www.chimneyswifts.org
Chimney Swift Count
On September 9, 20047 birders watched 210 swifts dive into a chimney
at sunset on the 1000 block of Cass Street.
5 birders carpooled from Lake Park to the parking lot in the 1000 block of N. Cass Street near Cathedral Square in downtown Milwaukee. 2 other birders met up with us there. Up till sunset very few swifts were visible in the cloudless, still sky... and then only very high, over 100 meters up. At sunset 2 swifts unexpectedly dived into a small chimney across the street from the chimney used during the September 5th scouting. We anxiously split into 3 groups to observe several adjacent chimneys as the swifts lowered there flight to 50 - 100 meters and increased in numbers as if from thin air. However, about 10 minutes after sunset it became obvious that the roosting chimney would be the same chimney used on September 5, as the flock started swirling around and feigning dives at it. Minutes later the swifts dived in earnest. Only careful observation with binoculars from different angles by multiple birders allowed us to confidently tell when the first swifts were fluttering into the chimney rather than swooping down behind the chimney. After about half the swifts had entered the roost, the last half poured down in an almost continuous stream. A pair of stragglers chittered away at treetop level for a few minutes before diving in..
Scouting on September 5, 2004 revealed over 100 swifts diving into a chimney just 50 meters northeast of the Plaza Hotel. The first swift dived in a minute before sunset. The last finished 20 minutes after sunset. Up until about 15 minutes before sunset, the swifts cruised higher 50 meters up and wandered up to 2 or 3 blocks away.
Scouting on September 6, 2004 revealed 30 swifts at St. Robert's Church School just northeast of the corner of E Capitol Drive and N Maryland Avenue.
Where are they going?
September 9, 2004 -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
6:00PM = Meet
at
Lake Park Friends
Office ("warming house")6:30PM = Carpool to Plaza Hotel or an alternate site.
7:12 PM = Sunset
6:45- 7:15 PM = Watch swifts swirl around chimney.
7:15 - 7:30 PM = Watch swifts
dive
into chimney
7:45 = Drive back to Lake Park
Chimney Swifts usually nest one pair per chimney, but
in migration Chimney Swifts sleep together in chimneys.
These roosts number from dozens to thousands of birds.
Before settling down at dusk the birds swirl around a chimney, twittering excitedly for a half hour.
Within 10 minutes of the first bird diving in, all the birds have disappeared.
Before European settlers cut down most of the forest in the eastern United States,
Chimney Swifts used to mainly nest and roost in hollow trees. They then adapted to chimneys.
Now chimneys are disappearing as old buildings are torn down.
The Texas Dept. of Parks and Wildlife has ideas for
Providing and Maintaining Nesting Habitat for Chimney Swifts.
The Driftwood Wildlife Association in Austin, Texas
built a Chimney Swift tower.
National Swift Night Out:
a count of swifts in fall
coordinated by the Driftwood Wildlife Association in Austin, Texas
2004 Results
2003 Results
History Since 2001
Chimney Swifts
winter in Northeast Peru
"For a long time, the destination of the chimney swifts' winter journey
south was a mystery. Based on reports of sightings, scientists believed
it to be somewhere in Central or South America, but definite proof did
not come until 1943. That year it is said, an explorer in the remote
Northeast regions of Peru encountered an Indian tribe wearing necklaces
made of aluminum rings. Examining the jewellry more closely, he found
the rings were leg bands used by scientists to track bird mirgrations.
These particular bands once belonged to chimney swifts tagged in North
America. Today, we know that chimney swifts winter in a region of Peru
near the Amazon drainage, between the Napo and Putumayo rivers."
http://www.town.wolfville.ns.ca/visitors/sites/robietufts/robietufts.html
Coffey, Ben B. Jr. 1944. Winter home of Chimney Swifts discovered in northeastern Peru. The Migrant. 15(3): 37-38
Nat'l Geo Map of South America
http://tinyurl.com/3ug2h
"The upper Amazon-Napo lowlands cover a vast area of eastern Ecuador
(Napo and Pastaza states), northern Peru (Amazonas, Loreto and San
Martín departments), westernmost Amazonas state of Brazil and the
southern border area of Colombia. The area is centred on the lowland and
foothill forests of the upper Putumayo river, the middle and upper Napo,
the Marañón (including the Pastaza and Huallaga rivers), the Ucayali
(and possibly the Javarí), and the Amazonas drainages, generally west of
the confluence of the Putumayo and Amazonas, and primarily from the
lowlands up to 600 m. The area is characterized by high rainfall (which
is relatively constant year-round), complex topography and soils, and
vast meandering river systems that create habitat mosaics. This
ecosystem is extraordinarily diverse and comprises primary humid forest,
some of which is seasonally inundated (várzea) forest, with other areas
more characteristic of nutrient-poor white-sand forest."
http://www.birdlife.net/datazone/search/ebas_search.html?action=EbaHTMDetails.asp&sid=46&m=0
http://tinyurl.com/3zxdz
" Types and Severity of Threats
The whole Ecuadorian Amazon has been subject to oil and gas exploration
and virtually all of the Napo riverine area in Ecuador is open for oil
leasing, according to Stattersfield (1998). The construction of roads by
oil companies has resulted in deforestation, displacement of the
indigenous peoples, and colonization of the interior by peasant farmers.
