>Chimney swifts make annual return to George Washington Middle School in Ridgewood
MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2011
BY REBECCA D. O’BRIEN
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
THE RECORD
Every autumn, thousands of chimney swifts — small, soot-colored birds — make the same stop on their long southward migration: an old, unused brick chimney at George Washington Middle School in Ridgewood.
The swifts, known affectionately as “flying cigars,” travel from North America to their winter homes in the Amazon River basin, passing through New Jersey in waves from mid-August to mid-October. Because of their small feet, the birds can roost only on secure, vertical surfaces, such as the inside walls of large chimneys, which are increasingly rare.
People often gather at sunset in front of the middle school to watch the swifts return in swarms from a day of flying. And, true to form, the birds appeared on schedule this year after a strong showing in 2010, when 3,000 were counted in one evening. The record in Ridgewood — and in all of New Jersey — came in 1976, when 4,000 swifts were counted at one time.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/131437508_School_a_safe_haven_for_swifts.html
