We even built some bird nests – but have taken them down now, as the game is over.   Hope you all had fun!

• Tonight (9/27) was both one of the most boring, and, the most exciting at the stack.  I started at 5:05 pm.  Fewer than 20 swifts entered the stack by 6:55 pm (i.e., almost 2 hours later!), although many were swirling around and making false passes at the stack the whole time.  Then in the next 8 minutes at least 6,150 went in.  They were going too fast to count very well.  No hesitation, no breaks, just a solid “tube” of birds.  Then a Merlin kept the remaining group high for three minutes, and grabbed a swift at 7:06.  It took the swifts three minutes after that to come back down to the stack, and they wasted NO time getting in.  They mostly went in in rapid “clumps” of 1-200, until the last 3,200 went in in less than 4 minutes!

Thanks to everyone for the part that you played in making Monroe Swift Night Out 2011 such a rousing success!  Whether you were behind the scenes or out on the front lines that night, every single one of you were so important to how the event went!  We couldn’t have done it without you!

Wasn’t it wonderful that the swifts put on such a spectacular show for our visitors and that the weather was beautiful!  We had another large turnout–about 1,500 folks in all, with about 100 folks out back.

Once again, Leann outdid herself with the spaghetti dinner!  Did you taste it?  It was delicious!!  Thanks so much to Leann, her daughter and her faithful crew (Connie Young and others) for all their hard work!  You are awesome!

The booths were very well done, interesting and informative.  Neil and Carleen’s (Seattle Audubon) bird skins were a “magnet” to anyone that went near them.  What an experience for folks and, especially, children, to see the birds close up and to be able to touch them.  Thanks for coming every year!

And, speaking of birds close up, how about having Jeff and Freedom, the eagle, at the Sarvey Booth!  That was a delightful addition to a really interesting booth.  Thanks for coming!!

Special thanks to Monroe Digital Copy Center for providing so many tablets, coloring books, and puzzles for our visitors, and for their donations to Swift Night Out.  They are gems to be sure! And thanks to all who volunteered to staff booths and to help out in so many other ways!

Larry (AKA Dr. Swift) gave another delightful lecture that entertained and educated everyone.  A “not-to-be-missed” part of the evening, for sure!  Thanks, Larry!

And thank you, too, Robin (Frank Wagner Principal Extraordinaire!) — you are such a delightful “emcee” at our event!  (And we could hear you so well this year -  Charles, thanks for helping out with the speaker system!)

Cindy, what a super collection of signs you made for us!  Just awesome!  We really need good signage at this event!  And we had it this year!  Thanks for making them for us, Cindy!  And please thank your company for donating time and materials!

And let’s not forget our docents, who got our brochures into willing hands and answered so many questions that night!  Thanks to each one of you!   You are an essential part of this evening!  (As well as the nights that follow Swift Night Out when so many people come to enjoy the swifts.)

We hope folks saw the great article in The Herald (Everett) Saturday morning?  The Monroe Monitor had a cameraman at the event.  Watch for an article about it next week.  Thanks to Diann for contacting all the media for us and for nudging them where needed!  This is such an essential part of the success of our event-we need to let the public know what’s happening.

And, a special thanks to the YMCA, for providing fun games for the children to play and for providing several extra tables for us to use that night!  You are a wonderful asset to Swift Night Out!

Also, the Monroe Chamber of Commerce was so helpful to us this year as before.  Thanks so much, Kim and Larell!

And let us not forget some of the most important folks of the night: Mike Farrell and his crew from Monroe Parks and Recreation Department, who provided the Sani-Cans and garbage cans for our event.  Thanks so much, Mike, for such an essential service!  Imagine what the evening would have been like without those two items!

So, again, we want to thank each and every one of you for all your efforts to make Swift Night Out a rousing success this year!  Whether you were out front or behind the scenes, we couldn’t have done it without you!

Also, let us not forget to give a very special thank you to the Cooper’s Hawk for spending the evening elsewhere!  : )

The weather was warm and wonderful, there were many interesting booths to visit, an informative lecture as given by Larry Schwitters, and Jeff and Freedom, the eagle, were on site and delightful to see. A large turkey vulture also flew over the festivities in the evening to the delight of on-lookers.

But don’t worry that you missed the swifts, these small birds will continue their southbound migration for about 5 more weeks and you could stop by any night to enjoy their roosting activity. The highest numbers will probably occur in the next 3-4 weeks. Bring a blanket and a picnic and enjoy the view!

Volunteer docents (aka guides) and counters are needed for the upcoming fall Vaux’s Swift migration at the Frank Wagner Elementary School in Monroe.  Docents will be needed for the Swift Night Out celebration on Saturday, Sept 10th, as well as evenings in September through early-October (depending on the actual migration).  Volunteers should be able to commit to at least 3 evenings during the fall season.

We also need help counting the swifts as they enter the chimney each night.  Those interested in becoming counters should make arrangements with Judy Alles for training.

Volunteers should review information on our website about the swifts as well as the information on our sister site www.vauxhappening.org to prepare for volunteering.

For more information contact Judy Alles, jerryjalles@aol.com, or Susie Schaefer, Susie.schaefer@comcast.net

Monroe Swift Night Out was created to celebrate the arrival of the second largest congregation of Vaux’s Swifts in North America to the Frank Wagner Elementary School chimney.  Come join us from 4:00 p.m. until dusk on Saturday, September 10th.  Visit numerous educational and informative booths to learn more about Vaux’s Swifts and other birds and wildlife, including a fascinating hands-on comparative bird display.  Enjoy a spaghetti dinner, a hamburger, a hot dog or other delicious food, drinks and desserts (picnics on the grass below the chimney are encouraged),  and attend a not-to-be-missed lecture by Larry Schwitters, our swift-expert extraordinaire, at 6:30 p.m. (We will notify lecture attendees right away if the swifts start to enter the chimney while visitors are in the auditorium so they won’t miss the spectacle.)  There will also be children’s activities as well as Vaux’s Swifts headbands and “Adoption” certificates to pick up for the kids or for the young at heart. And, of course, come to witness one of nature’s miracles near sunset.

Visitors are encouraged to bring blankets or chairs and sit on the lawn to watch the swifts come to roost for the night while on their long journey from as far away as northern Canada then south to Central America and possibly even Venezuela.  Come anytime in late August through September and early October to watch this natural event.  The peak time for seeing the most swifts is usually the first few weeks in September.  (Watch the Daily Count postings to see how many swifts have been counted each night this fall.)  Come anytime but don’t miss Swift Night Out on September 10th.