14th Annual Petoskey Audubon Swift Night Out

Petoskey Regional Audubon welcomes the public to the 14th Annual Swift Night Out in downtown Petoskey 8:45 pm Wednesday, June 19, 2019 - at the corner of Mitchell and Howard Streets Catch a natural wonder that takes place in downtown Petoskey each summer. The public is invited to join Audubon Society members on Wednesday evening, June 19 to watch the Chimney Swifts return to their roost at sunset. Bring a lawn chair to the park at the corner of Mitchell Street and Howard, across from the J. C. Penney Building in downtown Petoskey. People will start gathering in the park around 8:45 to 9:00 p.m. The first Chimney Swifts typically don't enter the Penny's chimney until 9:15 - 9:30 p.m. and the birds are tucked in for the night by 10:00 p.m. Feel free to bring refreshments to enjoy awaiting arrival of the Chimney Swifts. Last year the group counted 81 Chimney Swifts dropping into the chimney to roost. Often mistaken for swallows, Chimney Swifts are busy birds that flutter and swoop to capture insects in town, along the Bear River and Little Traverse Bay. Unable to perch, Chimney Swifts spend most of their lives in flight. As the name suggests, at night they often cling to the vertical sides of chimney interiors. Chimney Swift populations are in decline due to the disuse of chimneys across North America. Petoskey is fortunate to be the home of this useful and fascinating species. Join Audubon members as we appreciate Chimney Swifts for the 14th year in a row. This event is informal, family-friendly, open to the public and free of charge. The Chimney Swifts are Michigan summer residents only. In the fall swifts begin their 4,000 mile migration to South America by flying nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico. The swifts in downtown Petoskey are roosting, that is sleeping in a communal group for night for safety and warmth. Each breeding pair of adult birds builds its own four-inch nest of twigs and rear its young separately from the group. The leader of the event Petoskey Regional Audubon Society Member John Shreves. For more information email PRAS Field Trip Coordinator Tracy Datlen at tadatl@live.com The Petoskey Regional Audubon Society was established in 1961 and has been "For the Birds" ever since. The PRAS website ishttp://www.petoskeyaudubon.org/ and on Facebook/Petoskey-Audubon.