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Tristen et al.,<br><br>While Black Swifts occasionally appear during spring migration in the Willamette Valley, they are by no means to be expected. In general, Black Swifts are fairly late migrants, rarely appearing anywhere in Oregon before mid-May. <br><br>If you hope to see a Black Swift in the valley, I would go out in search for them on cool days when there is a very dense low cloud ceiling. The best places to find them in such conditions would be flying around over larger bodies of water or sewage ponds (think of places that you see lots of feeding swallows during migration). In the Corvallis area, your best bets would probably be Cabell Marsh, McFadden Marsh, the Philomath Sewage Ponds, and along the Willamette River. <br><br>On days with clear skies, Black Swifts are likely to be flying extremely high or following ridgelines (i.e. the Coast Range). Under those conditions, being up at the summit of Marys Peak might be a good bet. However, on cool days with dense overcast, they drop down to lower elevations often mixing with swallows as they feed low over water. <br><br>Though migrant Black Swifts are scarce in Oregon, there seems to be a fairly predictable late spring/early summer passage along the outer coast. In recent years, Tim Rodenkirk has recorded more than 100 in a morning in Coos Co. and Phil Pickering has had some pretty nice counts (dozens) from Cascade Head in s. Tillamook Co. The peak counts have generally come during the last few days of May and the first few days of June. Seasonal summaries (Spring and Summer) in North American Birds and Oregon Birds will include exact dates and numbers. This should provide you with a better idea for exactly when you want to be looking. <br><br>Dave Irons<br>Regional Editor North American Birds (Oregon and Washington Region)<br><br>> From: tmanindahouse@gmail.com<br>> To: birding@midvalleybirding.org<br>> Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:50:33 -0700<br>> Subject: [birding] Question<br>> <br>> Around what time does the corvallis area get black swifts ??<br>> Thanks!<br>> <br>> Tristen Gholson<br>> 541-971-9315<br>> _______________________________________________<br>> birding mailing list<br>> birding@midvalleybirding.org<br>> http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding<br>> http://oregonbirdwatch.org/pipermail/obol/<br> <br /><hr />Hotmail has tools for the New Busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. <a href='http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_1' target='_new'>Learn more.</a></body>
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