Black Swifts on nests

Yesterday, I had the chance to visit a well-known nesting site of Black Swifts in northern Idaho on my way back from another trip.  Black Swifts are a very unique species that can be tough to find if you don't know where to look.  Here's one big hint: they nest exclusively behind waterfalls or in ocean-misted cliffs.  This was an exciting species for me because it was an "eBird lifer," that is, I had seen them only once before (June 2000), and it was before I was keeping detailed enough notes that I could later enter the sighting into eBird.  Black Swifts are a mysterious species as birds go: only about 200 nesting sites are known, and they made big news last year when their wintering range was finally discovered in western Brazil.  The total population is estimated at about 15,000 individuals worldwide, and is declining at about 6% per year.  Here are a few photos from my recent trip to see this intriguing bird at a nesting colony.