Chimney Swift Count 2006
This year the swifts used two
different chimneys, not the school's chimney.
One of the chimneys (see Sept 10th below) was the one used in 2003 or
2004 when
Jim McGinity, former research director at Urban Ecology Center, led a
swift count for UEC.
Between 7:50 and
8:10 PM on Sunday , August 13, 2006
about 8 observers saw 50 swifts dive into the chimney of the
apartment building on the southwest corner of Capitol and
Maryland.
The weather was mostly cloudy, with a light southerly wind and about 75
degrees Fahrenheit.
Between 7:05 and 7:25
PM on Sunday, September 10, 2006
6 observers saw 370 swifts dive
into the chimney an apartment building one block east of St.
Robert's Church
on the north side Capitol between Farwell and Prospect.
The weather was blustery with easterly winds 10-15 mph, low cloud cover
and light rain.
The temperature was a chilly 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
As summer draws to a close and the
swifts have finished raising their
young, these fascinating aerial acrobats begin to congregate in
communal roosts prior to their migration in the fall. Some
roosts may consist of an extended family group of a half a dozen birds
or so, but the larger sites can host hundreds or even thousands of
swifts! Keep your eyes to the skies at dusk in late July and
watch for areas where swifts are feeding. Look for a tall
shaft, chimney or similar structure to locate where Chimney Swifts go
to roost. On one night over the weekend of August 11, 12, 13, and
/ or September
8, 9, 10 observe the roost starting about 30 minutes before dusk and
estimate the number of swifts that enter.
Where
are they going? Peru ...
Central and South America
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.
