The Birds Are Back

[stephendare]

One of Jacksonville’s truly amazing natural phenomena is now taking place in our neighborhood, and I thought you might enjoy seeing it (and spread the word).

Every year, thousands of chimney swifts migrate through Jacksonville on their way to Central America and Peru. Their annual flight path brings these birds back to the exact same place in large numbers, and for over 70 years they have been roosting in the chimney of the Riverside Avenue Christian Church on the corner of Riverside and Cherry Streets.

I have been watching this for a number of years, and the largest showing of these birds is usually in September-October. Each night at sunset (at about 7:15 p.m. this week) the sky becomes punctuated with hundreds of the little birds, scattered over a few miles in all directions at first. Slowly, the birds coalesce into a swirl. This vortex of birds moves faster and faster until they suddenly begin to shoot down the chimney at incredible speed.

In 25 minutes, the spectacle is over. The birds spend the night down in the unused chimney, and emerge the next morning at dawn to spend their entire day in flight, eating Jacksonville’s bugs, and they return to the chimney at night to complete the cycle.

The greatest number of birds I have observed was back in 2002, when there were thousands and thousands of them by the third week in October. By the first day in November they were totally gone.

For the last two years there were almost none at all. This year for the last several nights there have been several hundred -- enough to put on quite a display. I have no idea if the numbers will increase over the next few weeks, or if they will be gone by tomorrow night.

But they may not be here long, so I thought you might want to see them while they are here.

I invite you to join me tonight (Monday) night about 7:15 p.m. to watch this phenomenal display from the church parking lot. Lawn chairs optional.

Wayne Wood

[TREE4309]

Maybe this is why Starlite has been renamed Birdies?

[lindab]

We biked over to the church last night and watched the birds from the parking lot along with a crowd of other folk.  The birds were amazing, hundreds of little flying bullets swirling in the dusky light and finally as the light disappeared zipping down the chimney one by one. Thanks, Wayne, for the invitation to see something special.

[Lucasjj]

My girlfriend and I walked down there and watched this. It was amazing to watch the coordinated effort the birds had as more and more approached and circled the chimney. There seemed to be an order to when they could enter, and once it really got going, they just started shooting down in there.

Here is a video of it from Fox 30 News. Although it doesn't really capture it that well, because the video makes it look chaotic, where in actuality the birds had a very structured method to this.

http://www.actionnewsjax.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=33862@wtev.dayport.com

[Atari007]

Anyone know if the birds have left yet??  I actually have a little time tonight to go check them out, but dont want to waste my time if they are already gone. 

[TREE4309]

Pretty sure the birds didn't hang around for 3 weeks...just sayin'.