It’s Chimney Swift Season

Chimney Swifts, also known as Chaetura pelagica, are a type of swift that lives in the Amazon basin in Peru and northeastern South America in the winter and lives throughout the Midwestern and Eastern United States in the spring and summer.

Like many swifts, chimney swifts fly fast and erratic – swirling, swooping, and turning frequently. They’re also frequent flyers, rarely stopping except to nest or to roost for the evening. They eat, bath, and do more – all on the go. All that zipping around must burn a lot of calories, because a family of swifts consumes an average of 5,000 insects each day.

When they do stop, you’re not likely to find them sitting down. Chimney swifts have small feet with long claws that are not adept at perching but do enable them to cling to hard, vertical surfaces such as walls and, as you might expect, chimneys.

Masonry chimneys are among these swifts favorite place to roost and nest. They have sticky saliva that enables them to build nests of broken twigs that stick to chimney walls as well as they do. Both parents participate in building the nest and caring for the eggs and babies. The chicks, like their parents, are very noisy, to the chagrin of some homeowners. They are nest-bound for their first 4 weeks of life, after which they typically take their first flight.  Often, other chimney swifts will assist the parents in caring for the demanding chicks. It takes a village.

Chimney swifts are indeed very social birds, and are rarely seen alone. They hunt, migrate, and roost together. When roosting in the breeding off-season, hundreds and sometimes thousands of chimney swifts may cozy up in the same chimney. They create a notable spectacle during mass entry into the roost.

Chimney swifts generally arrive back in Maryland in the beginning of April. Nesting may take place as early as late April or early May. Should a homeowner find his or her chimney or vents occupied by chimney swifts, they are likely stuck with some roommates for a few weeks. Chimney swifts are protected in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and a federal permit is required by law to remove birds and their nests during the nesting season.

Once the birds migrate south, homeowners can remove the nests, and in fact are encouraged to do so. Nesting materials may be flammable, and chimney swifts can occasionally carry unwanted parasites. In addition, large amounts of bird droppings can cause histoplasmosis, a potential fatal fungal disease also known as Cave disease and Darling disease.

Homeowners not looking for new avian housemates may prevent chimney nesting and roosting by ensuring their chimney is capped; closing the damper will further prevent entry inside the home.

Chimney swifts are pretty cool birds though once you get to know them. Sadly, their numbers have been dwindling since the 1960s, and they are now classified as “Near-Threatened”. Many homeowners seem not to mind their presence. Other people like the birds – just not as houseguests – and are involved in building alternate nesting sites such as a chimney swift tower.

Refer to the links below to learn more about Chimney Swifts and how you can help them out.

• http://www.chimneyswifts.org/
• http://mn.audubon.org/chimney-swift-conservation
• http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/swifts/tips/solving_problems_with_chimney.html