FILE: On September evenings, thousands of Vaux's swifts funnel into the chimney at Chapman School in Portland.
Nick Fisher / OPB
Portland Audubon is asking drone operators not to fly near the Vaux’s swifts at Chapman Elementary School as the birds perform their annual roosting display.
In early fall, thousands of the birds dive into the chimney at the Northwest Portland school each evening in an aerial display that attracts hundreds of human admirers. But last week, the birds were disrupted by someone flying a drone. It caused the birds to break formation and disperse.
“Over time, that can have an impact on the bird’s ability to incubate eggs if they’re nesting,” said Joe Liebezeit with Portland Audubon.
He thinks the birds probably regard drones as predators: “It can raise their stress levels to cause them to not forage as well.”
Elegant Tern eggs abandoned in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. June, 2021
Courtesy: California Dept. Fish and Wildlife
As drones become more popular, interactions with wildlife are increasing – in sometimes dangerous ways. In California recently, a drone crash caused a colony of 3,000 Elegant Terns to abandon 1,500 active nests, according to the National Audubon Society.
At Chapman Elementary last week, the crowd booed as the drone flew near the birds. At one point, a bird appeared to chase the machine as if it were a raptor.
Liebezeit thinks at least two laws were broken by the unidentified drone pilot.
Oregon statutes say no person shall harass wildlife except while engaged in lawfully angling or hunting. And a Portland Public School administrative directive also says all aviation operations on school property must have prior written permission.
Spectators gather on the lawn at Chapman Elementary School in Portland, Ore., Aug. 29, 2023, to watch Vaux's swifts roost in the school's old chimney. Thousands of swifts stop in Portland annually during their migration, but some of the birds have arrived earlier than usual this fall, prompting concerns about the effects of climate change.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
“I doubt that that drone pilot has written permission to fly there,” Liebezeit said. “Because I can’t see any reason why anyone would allow that, especially at Chapman, where everyone knows that they’re roosting there at this time of year.”
Vaux’s swifts are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The birds amass in large flocks at this time of the year to prepare for their annual migration to South America. The best views in Portland can be found at Chapman between 4 p.m. and dusk until about mid-October. Bird experts noted that the swifts returned early this year.
