Thursday, September 19, 2013

The Vaux Swifts Return to Historic Downtown Los Angeles May Not Be as Famous as Capistrano's Returning Swallows - But...

photo courtesy of Jessica Wethington McClean
... DTLA's Vaux Swifts are a lot more reliable then Capistrano's swallows, there are a hell of a lot more of them - and they do it twice a year.  And this year (as covered by LA OBSERVED)  - after spending their nights during their two week migration over DTLA  at the Chester Williams Building at 5th & Broadway, they have joined the rest of Downtown's creative - and now avian elite - at the Spring Arts Tower at 5th & Spring.

Since construction at the Chester Williams closed the building's chimney vents, the owner of the Spring Arts Tower, Paul Su, agreed to reopen his building's old chimney vents for them to sleep during their flyover of DTLA. And - as usual, anyone who had a window open during dusk, might the following morning find a marooned swift trying to find their way out after someone had shut the window they had entered the previous dusk.

Fortunately, swifts have little fear of humans while they are at rest, so as soon as they stop flying around and stop to rest, it is relatively easy to lightly grasp each bird and carry them to an open window.  And if you miss the guided tours by the Audubon Society, you can get an excellent view of them circling the building by standing in front of the parking log on Spring Street just north of the Spring Arts Tower and The Last Bookstore.
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And if you can't do that - here is a short video shot by Jessica Wethington McLean of Bringing Back Broadway fame when we were on top of Spring Arts Tower.

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