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Gorge Life

Wings on the River: Cooperative nesting

  • By Martin Gibson Columbia Gorge News
  • Updated

The local Vaux’s Swifts are tiny, soot-colored birds that live mostly in the air. They nest in trees and chimneys, sticking three-inch nests of twigs together with saliva. They don’t bother with territories and may build multiple nests in the same tree.

The Vaux’s Swifts sheltering in Mosier’s chimneys
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The Vaux’s Swifts sheltering in Mosier’s chimneys

  • By Flora Gibson Columbia Gorge News
  • Updated

MOSIER — A few years ago, Mosier naturalist Brian Barrett looked up from his hammock and spotted a flock of slender, dark-brown, four-inch-long birds zooming overhead — all in the same direction. Intrigued, he climbed out for a better look.