Chimney Swift Info
Animal and Nest Removal
Birds, squirrels, raccoons, and other animals sometimes nest in chimneys and cause problems such as noise, smell and disease. These problems are exacerbated if one tries to "smoke the animal out", and the animal dies in the chimney. The intruders can be coaxed out, the nest removed, and a cap placed to prevent the animal from returning. The exception is the chimney swift, a small dark mosquito-eating bird protected by law. Nests of chimney swifts cannot be removed until after the eggs and birds are gone: there is up to a $15,000 fine and 6 month jail penalty for removing active nests. For more information about chimney swifts, click here.
Birds in Chimneys
Possible Problems
- Noise
- Smell
- Birds in the house
- Disease: histoplasmosis
Birds in Chimneys
Stuck: Free Roosting or Nesting
Chimney Swifts
- One of only two birds that have the capability of vertical flight
- Same family comes back to the same nesting spot every year
- Only able to perch against a vertical plane: can't stand upright on a surface
- Roost or nest: can shoo away roosting birds - can't kill them or disturb their nesting
- Protected by the migratory bird act: fine and jail time penalties for disturbing their nesting
- Eat flying insects including mosquitoes: Nearly 1/3 their body weight
- Stick their nests to the side of flues using their saliva
- Nest in hollow trees, chimneys and swift towers (man-made structures designed for chimney swift nesting)
- Not bats
- Migrate from South America
- Here during warm weather: from March to first cold snap
- Chimney caps keep them from nesting in chimneys
- Muting the noise from nesting chimney swifts: insulation
- Some want to provide nesting place in their chimneys
- Life cycle: what to expect if chimney swifts nest in your chimney
- Time frame: from nest building to leaving the chimneys
Nesting with the capability to leave Stuck birds
CHIMNEY SWIFTS
The Chimney Swift, one of four species of swifts found in North America and the most common one found east of the Rocky Mountains, eats flying insects including mosquitoes and termites. As their name implies, they build their nests in chimneys as well as abandoned buildings and stone wells. Their ability for vertical flight and their claws that allow them to cling to vertical surfaces enable them to do this, and their inability to stand upright on a surface requires this. Chimney swifts do not need acres of unspoiled wilderness, expansive wetlands or complicated wildlife management plans. They only need one square foot of unused column like masonry chimneys during the summer when fireplaces are not in use...and a little tolerance.
Swifts arrive in the continental United States in late March and are gone by early November. Nesting begins in May, and sometimes continues into August. There numbers are declining, and they are protected by State Wildlife Codes and Federal law under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1916.
WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT CHIMNEY SWIFTS?
- Chimney Swifts eat nearly one third of their own weight in flying insect pests such as mosquitoes, biting flies and termites every day.
- Today, just like Purple Martins, Chimney Swifts rely almost entirely on man-made structures for nest sites. Chimney Swifts historically used large, hollow trees for nests and roosts. As the ancient forests were cut down, they learned to use chimneys and other structures instead.
- Because they cannot perch like songbirds, Chimney Swifts must have deep shafts (like chimneys) in which to raise their families and roost at night.
- Chimney Swifts are declining in numbers.
- Like watching a beautiful sunset, the aesthetic value of observing Chimney Swifts' aerial acrobatics and interactions is a simple pleasure that nature has to offer.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP CHIMNEY SWIFTS?
- If you have a masonry or clay flue-tile chimney, keep the top open and the damper closed from March through October to provide a nest site for these insect-eaters.
- If you have a metal chimney, it should be permanently capped to prevent birds and other wildlife from being trapped.
- Have your chimney cleaned in early March before the Chimney Swifts return from their winter home in South America.
HOME CHIMNEY MAINTENANCE: SELECTING AN APPROPRIATE CHIMNEY SWEEP
Every chimney should be professionally cleaned each year for the safety of the homeowner as well as for the safety of the Chimney Swifts. Although attitudes are changing within the chimney sweeping industry, there are still companies that will remove active nests and kill or discard the young. Before hiring a chimney sweep, ask what action they take when they find swifts in a chimney. NEVER hire a company that openly advertises "Bird Removal".