Major deforestation also results from cattle ranching and coca
production, and it has destroyed habitat of the richest herpetofauna in
the world . Ongoing human activities such as logging, ranching,
large-scale agriculture, mining, wildlife trade, and industrial
development threaten these forests and the species they harbor."
http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/nt/nt0142_full.html
http://tinyurl.com/4ahun
"For a long time, the destination of the chimney swifts' winter journey
south was a mystery. Based on reports of sightings, scientists believed
it to be somewhere in Central or South America, but definite proof did
not come until 1943. That year it is said, an explorer in the remote
Northeast regions of Peru encountered an Indian tribe wearing necklaces
made of aluminum rings. Examining the jewellry more closely, he found
the rings were leg bands used by scientists to track bird mirgrations.
These particular bands once belonged to chimney swifts tagged in North
America. Today, we know that chimney swifts winter in a region of Peru
near the Amazon drainage, between the Napo and Putumayo rivers."
http://www.town.wolfville.ns.ca/visitors/sites/robietufts/robietufts.html
Coffey, Ben B. Jr. 1944. Winter home of Chimney Swifts discovered in northeastern Peru. The Migrant. 15(3): 37-38
Nat'l Geo Map of South America
http://tinyurl.com/3ug2h
"The upper Amazon-Napo lowlands cover a vast area of eastern Ecuador
(Napo and Pastaza states), northern Peru (Amazonas, Loreto and San
Martín departments), westernmost Amazonas state of Brazil and the
southern border area of Colombia. The area is centred on the lowland and
foothill forests of the upper Putumayo river, the middle and upper Napo,
the Marañón (including the Pastaza and Huallaga rivers), the Ucayali
(and possibly the Javarí), and the Amazonas drainages, generally west of
the confluence of the Putumayo and Amazonas, and primarily from the
lowlands up to 600 m. The area is characterized by high rainfall (which
is relatively constant year-round), complex topography and soils, and
vast meandering river systems that create habitat mosaics. This
ecosystem is extraordinarily diverse and comprises primary humid forest,
some of which is seasonally inundated (várzea) forest, with other areas
more characteristic of nutrient-poor white-sand forest."
http://www.birdlife.net/datazone/search/ebas_search.html?action=EbaHTMDetails.asp&sid=46&m=0
http://tinyurl.com/3zxdz
" Types and Severity of Threats
The whole Ecuadorian Amazon has been subject to oil and gas exploration
and virtually all of the Napo riverine area in Ecuador is open for oil
leasing, according to Stattersfield (1998). The construction of roads by
oil companies has resulted in deforestation, displacement of the
indigenous peoples, and colonization of the interior by peasant farmers.
Major deforestation also results from cattle ranching and coca
production, and it has destroyed habitat of the richest herpetofauna in
the world . Ongoing human activities such as logging, ranching,
large-scale agriculture, mining, wildlife trade, and industrial
development threaten these forests and the species they harbor."
http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/nt/nt0142_full.html
http://tinyurl.com/4ahun
...the original article that was published on the banding recoveries ...:
Coffey, Ben B. Jr. 1944. Winter home of Chimney Swifts discovered in northeastern Peru. The Migrant. 15(3): 37-38
Here is another that may be of interest to you that directly follows:
Ganier, Albert F. 1944. More about the Chimney Swifts found in Peru. The Migrant. 15(3): 39-41
...Gordon Hight worked with Ben Coffey and set the record for banding the most Chimney
Swifts in one day. He is quite elderly, but still lives in Georgia where he did his banding.
The actual full extent of the southern range of Chimney Swifts is rather more extensive and still poorly understood.
If you are interested in the real "nuts and bolts" of Chimney Swift research, seek out the many papers written by Ralph W. Dexter. He devoted his life to the study of these birds in the many air shafts of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. Unfortunately, Dr. Dexter is no longer with us.
