Spreadsheet with count data and graphs for the Pershing/Whole Foods Market/St. Paul's and Dayton Swift Counts
Sept 2-8 Report: Swifts were still present in Houston this past week. We counted 520 swifts at Whole Foods on Tuesday night, 9/2. I went to Wharton Elementary School on West Gray on Wednesday night, 9/3, and counted 350 swifts. On Friday night I checked the AT&T building in Pasadena near the high school and 225. This building has a nice ventilation stack, but no swifts! The swifts may be discouraged by a bright light right next to the stack. The site also has some loud equipment continuously running. We will be counting swifts at the Whole Foods parking lot at 7:25 PM on Tuesday, 9/7. We expect another week of high numbers, since this is the peak of migration. We may be surprised with low numbers, based on reports of early departures of swifts.
-- Pam Smolen
Count Locations:
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.
Pershing/Whole Foods Market Swift Counts 2008
Graph prepared by Pam Smolen
Pershing/Whole Foods Market/St. Paul's Swift Counts 2007
Graph prepared by Pam Smolen
