For the next few weeks, a swoop of swifts – thousands of small migratory birds - will descend on a chimney in downtown Los Angeles as they make their way from Canada to Central America for the winter.
Under a bright 7-11 sign as daylight fades, I meet Jeff Chapman. He directs the Audubon Center at Debs Park.
"We are standing at the corner of 5th and Broadway in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. We're here because the birds are here. Vaux's Swifts that are heading south to southern Mexico and Guatemala," Chapman says. "They look like, I dunno – little black spots just covering the whole intersection where we're standing, just swirling around."
http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/09/24/swoop-swifts/ Story, pics and video