Chimney Swift Towers

The last of the chimney swift nesting towers was completed in May, 2002. Chimney swifts are insectivores who literally "feed on the fly" all day long, eating as much as 1/3 of their body weight in insects daily, providing an inexpensive and completely natural ecological service. These are amazing birds! Go to the website to learn more about them: http://www.concentric.net/~Dwa/page6.html

The birds nest in chimneys  and along the walls of cliffs (near vertical surfaces wit enough texture to allow them to hang on). But newer construction (and clay liners) make it impossible for them to find nesting space in Central Ohio as modernization of homes occurs. Many people prevent the birds from using their chimneys, even though the birds are usually gone before the furnace is needed in the fall. The chirping of the young is not usually disruptive to family life either. Perhaps the presence of a few feathers and droppings at the base of the chimney is too disconcerting for some folks. Considering the benefits that these birds provide (free insect removal) the minor inconvenience seems well worth the compromise.

By the way, it's unlawful to interfere with the life cycle of a migratory species. So, if the birds are already nesting, it's against the law to remove the nest or otherwise disrupt their coming and going.

The Driftwood Wildlife Association (TX) provides a website and conducts research about chimney swifts. After learning about the benefits these birds provide, Carol obtained funding from the Center for Environmental Education at Antioch NE to build three nesting towers on the grounds at Linworth.

In the fall, the birds share a communal roost in the large chimney of the Linworth school, and in other large chimneys such as the one at Kilbourne Middle School near the square. When the birds are preparing to migrate south, they assemble and practice "flight maneuvers" for a few weeks prior to their departure for Peru. As many as 400 birds have been counted entering the communal roost in the fall at dusk. However, when the birds return to Ohio in the spring, they generally fly directly to their established nest sight. A few pairs have been observed entering and leaving the LInworth chimney in the spring and throughout the summer. It is hypothesized that these pairs are last year's fledglings who haven't established a nest site yet.

It was hoped that they would occupy the nesting towers, but so far, the towers have been unsuccessful as nesting sites. Hypotheses about their failure include the lower height of the towers (compared with the constructed nesting towers of the DWA in Texas), the presence of wasp nests in the towers, and the fact that there are still older chimneys available in the area that can be colonized by new pairs. If the nesting towers are occupied by chimney swifts in the summer, they will be monitored for number and times of day that the birds enter and leave, clutch -size, number of birds fledged, and hopefully the inhabitants can be banded to identify returning breeding pairs,

etc.

Parent Board members Time Londergan and Mikel Coulter completed the design, construction, and installation of the nesting towers, with the help of some Linworth students; Ryo and Marie Sato, and Ian Coulter.