There’s something quite nostalgic about watching birds soar over the evening sky. Birds appear to “dance” in the sky, flitting, chirping and chattering around the trees like fireflies bursting from a campfire. Many people associate Chimney Swifts with summertime, warm nights, open windows and nature winding down after an extended period of activity.
This is why having a Chimney Swift tower in your own backyard makes it feel extra special. The tower itself is likely to be very basic (tall, skinny) and unobtrusive sitting near the woods; however, to a struggling bird it offers a safe location to rest, to nest, and to raise its young within a rapidly changing world.
Why Chimney Swifts Need Assistance
Chimney Swifts previously nested in tree cavities, cave entrances, and face cliffs. Once urbanization became prevalent in towns and cities, swifts adapted by using brick chimneys that provided a similar environment to hollow trees. For generations this worked well. As homes were being constructed by builders with masonry chimneys, and as many old chimneys were torn down, capped, lined, screened or modified for contemporary heating systems, many Chimney Swifts no longer had available nesting locations.
Herein lies the value of a backyard tower.
How Does a Backyard Chimney Swift Tower Benefit the Birds?
A backyard Chimney Swift tower replicates a natural chimney providing a secure enclosure for the birds to cling to the internal surface and construct their nest. Although a tower might appear as nothing more than a slender column externally, internally it creates the same type of darkened sheltered shaft that Chimney Swifts typically desire.
Chimney Swifts do not perch such as robins or sparrows. These birds’ feet function best to hold onto vertical surfaces. Most of their time is spent in flight capturing insects in the air. Thus, whenever they cease flying and require resting spots with walls, not branches.
Swifts also create unique nests. While in flight swifts collect small twigs and upon landing at their chosen nesting site they use their salivary glands to affix those twigs to the internal surface of their nesting site. Within short order a few twig strands will form into a nursery area for their developing young.
