Vaux’s swifts in August? Yep. The annual migration of Portland's favorite migratory bird is happening early this year.

First, a friendly reminder on what, exactly, is a Vaux’s swift: the birds look like “small, dark, fast-flying cigars with wings,” and they migrate to Oregon, Washington, and Canada for spring and summer mating and breeding. Portlanders know them because they begin their migration to Central America in the fall, and shack up for the night together in groups of thousands, often in well-known haunts like the chimney at Chapman Elementary School. Why, exactly? Vaux’s swifts can’t perch; instead they hang onto flat vertical surfaces, such as chimneys, and huddle for warmth. They previously slept in snags (upright dead trees, which often hollow out), but snags are rare in, say, Laurelhurst.

Portlanders are accustomed to spotting enormous flocks of the tiny birds in mid-September, but thousands have already appeared, likely due to Oregon's early summer weather this year, and ensuing fluctuations in the insects they forage for along their route.

Where to See Vaux’s Swifts

The Portland Audubon Society hosts nightly Swift Watches at Chapman Elementary School at the edge of Forest Park in Northwest Portland. It begins one hour before sunset throughout September, usually with an Audubon volunteer on hand to field questions. Bring a picnic blanket, and know that parking can be sparse. According to the Audubon’s Swift Count, as many as 35,000 swifts have been counted shacking up at Chapman, though lately the peak counts are closer to 11,000. (The Audubon also counts the circling raptors who snack on said swifts.)

Not up for the crowds at Chapman? A few other chimneys around the metro area draw smaller numbers of swifts bedding down for the night, including Jennings Lodge Elementary School in Milwaukie and Taborspace in Southeast Portland, though those sites can be hit-and-miss; previous roosting sites in Kenton and St. Johns, for example, have been no-shows for the birds of late.