Vaux’s Swift roosting ritual at UO demonstrates adaptation, congregation — and sacrifice

It’s the time of year when thousands of small birds called Vaux’s Swifts swarm around a defunct chimney on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene. Their presence results in a constant, high-pitched chittering.

And like the pop star with the same last name, these Swifts have legions of fans.

The chimney, atop Agate Hall, is but one stopover on a long journey to Central America and Venezuela for these teardrop-shaped brown birds, which are roughly 4 inches long but can sport a wingspan of up to 11 inches.

Maeve Sowles, the president of the Lane County Audubon Society, said Vaux’s Swifts love to roost inside sturdy structures. Typically, they preferred old trees. But deforestation has forced them to adapt.

“So it is important to have these old chimneys that are still intact but not being used anymore,” said Sowles, “so that they can roost in because then they’re safe from predators, they can restore their energy overnight, and then head off the next day to continue their migration south.”

Related: Stop messing with nature: Portland Audubon asks drone operators to leave the swifts alone

Nearby, Chris Ramey watched the swirling spectacle, which some have described as watching smoke flow in reverse back into the chimney. He recalled how UO officials once planned to renovate Agate Hall roughly 25 years ago.

“They wanted to take the chimney down while I was the university’s architect, because it was a seismic hazard,” Ramey explained to KLCC. “And I talked to local birding experts because I knew about the swifts, and they said ‘Uhh, you probably shouldn’t do that.’”

So Ramey convinced the university’s operations staff to keep the chimney where it was. Not only has it remained in place, but heavy steel wires keep it tethered so it won’t collapse during an earthquake.

An aerial show

Vaux’s Swifts are nature’s acrobats. They can eat, drink, collect nesting materials, and even mate, all in the air. What they can’t do is perch, which is why old growth tree snags and chimneys are important. By keeping the Agate Hall chimney standing, a rare and crucial habitat is preserved.

And watch parties can continue, as they have for about 40 years here.

“I’ve seen them in other places, other chimneys, but not this particular species of swifts,” said Cindy Grantham of Eugene, reclined in a folding chair. “This is my first time. It’s a great show.”

Grantham was with a small group of friends who assembled in the parking lot with chairs, blankets, and wide-eyed wonder. And while it was Grantham’s first time watching the swifts, others have been coming here for years, including Chris DeMoll, of Yachats. She showed off a special badge of honor.

More like a splotch, actually.

“I’m designated a ‘Swiftie,’” said DeMoll, stoically displaying double scat stains on her coat. “I have been christened by the Swifts. There’s a competition to decorate me.”

Besides getting pooped on, DeMoll added that friendship, kinship, nature, and the swifts themselves all brought her here.

Judy Parker of Eugene also counted herself among the veteran “Swifties.”

“I don’t know the first time I saw them here, but probably 20 years ago,” she said.

Unlike DeMoll, Parker had no signs of bird droppings on her clothing.

“I got pooped on earlier (but) I wiped it off with a leaf,” said Parker.

The group cheerfully watched the birds swoop, dive, and descend into the chimney over the course of an hour. They compared notes on whether the very last one had entered the towering edifice, and how best to look inside it to see all the swifts roosting together.

“I can get my car, it has a grappling hook inside,” offered DeMoll.

An unwanted spectator

But it wouldn’t be nature without some brutal reality. On the chimney’s edge, a small raptor known as a Cooper’s Hawk sat calmly, awaiting a “swift meal,” so to speak.

Related: Vaux’s swifts return early to Portland this year, but climate change might not be the only reason

According to longtime watchers, the predator is a regular here.

“(The swifts) all circle around for quite a while until the hawk gets his meal, or her meal,” explained Ramey. “And then the hawk flies away, and then they all go in the chimney.”

It’s almost as though there’s a “sacrificial” Vaux’s Swift.

“Yes, I think they draw straws for that,” laughed Ramey. “Somebody has to do it. ‘Your turn,’ that’s what they’ll say.”

For that grim price of admission though, the remainder of the Vaux’s Swifts get to descend into the chimney, free of further harassment. And while the roster tonight is minus one, Dick Lamster of the local Audubon Society is pleased with the overall count: 4,200.

“It’s a very good number, we’ve been doing it for 35 years!” said Lamster.

But with the birds resembling a pixelated swarm as the group fluctuates and shifts, how do observers manage to get an accurate count?

“You have to look at the top of the chimney,” explained Lamster. “Don’t count the ones that are circling, don’t count anything else, just count the ones that go into the chimney. We count by hundreds and then we put little slash marks, then we total up and we’re done!”

The best count of Vaux’s Swifts here to date: 15,000, according to Lamster.

An educational opportunity and community event

The natural phenomena of the Vaux’s Swifts happens twice a year — once in the spring, and again in the late summer.

Related: Roseburg Audubon hosts watch parties for thousands of migrating birds

Maeve Sowles said she’d like the UO to set up educational placards and designate the Agate Hall chimney a protected habitat. She added that many locals come here already to witness an incredible event.

“They have company that comes from out of state, out of the community,” she said. “They bring their grandkids, they bring their grandparents. They go get an ice cream at Prince Puckler’s. People look forward to it. They start calling and asking, ‘When are the birds going to be here?’”

The Vaux’s Swifts’ aerial ritual can stretch out for several weeks, giving people time to gather and watch at any old chimney or similar structure they frequent. Besides the UO’s Agate Hall chimney, the birds also congregate at the Chapman Elementary School chimney in Portland.