Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Saturday, July 28. 2018

Bird du Jour: The flying cigar

It's not uncommon to see small family groups of Chimney Swifts overhead during the summer months. Wonderful fliers, catching bugs on the wing.


I've seen parents pass a bug to a child, both on the wing.  Cute. 


Their numbers have declined drastically over the past 40 years, for unclear reasons. Maybe more chimney caps, or steel flues. They need masonry flues to get a grip.


My best Chimney Swift story is about the day one accidentally came down our old church's chimney and started flying around the church - on Pentecost!  I finally was able to snatch it when it was banging against the window, and somebody opened the window and off it went like the Holy Spirit.


There are a couple of other species of Swifts in the western US. If anybody can distinguish a Vaux from a Chimney Swift, good for you. Swifts spend the cooler months in the Amazon basin.

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 14:44 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0)

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The swifts living in our chimney are on their second or third batch of babies.. They are noisy during many hours of the day and night. At night it is more quiet little murmurs. I have read that their numbers are diminishing due to lack of real chimneys and since so many people block the openings it is difficult for them to find good places to nest. My spouse had the opening covered one year and a couple of years later some other creature moved the screen over the chimney opening. They're back! I love to watch their aerial maneuvers over our house.
#1 JC on 2018-07-28 14:48 (Reply)

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