CHIMNEY SWIFT TOWER FUNDED BY TGPAS by Dennis Burnette, Guest Contributing Writer
This coming summer, Chimney Swifts could have another nesting site option, thanks to the T. Gilbert Pearson Audubon Society Chapter.
Chimney Swifts (Chaetura pelagica) are those sausage-shaped birds with long swept-back wings that swoop around over fields and suburban lots taking insects during the warm months. If you listen closely, you can hear their distant high pitched twittering calls. They spend all day in the air, even diving down to ponds to drink water or bathe while on the wing!
As interesting as they are in the daytime, their nightly roosting behavior is even more remarkable. In the days before humans built chimneys, these small birds (just a little over 5 inches in length) spent their nights in hollow trees. Cutting of forests and removal of nesting trees from farms and yards reduced the number of potential nesting and roosting sites as human settlements grew.
The birds adapted, moving to the chimneys that humans had constructed as we were removing the old hollow trees. Sometimes flocks in the thousands of birds would swarm down large “smokestacks” that were not in use in the summer. Even today congregations of hundreds of Chimney Swifts can be seen descending into chimneys at dusk, looking like smoke in reverse.
Now Chimney Swifts are declining in numbers throughout their range in eastern North America. Although they are gregarious at their roosts, they are solitary nesters, usually with only one nest per site. Some experts believe that changes in modern chimney design and the removal or capping of old chimneys have decreased the available nest sites. Our Audubon chapter is joining a growing movement to provide an alternative.
TGPAS has made a grant to the Meadowlark Sanctuary project at Price Park in the amount of $300 to fund the construction of a tower specifically designed for nesting Chimney Swifts. It will be located behind the patch of trees near the intersection of Hobbs Road and Price Park Road. This site was chosen to be inconspicuous in an effort to reduce the possibility of vandalism. To see an example of the construction of a Chimney Swift tower, go to the following website:
The Meadowlark Sanctuary project is a new effort being made by representatives of several organizations, including TGPAS, to improve wildlife habitat in the large grassy meadow along New Garden Road between Jefferson Elementary School and Hobbs Road. It will involve the reintroduction of native grasses and flowering plants that once were common in Piedmont prairies, as well as the removal of invasive non-native plant species. The project’s name comes from Eastern Meadowlarks, another species in rapid decline, which have been found on the site. The Chimney Swift tower will be just north of our chapter’s wet meadow project.
Chapter members will have several opportunities to be involved with the Chimney Swift tower as well as habitat restoration and maintenance. We will need volunteers to monitor nesting success in the tower. In addition, we are interested in donations of almost any native plant species (both plants and seeds) that are suitable for grassland, woodland edge, or wet meadow habitats.
High priority is being given to native plant species that have both value for wildlife and visual appeal to humans. As an example, Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepius tuberosa) and Swamp Milkweed (Asclepius incarnata) occupy different niches but provide nectar for insects, are hosts for Monarch butterflies, produce seeds for wildlife, and are visually attractive. These plants not only will provide food and shelter to wildlife, they will support the insects that are essential to the survival of Chimney Swifts.
For more information about the Chimney Swift tower or the Meadowlark Sanctuary project, and to make plant donations and volunteer for the project, contact Dennis Burnette, 299-4342, deburnette@triad.rr.com. |