2022 Fall Vaux's Swifts

Every autumn, the Vaux's Swifts travel through Northern California on their migration south. They roost in three obsolete chimneys at the local brickworks. This past week there have been upwards of 60,000 Swifts flying down the chimneys at dusk.
Swifts are members of the family Apodidae. They spend most of their time on the wing hunting insects and have very short legs, with all toes facing foward, so they don't perch like most birds; instead, they cling to vertical surfaces and huddle together at night for warmth.
Their numbers are declining as they are dependent on the disappearing old growth coastal forests for roosting and foraging sites.