The BBC Chimney Swift Project
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In an ongoing effort to promote bird conservation in West Virginia, the Brooks Bird Club started The BBC Chimney Swift Project in the spring of 2019! The towers will be located in different areas of state. Each of the two BBC chapters and three BBC affiliates will construct a CHSW tower in their general area of WV. The towers will be placed in a public space that will be open to many visitors.
The Chimney Swift is the only swift in the Eastern United States; a fascinating species that eats, drinks and mates on the wing!
The swifts have amazing aerial displays, incredible fall roosting habits, and a long migration to Brazil, Peru and Argentina.
It's also a bird in serious decline... Here in West Virginia like many other areas, Chimney Swifts need our help!
The swifts have amazing aerial displays, incredible fall roosting habits, and a long migration to Brazil, Peru and Argentina.
It's also a bird in serious decline... Here in West Virginia like many other areas, Chimney Swifts need our help!
Want to Help?
Conservation can start with you... If you can help with The BBC Chimney Swift Project please let us know.
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Tower 1: Headquarter (Wheeling) Chapter (Ohio County) completed (photos)
Tower 2: Handlan Chapter (Kanawha County) completed (photos) Tower 3: Mountwood Bird Club (Wood County) canceled due to lack of help Tower 4: Bibbee Nature Club (Summers County) completed Tower 5: Pocahontas Nature Club (Pocahontas County) completed |
More about Chimney Swifts and Towers
Unlike regular "bird houses" that are only used for nesting and then abandoned, Chimney Swift towers are home to the family from the first day they arrive until the last day before they leave in the fall for migration. Swifts are unable to perch as songbirds do, and they must have a safe place to roost at night and to seek shelter in bad weather when the flying insects they feed on are unavailable.
Typically 3 to 5 young are fledged each year, and occasionally there will be a second brood. The same pair will return each year as long as they survive the rigors of migration, and they can live as long as 12 years. Once a tower is established, it may also be used as a roost by dozens or even hundreds of birds.
The towers also act as a focal point for conservation education -- especially with well-designed information displays. Because the towers are so visible, people want to know what they are -- most folks have never heard of Chimney Swifts.
Finally, the plight of Chimney Swifts is quite dire. In Canada their numbers are down by more than 95%. They have been listed as threatened all across Canada and endangered in some of the maritime provinces. Extinction does not abide by national borders. Chimney Swifts are in serious trouble everywhere due to loss of habitat: first large hollow trees and now open chimneys. Obviously they are very adaptable, but suitable sites for them to adapt to must now be created.
Tower construction can be great community project for an organization. They are also great Eagle Scout projects -- that is how many of the existing towers in North America have been constructed.
Typically 3 to 5 young are fledged each year, and occasionally there will be a second brood. The same pair will return each year as long as they survive the rigors of migration, and they can live as long as 12 years. Once a tower is established, it may also be used as a roost by dozens or even hundreds of birds.
The towers also act as a focal point for conservation education -- especially with well-designed information displays. Because the towers are so visible, people want to know what they are -- most folks have never heard of Chimney Swifts.
Finally, the plight of Chimney Swifts is quite dire. In Canada their numbers are down by more than 95%. They have been listed as threatened all across Canada and endangered in some of the maritime provinces. Extinction does not abide by national borders. Chimney Swifts are in serious trouble everywhere due to loss of habitat: first large hollow trees and now open chimneys. Obviously they are very adaptable, but suitable sites for them to adapt to must now be created.
Tower construction can be great community project for an organization. They are also great Eagle Scout projects -- that is how many of the existing towers in North America have been constructed.
Learn about an early pioneer in Chimney Swift conservation, the story of Althea Rosina Sherman (1853-1943)
Learn how John James Audubon described the American Swift (aka Chimney Swift) in the Birds of North America.
Learn how John James Audubon described the American Swift (aka Chimney Swift) in the Birds of North America.
Now more than ever, we all need to be involved in conservation in one form or another. Whether it's helping on a Christmas Bird Count, the Breeding Bird Survey or just counting birds at your feeders for The Great Backyard Bird Count.
You can make a difference... Please help where you can!
You can make a difference... Please help where you can!