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Chimney Swifts
ZVAS would like to do more in support of the declining Chimney Swift population by constructing a Chimney Swift nesting tower somewhere in the Rochester, MN area. We are looking for someone or some group to do the actual construction work, and we will provide funds for materials. If you're interested, please contact any of our Board Members to begin a discussion.
August 24, 2019 - Chimney Swift Sit - We had perfect conditions (cool, clear, few bugs) Saturday night for watching migrating Chimney Swifts enter the Assisi Heights tower. Eleven people brought their binocs and lawn chairs and we counted 725 swifts as they gathered and swirled around the tower and entered for the night. Before the counting started we also saw Wild Turkeys, Goldfinch, Bluebirds, Chipping Sparrows, Robins, Blue Jays and 2 8 point white tailed deer.. After the count a Great Horned Owl hooted several times from the nearby spruce trees and several Night Hawks called overhead.
On August 31 we held a second "Sit at this same site and our group saw 905 swifts enter the roost! (And those of us who stayed around chatting also heard the Great Horned Owl again - and watched it fly off across the lot into the dark.)
We'll host another count at this location in the far northeast parking lot of Assisi Heights on Saturday, Aug 31 from 7-9 pm.
Please remember - this area is private property - so do not visit the site on your own without permission.
On August 31 we held a second "Sit at this same site and our group saw 905 swifts enter the roost! (And those of us who stayed around chatting also heard the Great Horned Owl again - and watched it fly off across the lot into the dark.)
We'll host another count at this location in the far northeast parking lot of Assisi Heights on Saturday, Aug 31 from 7-9 pm.
Please remember - this area is private property - so do not visit the site on your own without permission.
September 19, 2016: Can orphan Swifts find a flock to help them migrate south this late in the year? Board member Ruthann Yaeger recently participated in the release of several fledgings at Assisi Heights. Read her remarkable story here.
Chimney Swifts nested in the small display tower at Preston again In 2015
Terry & Joyce Grier made the discovery while participating in a Swift Sit there on Aug. 1st when they heard "begging" calls from inside the tower. These photos are from the next day when they were able to open the tower for a look. Terry estimates the young swifts fledged on August 3rd or 4th... nearly identical to last year.
2013 Swift Tower
It took a couple years of planning, coordinating and just plain hard work, but in 2013 we finished construction of two chimney swift nesting towers (one at Chester Woods and one in Preston). We also built an informational kiosk about swifts and more at the Trail Head in Preston. Click on the panels below to see a larger version.
Chimney Swifts nested in the small display tower at Preston again In 2015
Terry & Joyce Grier made the discovery while participating in a Swift Sit there on Aug. 1st when they heard "begging" calls from inside the tower. These photos are from the next day when they were able to open the tower for a look. Terry estimates the young swifts fledged on August 3rd or 4th... nearly identical to last year.
2013 Swift Tower
It took a couple years of planning, coordinating and just plain hard work, but in 2013 we finished construction of two chimney swift nesting towers (one at Chester Woods and one in Preston). We also built an informational kiosk about swifts and more at the Trail Head in Preston. Click on the panels below to see a larger version.
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History of the Towers in Preston
For several years, Minnesota Audubon has sponsored a Chimney Swift Sit where people sit and count the number of Swifts that fly down into masonry chimneys to roost for the night. Large chimneys are indispensable for the birds to roost in and gather before migration, while nesting pairs with a couple of helper birds use small chimneys to raise their young. Thanks to the persistence of Carlyle Corson (whose family owns the old schoolhouse in downtown Preston that has been re-purposed into the Trailhead Suites), a count done on August 29, 2011 recorded 1,100 Swifts, more than any of the over 300 counts compiled in Minnesota. The large, old chimney, deteriorating from age and lightning strikes, was unsafe, with bricks from the top occasionally falling to the ground below. Rather than letting it be torn down, a group of citizens and organizations came together to save the chimney. Greg Munson, former director of Quarry Hill Nature Center in Rochester, had a plan to not only fix the chimney, but to educate people about Chimney Swifts by building a 16 foot tall demonstration chimney by the Preston-Harmony Bicycle Trail head near the old schoolhouse. The Zumbro Valley Audubon Society agreed to be the coordinating organization, and worked with Minnesota Audubon, the Non Game Wildlife Division of the Minnesota DNR, and the City of Preston, all of whom contributed the needed support to get the project done. ZVAS also obtained a $1000 grant from the Preston Area Community Foundation. Corson supervised the work on the big chimney while Munson had the smaller one built in August of 2012. On September 1st, 525 Swifts were counted using the restored chimney, and some 25 went into the demonstration chimney, investigated, but came back out. This new demonstration chimney is a helpful addition for these struggling birds. Zumbro Valley Audubon is proud to have contributed so much to this important effort. |