Vaux's Swift Migration Field Trip

Join us for an evening spectacle that will lift your heart. Every year Vaux's Swifts migrate south en masse, pausing for weeks at a time at communal roosts. Watch the sky fill with chattering, swirling masses of thousands of birds (more than 20 thousand on a good night) which pour into old brick chimneys to roost. The sun sets at 7:51PM. The peak of activity will probably be near this time.

Bring your journaling materials, a lawn chair, binoculars and spotting scopes, spoon, plate, beverage, and a potluck treat to share for dinner.

We will be the guests of the McNear family and should conduct ourselves with grace. They are leaving the main gate open for us. Park inside the gates in the visitor parking area and walk toward the brickworks. We should stay well behind the large piles of finished bricks and respect the area behind them (where the chimneys are) as an off-limits industrial area. Set up your lawn chair in such a manner that you do not block the road. You will see Swift counters from the Golden Gate Audubon Society. They are trying to estimate the number of birds that enter each chimney (a daunting task) and need to concentrate. There are no bathrooms available on the site so go before you go and we should pack out all our own trash.