NSAS’ September Monthly Field Trip to Rio Lindo Adventist Academy Sunday, Sept. 21st at 6:15 p.m.
Where: 6:15 PM, Rio Lindo Adventist Academy, 3200 Rio Lindo Ave., Healdsburg, CA. For those driving separately meet at the gate and either call the office to gain entrance or wait for the group to arrive.
History: Vaux’s Swifts have been roosting in the Rio Lindo Adventist Academy chimney since 1989, the first year the school’s boiler wasn’t producing steam year-round. The chimney is still used in the winter when the boiler generates heat for the school campus, but that’s after the fall swift migration has finished. The first small groups of migrating birds usually appear in mid-August. Vaux’s Swifts use the chimney on the campus as a roosting site on their stop-over during fall migration. Numbers vary daily into the thousands, but begin to peak around September 20. In an average year, the count peaks between 5,000 and 10,000 birds for a few evenings. The highest numbers that have been observed were in 2015 when a couple of evenings the estimate was between 35,000 and 40,000 swifts. The Swifts enter the chimney at dusk in a Whirlwind-like Vortex. It has been described as one of the 7 Wonders of the Birding World! For more information visit: Vaux’s Swift Migration – RioLindoAdventistAcademy.
Ride-sharing: Those wishing to carpool meet in Napa in the River Park Shopping Center on Imola Ave., Napa, in front of the Grocery Outlet at 5:00 PM. Please do not park immediately in front of the store, rather use the spaces farther away from the entrance doors.
What to Bring: Often visitors bring food (dinner) to enjoy while viewing the swifts. The campus is a Seventh Day Adventist Academy so no adult beverages or substances (tobacco, vaping, etc.) Please respect these restrictions as there will be student, faculty, and other visitors present. Bring a chair as we will be viewing for an extended period in one place. Spotting scopes, binoculars, cameras, appropriate clothing.
Please Register for this Field Trip by Clicking on this Link: NSAS Field Trip Registration for Rio Lindo Adventist Academy Swift Migration