The Chapman Swifts

this past sunday i was lucky enough to witness something heart-stoppingly wonderful and unique to portland. every year, at around this time, thousands and thousands of tiny birds, called vaux's swifts, stop in portland for a couple of weeks as they get ready for their long migration to central america. at night, the swifts roost in large hollow trees, but because these old-growth forests are diminishing they often use chimneys instead of trees. luckily for portland, the chapman elementary school, in the northwest part of the city, has a huge chimney that the swifts have made their own for years now. tons of people gather on the grassy hill facing the chimney and wait for the birds to begin gathering for their descent. before the air show begins the screaming and laughing kids, who are flying down the grassy hill on pieces of cardboard, knocking eachother over, are the entertainment. however, once dusk falls, and approximately 35,000 birds have gathered in a swirling vortex over this chimney, everyone's eyes are glued up. one brave birdie dives in first and the rest follow in an hour long gorgeous spectacle. it was truly one of the oddest things i've ever seen and the whole evening was beautiful in a very rockwellian way. unfortunately, between all of my friends, no one had a camera. hopefully these videos can give you the gist.