Last night I made an unexpected stop at Sells Middle School in Dublin along
161 just west of Dublin Rd.  I was not disappointed.  It was about 9:02pm
and I pulled in behind the school near the tennis courts and the sound of
swifts 'twittering' filled the area.  By about 9:23pm all was quiet but in
about 20 minutes I would estimate that 200 to 250 Chimney Swifts came
swirling clockwise from all directions and entered the large school chimney.




To the east between the Scioto River and the elementary building just east
of Sells a pair of Common Nighthawks were putting on quite a show flying,
climbing sharply, calling and doing their booming dives.  With the dark
swirling clouds and lightening flashing in the distance it was a show only
rivaled by the fireworks last weekend.



The Chimney Swifts can be observed before dusk until early October with
numbers changing almost nightly.  The parking lot directly behind the school
is being repaved so go slowly and pull in back by the tennis courts.



I was on my way back from visiting Smith and Bigelow Prairie Cemeteries,
both state nature preserves west of Plain City Ohio and south of 161.  The
Royal Catchfly and other plants and prairie grasses were a delight to
revisit.
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/dnap/location/bigelow_prairie/tabid/921/Default.a
spx



http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/dnap/location/smith_cemetery/tabid/964/Default.as
px



http://hiramtom.blogspot.com/2009/07/bigelow-cemetery-smith-cemetary-two-of.
html   The Ohio Nature Blog by Tom Arbour has a nice recap of the two
remnant prairies and his visit.  I joined the Madison Master Gardner's last
night as Ron Demmy, retired nature preserve manager, was giving a wonderful
historic tour of the area.



Start watching the large industrial chimneys around town for a wonderful
show beginning near dusk.  http://www.chimneyswifts.org/page2.html    Visit
the Driftwood Wildlife Association to learn more about what happens during
nesting and migration of these birds as they prepare to head for South
America.



Darlene Sillick

Powell, Ohio




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