Vaux Swifts

(your screen is not dirty ... click on images to enlarge and see the tiny birds)

I cannot accurately describe how beautiful these birds were on Friday night.  I arrived downtown just as the clouds were starting to turn pink, and even from a couple of streets over, I could see the tiny specks in the sky I knew to be the swifts.  Once I got to the top of the parking garage, there was a crowd of people with necks craned, all watching the sky.  At first the birds looked like swarms of gnats, they were so tiny and high up.  As the light diminished and the clouds turned from butter to pink to gray, the swifts formed a more cohesive group.  Right before sunset they formed their finale and swirled into a funnel before dropping into the chimney for the night.  As I said, I cannot capture this with words.  I took some video but haven't figured out how to upload it yet.  But if you're in L.A., this event happens every night until they move south.  For more info, visit the Audubon Center's page.