All of the dark specs in this picture are actually the Chimney Swifts. This picture was taken on Broad Street and Jackson.During spring and summer the swifts are quite common here in Athens. You can see them flying above and chittering. They have been referred to as “flying cigars” due to their small, cigar shaped body. Swifts are among the most aerial of birds, flying almost continuously except when at the nest or roosting at night.
Chimney Swifts used to nest in caves and hollow trees before European settlement of North America. The swifts greatly benefited by the construction of chimneys and quickly adapted to using them as nesting and roosting sites. Recent changes in chimney design, with covered, narrow flues, have decreased the available nest sites and may be a factor in their declining population numbers.
Good news is they will readily use a Chimney Swift Tower made specifically for nesting swifts. A nature reserve in Texas has experimented with many designs and has published the most successful design plans. To see some of their designs, see this link. To purchase their book see this link.
If you are in
terested in constructing a chimney swift tower, you have to first make sure you have the right type of habitat. The most successful towers have been in city parks and pastures, and suburban yards. The tower has to have at least a 10 foot radius clearing, so that predators such as cats and raccoons are unable to jump to the top of the tower and gain access to the interior nesting chamber.To check out the local Chimney Swifts roosts, head to the Bottleworks building on Prince right at dusk. Another good spot to see them is the corner of Broad Street and Jackson.
