Chimney Swift nesting towers are popping up in Minnesota. This is important because swift populations are not growing, and they are losing their preferred nesting sites. When Chimney Swifts were known as American Swifts the birds nested in tree snags or hollows. These birds cannot perch or stand. When not in the air they cling to a rough surface — the inside of a tree snag or the inside of a chimney. The name changed when chimneys became part of our landscape, and the swifts took advantage. The birds build a nest of sticks stuck to the side of a chimney with their saliva. A nesting tower is a construction about 14 feet high and 18 inches square. It provides a perfect nesting opportunity. The one pictured is on the west shore of Mille Lacs Lake, thanks to the local Ojibwa tribe. Another is in place at Aveda headquarters in Blaine, courtesy of that company. About half a dozen others are in the planning stages. This should be helpful for the swifts. We cut tree snags down. The design of new chimneys today makes nesting by swifts impossible. The towers are helping us keep swifts in the air here. For more information go to web address www.chimneyswifts.org.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 14th, 2009 at 11:16 am and is filed under Backyard birding, Bird conservation, Idea of the day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.