Swifts are one of my favorites. Last year I finally saw them fly into a chimney. I was at the reservoir in Waterbury (the bar, not the pond), and a wicked summer thunderstorm was brewing. Seconds before the downpour commenced, probably 30-40 swifts circled overhead and the plunged into a brick chimney at eye level next door (the Reservoir is on a hill). Very cool sight!!

In recent news sitings, I saw my first swifts of the year here in Rochester yesterday (10 or so swarming over the town).

Graham
Rochester, VT

Sent from my iPhone

On May 13, 2013, at 8:02 PM, Ken Copenhaver <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> 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
>>