Unfortunately, chimney structures tend to be the favorite nesting place of the chimney swift, a small, cigar shaped bird that migrates to North America from Peru each spring before returning South in the fall. The North American Chimney Swift Nest Site Research Project designs and tests alternate nesting structures for swifts.While migratory birds are beautiful to observe from afar, most homeowners do not want them taking up residence in their homes. One approach to dealing with diminishing nesting habitat for swifts is being undertaken by the Driftwood Wildlife Association, Texas Partners in Flight, and the Nongame Urban Program of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. It also provides building plans for the swift houses mentioned above.
CHIMNEY SWEEP BIRD HOW TO
The association publishes a newsletter (“Chateura”) that provides useful information on these birds and how to help conserve and protect them.
CHIMNEY SWEEP BIRD FULL
(1981, Jackson, MI: Nature Book Publishers) is a delightful account of these birds and their Old and New World relatives, full of interesting facts and historical information.Īnyone interested in swifts and seeking more information about swifts can contact the Driftwood Wildlife Association at 1206 West 38th, Suite1105, Austin, TX 78705,. Margaret Whittemore’s Chimney Swifts and Their Relatives. Finally, chimneys lined with metal should always be capped, as birds that enter these can easily become trapped.
CHIMNEY SWEEP BIRD PROFESSIONAL
Professional sweeps should know that swifts are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and anyone who knowingly destroys birds or nests that might contain eggs or young can be fined or penalized. Ask your chimney sweep to come back in the fall if swifts are in occupancy earlier in the season. Although you may hear the noises of young birds as they beg for food, these are only temporary and should be tolerated. First, delay the annual cleaning until after young have left the nest. The rules regarding swifts in chimneys are simple. Swifts do tend to return to the same nesting site year after year, if available. This does the swifts a favor, both by removing bird parasites and the nest structure itself, which might be used by returning swifts, but could be unstable enough to collapse during the nesting period. They are not a fire hazard, being far too small for that, but should always be removed after the birds have left in the fall. Swifts nests are small cup-shaped structures constructed of small twigs and glued to the chimney wall with saliva. These metal flues can sometimes be death traps for animals, who cannot grip the slippery metal and may even fall into the fireplace. Today, many houses are built with chimneys that use smaller metal flue pipes rather than clay liners. Today we encourage the practice of chimney-capping to prevent conflicts with other species, and build many houses without fireplaces and chimneys taking nesting habitat away from these birds.
These trees were lost when the land was cleared for farming, which might have had a devastating impact on swifts except that humans quickly put up houses with stone and mortared brick chimneys that were almost exact replicas of the nesting trees. Once, swifts nested in hollow trees-the aged giants of the old growth forest. The reason for this is not because they cause any special problem for us, but because we cause problems for them. Anyone who knows chimney swifts, with their cigar-shaped bodies almost constantly aloft, chattering, sweeping insects out of the sky, will wonder why they need to be mentioned in a work on resolving animal conflicts.
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