Best Regards, Paul and Georgean
--
Paul D. and Georgean Z. Kyle
Driftwood Wildlife Association
1206 West 38th, Suite 1105, Austin, TX 78705
phone / fax (512) 266-3861
Visit our web site: www.chimneyswifts.org
--
Paul D. and Georgean Z. Kyle
Driftwood Wildlife Association
1206 West 38th, Suite 1105, Austin, TX 78705
phone / fax (512) 266-3861
Visit our web site: www.chimneyswifts.org
Subject: [wisb] Chimney Swifts
(2004 Home Team)
Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2004
From: Sean Carroll <cedarwaxwing@ix.netcom.com>
Lake/McHenry County, Illinois, near Wisconsin
To: Wisconsin Birding Network <wisbirdn@lawrence.edu>
A report on the CHIMNEY SWIFTS here at home in 2004:
MAY 2: Swifts arrive in my local survey area
MAY 8: Lone swift makes a couple passes over chimney at dusk
MAY 14-17: Roosting in chimney begins
MAY 28: At least 3 of 4 swifts flying around house seen to enter chimney
after sunset
JUNE 1: 2 swifts enter chimney one after the other at dusk
JUNE 19: I place an old Christmas tree (Twig Helper) on peak of roof about 10' from chimney
JUNE 26: 2 swifts enter chimney one after the other at 2015
JUNE 27-JULY 2: Nest construction begins at some point here
JUNE 28: Began to notice "white shapes" at or near bottom of (unoccupied) shaft; may have been either accumulation of droppings becoming noticeable or evidence of a change in activity (Spending more time near bottom of shaft, nest construction-related, working on the saliva-glue "foundation" of the nest? Spending time on the actual bottom, perhaps salvaging material from last year's fallen nest?)
JULY 2: Swift clinging to west wall far down shaft in the early evening
JULY 3-4: Swift clinging to west wall far down shaft is definitely "on
something" (and I don't mean medication or drugs)
JULY 5: First sighting of nest under construction on west wall, 107" or
8'11" from top of shaft (measured in September), estimated to protrude 2" from wall at this point
JULY 6: Swift sitting in nest that appears to already be a good deal larger than it was yesterday. Egg-laying begins (calculated in retrospect).
JULY 8: First sighting of eggs, 2 of them. Nest estimated to extend 3.5-4" from wall now.
JULY 10: 3 eggs in nest, early PM check.
JULY 11: Still 3 eggs, nest looks a bit ragged on "north side" edge
JULY 12: 4 eggs in nest, 2 on end, 2 laying down.
JULY 14: Bird on nest inferred from inability to see eggs on first check; later, saw the 4 eggs for the last time
JULY 15-29: Checked all but one day, incubating bird on nest found
consistently
JULY 30-31: Eggs hatch
JULY 31: Saw nestlings, pale orange shapes, gray shapes (heads?) that moved
AUGUST1-12: Saw nestlings daily, often hard to make out individually, could not confirm exact count
AUGUST 6: Heard chitter (sounds like sizzling in a frying pan) of the
nestlings for the first time, when adult entered to feed them
AUGUST 10: Noticed that bottom of shaft, formerly of a vaguely pale color, seemed to have a "shadow" on it (later determined it was not an actual shadow from the nest, and later realized that the entire bottom had grown dark over time; now in retrospect it occurs to me that the young birds may have just started to poop over the rim of the nest and that their [evidently copious] droppings before a certain age may be very dark rather than white - this would account for the "black gunk" layer atop the straw)
AUGUST 13-16: Nestlings become easier to discern individually, and I hear some chirps when I peer into down the shaft
AUGUST 17-18: At least some nestlings begin to venture from the nest and
explore shaft
AUGUST 19: Nest empty for the first time, nestlings on the walls
AUGUST 20: 1-2 nestlings on wall only 4 feet below top of shaft
AUGUST 21-22: At least 2 nestlings observed in/under the "mystery duct
stub" only a few feet down the south wall; nestling clinging to this object observed flapping its wings rapidly, vigorously (exercise?)
