A Swift Night Out: Houston area events

Dates for 2009:
August 5 — Swift Awareness Kickoff at the Nature Discovery Center
August 27 — Swift Night Out in Dayton
September 1 — Swift Night Out in Whole Foods Market/Pershing

August 5: Chimney Swifts with Pam Smolen
7:00-8:30 PM at the Nature Discovery Center

Chimney Swifts chatter over Houston from March to October every year consuming massive amounts of mosquitoes and other bugs. Chimney Swifts build their nests, raise their families, and sleep just feet from where we live. During this presentation we will explore the fascinating and secretive home life of these aerial acrobats and what Houston birders are doing to conserve their declining numbers.

Pam Smolen grew up enjoying the outdoors, hiking, and camping. She graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Chemical Engineering. Pam discovered the wonderful world of birds about 7 years ago and has been hooked ever since. Pam is currently Chairman of the Houston Ornithology Group, is an active volunteer for Houston Audubon, is a member of the Birdathon committee, and participates in many coastal work days. Pam contributes to Houston Audubon's Citizen Science Program as the leader of the Houston Chimney Swift Count.

August 27: Swift Night Out in Dayton

Meet us at 7:00 PM at the old rice dryer in Dayton for special activities in connection with our weekly count. Please see the Swifts Over Dayton web page for more information about the count and check back in August to learn about special activities planned.

September 1: Swift Night Out in Houston

We plan to have activities both at the Whole Foods Market parking lot and at Pershing Middle School at 3838 Blue Bonnet Blvd. Joining Houston Audubon in co-sponsoring the event are Whole Foods Market and the Nature Discovery Center at Russ Pitman Park. Please see the Whole Foods/Pershing Count web page for more information about the count and check back in August to learn about special activities planned.

Nationwide Swift Night Out

Dates for 2009: August 8,9, 10 and September 12, 13, 14

Sponsored by the Driftwood Wildlife Association, this is a nationwide event to help promote awareness of swifts. It is held annually in late summer. The procedure is very simple: find a large roost of Chimney Swifts and estimate the numbers that enter it in the evening. Dates for 2007: August 10-12; September 7-9. For more information, to report sightings, and to see a map of last year's results, visit the Swift Night Out webpage.

Tips on Counting Swifts by Paul and Georgean Kyle: When counting Chimney Swifts at roosts, the numbers can become overwhelming -- especially as the numbers continue to climb as we move toward fall migration over the next few weeks. What we have found to work quite well is to use an athletic lap counter. These are available at most sporting goods stores. You can tally without taking your eyes off of the swifts.

When the numbers of swifts are relatively low, a direct count can be made -- one click per swift. At sites where the numbers exceed several hundred (or the entry rate is high), make one click per 10 swifts and multiply the end number of clicks by 10 for the total. It works really well if several counters can average their counts at the end.