Larry Schwitters
Founder and Coordinator
Larry Schwitters earned his Master of Science degree from East Texas University. He taught middle school science and served as a coach for thirty years in the Renton Public Schools. After retiring in 1992 he participated in a Black Swift field research project for the American Bird Conservancy. His experiences in this endeavor were the subject of the cover story for the American Birding Association Winging It magazine. He has focused on Vaux’s Swifts since 2007. Birders World magazine covered his work in an article “46 Minutes of WOW.” He recruits volunteers to help collect data on over 200 migration roosts from the Yukon to Guatemala. Schwitters wrote the most recent update on Vaux’s Swift in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World. He is the recipient of the 2023 National Audubon Society William Dutcher Award.
Brian Zinke
Executive Director, Pilchuck Audubon Society
Brian Zinke has served as Executive Director of the Pilchuck Audubon Society since 2019, leading the organization's conservation, education, and community science programs in Snohomish County and Camano Island. A wildlife biologist by training, he brings field experience in nongame and endangered species work across the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain West, and Great Plains — including owl and secretive marsh bird surveys, and a variety of mammal work. At Pilchuck Audubon, Brian co-manages Vaux's Happening, assisting Larry with the project's observer network, data infrastructure, and working to expand roost documentation throughout the Pacific Flyway.
The People Behind the Counts
Every number in our dataset represents a person who showed up at dusk, found a good sightline, and watched. Vaux's Happening has been built count by count, season by season, by a flyway-wide community of volunteers stretching from British Columbia to Central America. Some are lifelong birders. Some stumbled onto a roost event and never looked back. All of them share a belief that paying close attention to the natural world — and writing it down — matters. We're honored to do this work alongside them.
Interested in joining the network? Learn more about volunteering!