While this is out of the basin I think it may be of interest to some who might want to add them to their list.
We arrived in Skaneateles Tues. evening about 6:30 to join friends at the Blue Water Grill for a delicious meal. For 1/2 hr. before we went inside I had been watching many Chimney Swifts flying over the business district buildings. After we went inside my window view allowed me to continue to watch them, a sight I've always loved. Many yrs. have passed since I've seen so many swifts. In my early teens, & even before, on the family farm near Wellsboro, PA I often climbed the tall, wall ladder to get to the peak of the hay mow where the swifts had their beautifully made, shiny, varnished-looking, "stick & spit" nests stuck to the side of the barn. Many times I would hold & pet the birds, marveling at their pointed tails & their soft feathers. None ever seemed alarmed that I was there. A treasured memory! Here in Union Springs I saw only 2 swifts last night. Last yr. I discovered that swifts are nesting in an unused chimney of people we know. Previously, I had been unable to discover where they were going to roost. I might also add, that we had dozens of bats around the barns at night. They slept in the barn near the swifts in the daytime & oh, horror of horrors, I often petted them & stretched out their velvety wings!! How much the simple, wonderful things of life have changed! The innocence of youth ..... ! Thanks for the memories! Fritzie -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