AUGUST 23: Immediately noticed all the new droppings on top of mystery duct stub, then found all 4 nestlings clinging to south wall no more than 2 feet
below top of shaft
AUGUST 24-29: 4 nestlings high in shaft (usually "layered" close to each other on the same wall but sometimes 2 each on north and south walls - never yet observed on east wall), spoke to them and they regarded me with
curiousity but no evident fear (of course they have seen me many, many times now); with nestlings so high in shaft their chittering can now be heard on occasion from the yard
AUGUST 28: In the evening an unusually robust swift is observed flying in
rather small circles above the house, then making 2 attempts to enter
chimney before succeeding - I think this was a young swift on a short
practice flight, and that such flights might have already been going on for several days
AUGUST 30: Chimney found empty (1030 check) for the first time; young have fledged for real
AUGUST 31: Mid-morning check finds 1 swift in the chimney, the last time a bird will be observed roosting during daylight hours
SEPTEMBER 1-6: Swifts still roosting in chimney
SEPTEMBER 9: Monitored chimney from before sunset until near darkness, no swifts in chimney, no birds come to roost
SEPTEMBER 11: Chimney Swifts still present in the area
Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2004
From: Sean Carroll <cedarwaxwing@ix.netcom.com>
Lake/McHenry County, Illinois, near Wisconsin
To: Wisconsin Birding Network <wisbirdn@lawrence.edu>
A report on the CHIMNEY SWIFTS here at home in 2004:
MAY 2: Swifts arrive in my local survey area
MAY 8: Lone swift makes a couple passes over chimney at dusk
MAY 14-17: Roosting in chimney begins
MAY 28: At least 3 of 4 swifts flying around house seen to enter chimney
after sunset
JUNE 1: 2 swifts enter chimney one after the other at dusk
JUNE 19: I place an old Christmas tree (Twig Helper) on peak of roof about 10' from chimney
JUNE 26: 2 swifts enter chimney one after the other at 2015
JUNE 27-JULY 2: Nest construction begins at some point here
JUNE 28: Began to notice "white shapes" at or near bottom of (unoccupied) shaft; may have been either accumulation of droppings becoming noticeable or evidence of a change in activity (Spending more time near bottom of shaft, nest construction-related, working on the saliva-glue "foundation" of the nest? Spending time on the actual bottom, perhaps salvaging material from last year's fallen nest?)
JULY 2: Swift clinging to west wall far down shaft in the early evening
JULY 3-4: Swift clinging to west wall far down shaft is definitely "on
something" (and I don't mean medication or drugs)
JULY 5: First sighting of nest under construction on west wall, 107" or
8'11" from top of shaft (measured in September), estimated to protrude 2" from wall at this point
JULY 6: Swift sitting in nest that appears to already be a good deal larger than it was yesterday. Egg-laying begins (calculated in retrospect).
JULY 8: First sighting of eggs, 2 of them. Nest estimated to extend 3.5-4" from wall now.
JULY 10: 3 eggs in nest, early PM check.
JULY 11: Still 3 eggs, nest looks a bit ragged on "north side" edge
JULY 12: 4 eggs in nest, 2 on end, 2 laying down.
JULY 14: Bird on nest inferred from inability to see eggs on first check; later, saw the 4 eggs for the last time
JULY 15-29: Checked all but one day, incubating bird on nest found
consistently
JULY 30-31: Eggs hatch
JULY 31: Saw nestlings, pale orange shapes, gray shapes (heads?) that moved
AUGUST1-12: Saw nestlings daily, often hard to make out individually, could not confirm exact count
AUGUST 6: Heard chitter (sounds like sizzling in a frying pan) of the
nestlings for the first time, when adult entered to feed them
AUGUST 10: Noticed that bottom of shaft, formerly of a vaguely pale color, seemed to have a "shadow" on it (later determined it was not an actual shadow from the nest, and later realized that the entire bottom had grown dark over time; now in retrospect it occurs to me that the young birds may have just started to poop over the rim of the nest and that their [evidently copious] droppings before a certain age may be very dark rather than white - this would account for the "black gunk" layer atop the straw)
AUGUST 13-16: Nestlings become easier to discern individually, and I hear some chirps when I peer into down the shaft
AUGUST 17-18: At least some nestlings begin to venture from the nest and
explore shaft
AUGUST 19: Nest empty for the first time, nestlings on the walls
AUGUST 20: 1-2 nestlings on wall only 4 feet below top of shaft
AUGUST 21-22: At least 2 nestlings observed in/under the "mystery duct
stub" only a few feet down the south wall; nestling clinging to this object observed flapping its wings rapidly, vigorously (exercise?)
AUGUST 23: Immediately noticed all the new droppings on top of mystery duct stub, then found all 4 nestlings clinging to south wall no more than 2 feet
below top of shaft
AUGUST 24-29: 4 nestlings high in shaft (usually "layered" close to each other on the same wall but sometimes 2 each on north and south walls - never yet observed on east wall), spoke to them and they regarded me with
curiousity but no evident fear (of course they have seen me many, many times now); with nestlings so high in shaft their chittering can now be heard on occasion from the yard
AUGUST 28: In the evening an unusually robust swift is observed flying in
rather small circles above the house, then making 2 attempts to enter
chimney before succeeding - I think this was a young swift on a short
practice flight, and that such flights might have already been going on for several days
AUGUST 30: Chimney found empty (1030 check) for the first time; young have fledged for real
AUGUST 31: Mid-morning check finds 1 swift in the chimney, the last time a bird will be observed roosting during daylight hours
SEPTEMBER 1-6: Swifts still roosting in chimney
SEPTEMBER 9: Monitored chimney from before sunset until near darkness, no swifts in chimney, no birds come to roost
SEPTEMBER 11: Chimney Swifts still present in the area