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Adult Chimney Swifts are most commonly seen in flight -- usually in groups. When soaring, their long, scythe -shaped wings span about 12.5 inches supporting a proportionally short body with a squared-off tail. The flickering, bat-like flight when flapping is due to short, massive wing bones. Chimney Swifts' flight is accompanied by a sharp "chippering" or "ticking" call. At rest, an average 5 inch, 22 gram adult is sooty-gray to black with the throat silvery-gray in color. Both sexes are identical in appearance. The long wings cross by an inch or more over the tail feathers, which are tipped by pointed bristles. The claws and tail bristles are used to cling to rough vertical surfaces. Swifts are unable to perch or stand upright. Chimney Swifts winter in the Amazon Basin of Peru.
LIFE CYCLE
Chimney Swifts are usually single-brooded meaning that there will be only one active nest in any structure regardless of the size of the site. The female normally lays three to five white eggs in a nest of twigs which are broken from the tips of tree branches, glued together with saliva and attached to a vertical surface. Both sexes are involved in nest construction. The eggs are incubated by alternating adults for eighteen to nineteen days. Both parents feed the babies. The feeding continues until about 30 days after hatching. The babies are pink, completely naked at birth and totally dependent on their parents. Within a few days, black pin feathers begin to appear. The young are able to climb, and they exhibit preening behavior even before their feathers emerge. By the time they are eight to ten days of age, the babies' feathers begin to unfurl. By fifteen to seventeen days of age, their eyes begin to open. Shortly after their eyes open, most of the flight and body feathers will be unfurled. However, the feathers around the face and head will stay in sheath for several days -- giving the birds a "frosty-faced" appearance. By the time Chimney Swifts are 21 days old, they will cling tightly to the nest or chimney wall then rear back and flap their wings furiously until they are panting and out of breath. Twenty-eight to thirty days after hatching, young Chimney Swifts will leave the safety of the chimney for their first flight. Once an entire brood has fledged, they will fly with their parents in slow, noisy parades around the area of the nest site. The young will return frequently to the roost during the first few days, but may soon begin to visit other roosts in the area. At the end of the breeding season, the swifts' communal instincts peak prior to fall migration. They congregate in flocks of hundreds and even thousands at suitable roost sites. Although Chimney Swifts can withstand a few early cool snaps, they will usually fly south with the first major cold-front in the fall.
SOUNDS
Chimney Swifts create a variety of sounds during their stay with us in North America during the warmer months. There is the "whooshing" sound of their wings as they come and go from the chimney. They utter a gentle "chippering" as they socialize with one another in the roost during nest-building and at night. The most audible sounds are those of the young which have two basic vocalizations: the feeding call which is a very loud, high-pitched "yippering" as they beg for food from the returning parents, and their mechanical, hissing alarm call which they make when disturbed or frightened. As long as the young are making the loud feeding call, they are incapable of sustained flight and are completely dependent on their parents for food. Homeowners' tolerance during this critical period of the swifts' development is very important. If the young are forced from a chimney during this period, they will perish -- slowly starve to death over a period of several days. The parents are unable to care for them outside of their chimney.
Once the sound of the young becomes noticeable, they are usually only 10 days or so from fledging. Keeping the damper closed and packing the fireplace with insulation can dampen the sound to tolerable levels. If additional incentive is needed to allow the swifts to continue their breeding cycle, consider this: the raucous sound emanating from your fireplace is the sound of thousands of annoying mosquitoes, biting flies and flying ants being converted into beautiful, graceful migratory avian insectivores which will consume thousands more of the insect pests we swat and curse during the summer months.
This is an edited excerpt from Rehabilitation and Conservation of Chimney Swifts, Fourth Edition by Paul and Georgean Kyle. Copyright, 2004
as cited in the ChimneySwifts.org website.
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