Birds in My Chimney

The choice nesting spot for a Chimney Swift is a large hollow tree. As humans encroach on their natural habitat, Chimney Swifts have adapted by nesting in chimneys. During the summer months, often in July, you may hear chattering in your chimney. These sounds may be coming from a nest of Chimney Swifts.

Follow up:

The loudest sounds are made by baby Chimney Swifts to encourage the parents to feed them. Once these babies are loud enough to hear, they are only a couple weeks away from being old enough to fly and feed themselves and will leave the nest when they are about a month old. Consider yourself lucky to have these beautiful, delicate birds as temporary houseguest. One Chimney Swift can eat up to 2,000 insects a day and particularly enjoys mosquitoes, termites, biting flies and gnats. If one of the babies should fall down into the fireplace itself, try putting the baby in a bread basket and wedging it back into the chimney in hopes that he will be able to crawl back up with his siblings. Remember to remove the basket in a few hours.

Please, do not build a fire in an attempt to smoke out the birds. The babies cannot leave until they are able to fly. Chimney Swifts are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Bird removal is a blatant violation of the state and federal laws protecting Chimney Swifts and other migratory birds which carry legal fines of $15,000.00 or six months in jail.

Once the babies have left the nest, wait several weeks then considering having your chimney capped so that they will not come back next year. If you cap your chimney, considering building a Chimney Swift Tower on your house to accommodate these wonderful neighbors.

If you are interested in Chimney Swift conservation and would like to know more visit Chimneyswifts.org .