Stop messing with nature: Portland Audubon asks drone operators to leave the swifts alone

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.”