Natural History Wanderings

Updated 10/9/13

I just received this update.  Rusty counted 5580 Vaux’s Swifts at the McNear Brickyard tonight. The highest count for this season!

Thousands of Vaux’s Swifts  are Migrating through the Bay Area

The Golden Gate Audubon Blog has a posting how Vaux’s Swifts use old brick chimneys to sleep at time when migrating through. In 2010 Golden Gate Audubon field trip leader and birding instructor Rusty Scalf discovered that one of the sites is the old chimneys at McNear Brickyard in San Rafael. Rusty has been monitoring the swifts several times a week. Between 8/18/13 and 10/3  his counts have been between 855 and 4000. I went to watch the swifts with Rusty and it an impressive sight watching the masses of birds flying into the chimneys. Learn more, see a video and get more information on observing the Vaux’s Swifts at: Swift season in San Rafael | Golden Gate Audubon Society.