In September, in Portland, Oregon, a huge flock of Vaux's swifts can be seen at dusk swarming into the chimney of Chapman Elementary School. The swifts historically roosted in the hollow trunks of old-growth trees, but since the vast majority of the ancient forests of the Northwest are long since felled, the swifts have had to come up with alternate plans: thus, the selection of the chimney at the Chapman school. The evening roost has become a popular spectacle in Portland, but for me the stars of the show are the hawks and kestrels that show up to pluck tasty morsels out of the stunning vortex of tens of thousands of birds.
This is a handmade print, cut from four layers of rubylith film and printed at Flight 64 studios in Portland
