Park District holding pair of Chimney Swift watches

Events scheduled for Sept. 11, 13

The public is invited to witness the annual phenomenon of hundreds of Chimney Swifts swirling tornado-like, then plummeting into an old chimney en route to South America.

Geauga Park District will host its annual “Chimney Swift Tornado Strikes Again!” viewing experiences on Sept. 11, at Berkshire High School, 14510 N. Cheshire St. in Burton, and Sept. 13, at Punderson State Park’s Manor House parking lot, 11755 Kinsman Road in Newbury Township.

Both will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Swifts are neotropical migrants, meaning they winter in the southern hemisphere and summer in the northern hemisphere. Though they once nested in hollow trees, America’s settlement and urbanization quickly introduced them to more convenient shelter — chimneys, where they can use their glue-like saliva to adhere stick nests to the inner walls, according to a news release.

Swifts’ feet are adapted to cling exclusively to vertical surfaces aided by stiff tail feathers, and they feed exclusively from flying insects they snatch from the air, much like swallows and bats. After nestlings have fledged into flyers by mid-summer, swifts patrol the skies by day and gather at dusk to room communally in uncapped chimneys of older homes, as well as institutional chimneys.

Chimney use varies from year to year, but Berkshire High School and Punderson Manor House are consistently used, the release stated.

During autumn migration from September through early October, local swifts are joined by travelers seeking a “migratory motel” at sundown. All together the birds gradually swell in the sky, swirling in ever-tightening circles and emitting twittering notes until, one by one, they begin to plummet into the chimney. One chimney often holds hundreds of birds for the night.

Previous watches hosted by Geauga Park District have ranged from 200 to more than 900 birds observed joining together to rest up for the next leg of their journey to Peruvian wintering groups, the release stated.

Registration is not required to attend. All ages are welcome to stop by and catch the view.