird.

--Ken Copenhaver


On Mon, May 20, 2013 at 3:24 PM, Bonnie Dundas <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi Ken,
> My husband tells me there was a brick building on the corner several years
> ago but was torn down. Sad for the swifts, sad for us.
> Bonnie
>
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Ken Copenhaver
> Sent: Monday, May 13, 2013 10:15 PM
>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] swifts galore
>
> Hi Bonnie,
>
> I just looked at a list of Bennington hotels and I think it was the
> Kirkside Motor Lodge on West Main St.  We were walking back from dinner
> downtown, so we were headed west on Main St.  The building with the large
> brick chimney was on the left, set back a bit from the street, only a block
> or two before the motel, which was on the right.  The factory building
> didn't look like it was in current use at the time, so I'm wondering if
> it's still there.
>
> Hope that helps!  Would be curious to know your thoughts.
>
> --Ken
>
>
> On Mon, May 13, 2013 at 9:51 PM, Bonnie Dundas <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>  Do you remember where you were??
>> Bonnie Dundas
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message----- From: Ken Copenhaver
>> Sent: Monday, May 13, 2013 8:02 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] swifts galore
>>
>>
>> Great story, Scott.  Some years ago my wife and I were in Bennington.
>> While walking back to our motel just before dusk, a swarm of probably
>> hundreds of swifts streamed into a large brick chimney on an old
>> industrial
>> building.  The show lasted only a minute or so.  There weren't many other
>> people out walking, but those who were there didn't seem to notice or
>> care.  I've often wondered if the swifts continue to use that chimney?  Is
>> the chimney even still there?  I don't remember reading any reports of
>> this
>> on VTBird.  Can any Benningtonians fill me in?
>>
>> --Ken Copenhaver
>>
>>
>> On Mon, May 13, 2013 at 6:23 PM, Scott Sainsbury <
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>  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
>>>
>>>
>>>