MONROE, Wash. — Every evening at dusk, typically starting at the end of August and into September, thousands of Vaux’s swifts circle the chimney at Frank Wagner Elementary School in Monroe. The birds fly in a circular motion and then descend into an old chimney to roost.
It’s a spectacle the Pilchuck Audubon Society has turned into an annual event called “Swifts Night out.”
The event is free to the public and provides an opportunity for families to witness one of the largest flocks of Vaux’s swifts in North America.
Swifts Night Out was put on a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it's back in 2022.
“I’m excited to experience a real Swifts Night Out in person,” said Brian Zinke, executive director of the Pilchuck Audubon Society.
The first year the Audubon Society hosted a Swifts Night Out event, they counted an estimate of 14,000 swifts entering the brick chimney at Frank Wagner Elementary School.
“It’s a thrill. It’s almost addictive,” explained Larry Schwitters, who oversees the Audubon Society’s Vaux’s Happening project.
Schwitters said his passion is studying Vaux’s swifts. The birds spend the winter in Mexico and Central America and migrate north in the summer to take advantage of the long daylight hours farther from the equator.
Vaux’s swifts would traditionally roost in old, dead hollowed out trees, but with larger cities and fewer forests, those are far and few between.
“So, they’ve learned to roost inside of chimneys, masonry chimneys, old ones built before 1940 that didn’t have a liner in them so they can hook their claws and hang inside them,” Schwitters explained. “Now, there’s not a lot of those left, especially in earthquake country.”
The city of Monroe happens to be on the migration path and has the perfect old masonry chimney at Frank Wagner Elementary School, drawing thousands of birds to the area every year.
“It’s not something you can see everywhere, and you can’t see it every day of the year,” said Zinke. “It’s a certain time, and it really is a spectacle when you can see that many birds flying into one place at a time.”
In past years, a Swift Night Out was held in September, but the Vaux’s swifts have been arriving around mid-August for a few years. This year, the Audubon Society decided to bump the event up to August 20 to try and hit peak season for their arrival.
But as of Thursday night, no Vaux’s swifts have been seen yet in the chimney.
“Wildlife are wild. We can’t predict them. We’re still learning about them,” said Zinke. “We’ve been doing this survey for 14 some odd years now, and we’ve learned a lot, but there’s still so much more to learn about them. So, just when we think we have them figured out, they surprise us.”
Schwitters has been tracking the arrival of the swifts at other known roosting spots in Washington state. They saw 500 arrive at a chimney in Selleck, and 56 arrived near Mount Rainier Thursday.
The Pilchuck Audubon Society officially pronounced the start of the migration through the Pacific Northwest based on those numbers.
A Swift Night Out is happening no matter the number of birds. They’ll have a presentation, informational booths and fun activities for kids.
The event starts Saturday, August 20 at 4 p.m. at Frank Wagner Elementary School.
Watchers can also see the inside of the chimney. A camera streams live as thousands of birds layer themselves inside like shingles.