Join Us to Count! Pam Smolen leads Tuesday evening counts at Pershing Middle School. Check the Swifts Over Houston facebook page for photos and notes. Please report information on new roost sites to swiftsoverhouston@gmail.com. We invite you to start your own swift count. We have sites that you can choose from or you can add your own site.

Swift webcam at Nature Discovery Center: This summer we could check out nesting swifts on the swift cam at the Nature Discovery Center in Bellaire. 5-6 eggs were hatched in late May. The young fledged in the third week of June.

2012 SURVEYS

September-July Reports
September 14: 1,720 swifts at Lakeview. August 21: 609 swifts at Pershing. July 31: 1,855 swifts at Lakeview; 576 swifts at Pershing; 15 swifts at Whole Foods Market. July 28: 189 swifts at Old Jeff Davis Hospital. July 23: 1,365 swifts at Lakeview; 631 swifts at Pershing. July 17: 6 swifts at Whole Foods. July 12: 128 swifts at Old Jeff Davis Hospital. July 10: 960 swifts at at Lakeview Elementary. July 4: Pershing had 279 swifts; Whole Foods had 5 swifts

June Reports
June 21: 242 swifts at Pershing; 8 swifts at Whole Foods June 6: 58 swifts at Old Jeff Davis Hospital and 85 swifts at the Spring Branch Grain Elevators. June 5: Pershing had 263 swifts; Whole Foods had 4 swifts; and there were 1,063 swifts at Lakeview Elementary.

May-April Reports
At the end of May, Lakeview had 750 swifts, Pershing had 201 swifts, Whole Foods had 23 swifts, and Dayton had 159 swifts. May 15: 70 at Whole Foods Market & Pershing May 1: over 700 at Lakeview Elementary April 25: 108 at old Jeff. Davis Hospital. April 18; 103 swifts at old Jefferson Davis Hospital (7000 Braes Blvd) April 17: 567 swifts at Spring Branch Grain Elevators (Westview Drive at Beltway 8 North); 839 swifts at Lakeview Elementary; 169 swifts at Whole Foods Market; 169 swifts at Pershing Middle School April 12: 637 swifts at Spring Branch Grain Elevators (Westview Drive at Beltway 8 North). April 10: 819 swifts at Lakeview Elementary; 17 swifts at Whole Foods Market; 447 swifts at Pershing Middle school; 136 swifts at old Jefferson Davis Hospital. April 9: 10 swifts at St Paul's. April 4: 140 swifts at St Paul's. April 3: 427 swifts at Spring Branch Grain Elevators (Westview Drive at Beltway 8 North); 2 swifts in north tower at Russ Pittman Park.

March Reports
March 27: 1,200 at Lakeview Elementary. March 20: 187 swifts at Lakeview Elementary. March 15: 6 swifts at Lakeview Elementary

There are Ebird hotspots for Swifts Over Houston, with separate hotspots for Whole Foods, Pershing School, Pinewood Wetlands (Clear Lake), St. Paul's Church, and Sutton Elementary.

Count Locations:

• Pershing Middle School in Bellaire: 3838 Blue Bonnet Blvd. (Photo).
• Whole Foods Market in Bellaire: 4004 Bellaire Blvd.
• Russ Pittman Park, Nature Discovery Center in Bellaire: 7112 Newcastle. (Photo)
• St. Paul's United Methodist Church on Main St. and Binz, across from the Museum of Fine Arts. St. Paul's invites the public to watch the Chimney Swifts any time between late March and early November as they descend into the chimney near the Fannin Street Courtyard. (Photo)
• Lakeview Elementary School in Sugar Land. The school is located at 314 Lakeview Drive, Sugar Land, 77498. (Photo)
• Spring Branch Grain Elevators: Westview Drive at Beltway 8 North
• Sutton Elementary School, in Bellaire on 7402 Albacore Drive, Houston, 77074
• Stack behind the old Jefferson Davis Hospital, 7000 Braes Blvd. Swifts can be monitored from the tranquil community garden near the stack. (Photo)

Tips on Counting Swifts by Paul and Georgean Kyle: When counting Chimney Swifts at roosts, the numbers can become overwhelming -- especially as the numbers continue to climb as we move toward fall migration over the next few weeks. What we have found to work quite well is to use an athletic lap counter. These are available at most sporting goods stores. You can tally without taking your eyes off of the swifts.

When the numbers of swifts are relatively low, a direct count can be made -- one click per swift. At sites where the numbers exceed several hundred (or the entry rate is high), make one click per 10 swifts and multiply the end number of clicks by 10 for the total. It works really well if several counters can average their counts at the end.