Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Blue MAX line and swifts


Sunny, cold in the morning but turning quite warm in the afternoon.

Civic Drive MAX station
From PDX Transit
Rookwood
From PDX Transit


As it was getting towards 7pm I walked up to Chapman School. There was still a soccer game going on on the field, and the hillside was filled, save for the lanes where the kids were sliding down the hill on pieces of cardboard. I headed for my secret spot among the trees, and found people sitting there too. But I was able to squeeze in.

The swifts took their own sweet time in massing. At one point everyone disappeared - I hadn't seen it, but it must have been a hawk. Eventually they started elevatoring in. And then a hawk did swoop through, grabbing a hapless swift. They saw him off and resumed their descent. But it took a long time. They formed a circle, going clockwise, with the bottommost birds in the ring flying down into the mouth of the chimney. When they needed a break from that they reformed as a counterclockwise ring. And then a clockwise one again.


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