Swift Count Community Science Project

Since 2009, the Portland Audubon has been counting Vaux’s Swifts at Chapman Elementary School and at a number of other sites in the Portland-metro region as part of a community science project. These counts contribute toward a larger Pacific Coast-wide effort to keep track of the swift population.

Want to count Vaux’s Swifts to help with this effort? Each August we hold a training for volunteers so we can count each night in September while the Swifts are migrating south. For more information and to get involved, visit our community science page.

Read a report of Swift Watch counts from 2022.

Vaux's Swifts, photo by Tara Lemezis

2022 Swift Numbers

August 23: 240
August 24: 320
August 25: 420
August 26: 1,430
August 27: 1,440
August 28: 1,540
August 29: 1,780
August 30: 1,830
August 31: 2,140
September 1: 3,300
September 2: 4,670
September 4: 4,040
September 5: 6,790
September 6: 6,560
September 7: 6,200
September 8: 7,680
September 9: 7,579
September 10: 8,000
September 11: 7,315
September 12: 9,715
September 13: 11,530
September 14: 9,050
September 15: 8,700
September 16: 11,400
September 17: 9,980
September 18: 8,800
September 19: 5,320
September 20: 4,430
September 21: 7,600
September 22: 11,200
September 23: 7,240
September 24: 4,940
September 27: 4,360
September 28: 3,750
September 29: 3,120
September 30: 3,800
October 1: 3,150
October 3: 2,050
October 4: 1,225
October 5: 1,910

 

 

Average # of swifts counted at Chapman between 2009-2022