Chapman Elementary School

Northwest Portland’s Nob Hill neighborhood may be known to locals as “Spendy-First,” a nod to the boutique shops and expensive eateries clustered around NW 21st Avenue, but every fall this district plays host to one of Portland’s finest free entertainments. For three weeks each September over 30,000 migrating Vaux Swifts converge nightly over Chapman Elementary School's stone chimney, making Nob Hill home to the largest known Swift roost in the world. Astounding aerialists, Vaux (pronounced VOX) Swifts forage, court and copulate all in flight and every evening before bedding down the birds put on an amazing show. On warm weekend evenings the crowd of Swift watchers can swell into the thousands, and the atmosphere is always friendly and festive, quintessentially Portland. Pack a picnic dinner or use some of the money you’ve saved on this cheap night out to visit nearby Steppingstone Café or the famous Laurelwood Public House & Brewery, just a short walk away.

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Thanks to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, there’s something instinctually unnerving about thousands of birds roiling through the air above an ancient gothic chimney. It’s also vastly interesting and downright beautiful. Every year in September, the chimney of Portland’s Chapman School plays temporary roost to masses of migrating birds called swifts. It's quite a spectacle, and up to 2,000 Portlanders descend upon the school’s lawn to picnic and bird-watch. Arrive at sunset on a balmy autumn eve, and you’ll glimpse the birds swirling in a giant funnel cloud, feasting on insects and preparing to roost. From time to time, a hungry hawk might fly through and snatch a swift in its talons. The audience usually murmurs in surprise before having another bite of baguette and brie. It’s the cycle of life, right there before you, and unlike an IMAX movie, it’s free of charge!

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