Greetings,

I have been watching chimney swifts here in East Silver Spring (Inside 
the Beltway - Mont. Co) for several years.  The more I learn about their 
behavior, the more amazed I become with these tropical visitors.  Last 
year I watched the colony of swifts at the chimeny of the East Silver 
Spring Elementary School swell to over 400 birds.  On a near freezing 
morning in early October, all of the birds exited the chimney and headed 
south.  It was this May before I saw another Chimney Swift at the site.

This year the colony -(ies) began to form in mid-Sept.  Here are the 
counts I made.

Sept 15  19 birds 6:45 AM Clear 81 deg.
Sept 16  18 birds  6:45 - 6:50 AM cldy 69 deg.
Sept 17  32 birds  6:40 - 6:50 AM clear 60 deg.
Sept  19  55 birds 6:45 - 6:55 AM partly cloudy 60 deg.
Sept  22  71 birds 6:45 - 6:53 AM Clear 63 deg.
Sept 24   22 birds  6:45 and 134 birds 6:55-7:00 AM clear 54 deg.
Sept 29  184 birds 6:55 - 7:00 AM clear 62 deg.
Sept 30  286 birds 6:50 - 7:00 AM clear 60 deg.
Oct 04   325 birds 6:55 - 7:00 AM clear 61 deg.
Oct 06   343 birds  6:55 - 7:00 AM cloudy 59 deg.
Oct 09   123 birds  6:55 - 7:00 AM clear 60 deg.
Oct 11   102 birds  6:55 - 7:00 AM clear 55 deg.
Oct 13     18 birds  7:05 AM prtly cloudy 55 deg.
Oct 14     29 birds   7:05 AM prtly cloudy 59 deg.

I am not sure what is going on here.  Has one colony departed and 
another one is forming?  Or are these just stragglers?  On Oct 6th, the 
343 swifts departed from the south side of the chimney and quickly 
disappeared in that direction.  This morning the 29 birds were doing 
their normal tumbling out all sides of the chimney and doing their 
barnstorming wheeling and diving.

I surely wish they would take along my 'wild' parakeet for the trip to 
the Amazon.  So far I have 'caught' two squirrels and a chickadee in the 
bird cage next to the feeder.  The parakeet just ignores the cage and 
eats with the sparrows.

George Lane
Silver Spring