Chimney Swift Tower:
A BRYBC Conservation Project
We are excited to have begun the construction of the Chimney Swift Tower at Ivy Creek. The tower should be completed by mid August and we are hoping the Swifts will find it this season as they migrate South.
Our next step is to set up a monitoring program so that we can see if the swifts find our tower this year, and the number of swifts that use the tower each fall. If you are interested in being part of this monitoring program please contact us for more information.
As you are probably aware, Chimney Swifts are here seasonally. They spend the winter in Peru and Chile and return to North America to breed. Originally they used hollowed trees for nesting and roosting sites. They nest as individual pairs during the breeding season and roost communally after breeding has ended. Much as Purple Martins will roost communally as they stage for southward migration.
As the continent was colonized by Europeans, trees were felled and habitation lost. However, they were able to adapt and make use of the brick and mortar chimneys of houses. Like Purple Martins, Chimney Swifts are dependent upon us for housing. Swifts are not able to perch or stand like passerines. They fly all day long, catching insects on the wing. They eat 1/3 of their body weight in mosquitoes etc. each day. At dusk they roost by clinging to the inside of a chimney. They also attach their nest of twigs with saliva to the inside of a chimney and the nestlings cling once they leave the nest until they are able to fly and catch insects on their own. Each cavity will contain only one nest. Many brick and mortar chimneys have collapsed and/or been replaced with materials that have a smooth surface and this has caused a decline in viable nesting/roosting sites and decline in the species.
There is a conservation movement to construct towers designed for nest and roost sites in order to support Chimney Swift population. I have procured building plans for such a tower and obtained permission from PVCC Administrative Services to build, maintain and monitor one or more towers on the campus. We can register the tower with a national organization and forward data we gather as a citizen science project.
There is of course a cost associated with the build and the project is dependent upon our ability to procure materials and/or funds. If you have any ideas about this, please feel free to contact me. Meanwhile, to learn more about Chimney Swifts and the conservation movement visit http://www.chimneyswifts.org/index.html
A BRYBC Conservation Project
We are excited to have begun the construction of the Chimney Swift Tower at Ivy Creek. The tower should be completed by mid August and we are hoping the Swifts will find it this season as they migrate South.
Our next step is to set up a monitoring program so that we can see if the swifts find our tower this year, and the number of swifts that use the tower each fall. If you are interested in being part of this monitoring program please contact us for more information.
As you are probably aware, Chimney Swifts are here seasonally. They spend the winter in Peru and Chile and return to North America to breed. Originally they used hollowed trees for nesting and roosting sites. They nest as individual pairs during the breeding season and roost communally after breeding has ended. Much as Purple Martins will roost communally as they stage for southward migration.
As the continent was colonized by Europeans, trees were felled and habitation lost. However, they were able to adapt and make use of the brick and mortar chimneys of houses. Like Purple Martins, Chimney Swifts are dependent upon us for housing. Swifts are not able to perch or stand like passerines. They fly all day long, catching insects on the wing. They eat 1/3 of their body weight in mosquitoes etc. each day. At dusk they roost by clinging to the inside of a chimney. They also attach their nest of twigs with saliva to the inside of a chimney and the nestlings cling once they leave the nest until they are able to fly and catch insects on their own. Each cavity will contain only one nest. Many brick and mortar chimneys have collapsed and/or been replaced with materials that have a smooth surface and this has caused a decline in viable nesting/roosting sites and decline in the species.
There is a conservation movement to construct towers designed for nest and roost sites in order to support Chimney Swift population. I have procured building plans for such a tower and obtained permission from PVCC Administrative Services to build, maintain and monitor one or more towers on the campus. We can register the tower with a national organization and forward data we gather as a citizen science project.
There is of course a cost associated with the build and the project is dependent upon our ability to procure materials and/or funds. If you have any ideas about this, please feel free to contact me. Meanwhile, to learn more about Chimney Swifts and the conservation movement visit http://www.chimneyswifts.org/index.html
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