Chimney Swift Tower Campaign

Chimney Swifts are impressive urban aerialists, and the Birmingham area annually supports a healthy population of resident and migratory swifts.  However, this species is experiencing declines of upwards of 95% in parts of their range, so these insectivorous birds have been classified as threatened. Due to its inability to perch, Chimney Swifts historically nested and roosted in hollowed out trees and caves. But, with land clearing and industrial development over time, they became more urbanizied. Now, Chimney Swifts' primary habitat are house and industrial chimneys, which have started to be capped to keep the animals out or removed during demolition or remodeling. Chimney Swifts play a key role for pest control in the United States. On average, a pair of adult with a nest of 3 youngsters will eat up to 6,000 house-fly sized insects a day. 
Birmingham Audubon's Junior Board need your help to provide much needed urban habitat for this important species. The funds raised will be used to establish a Chimney Swift tower program that will enable the construction of two Chimney Swift towers around Birmingham, Alabama. These towers will not only provide habitat, they will also serve as instruments of conservation outreach.  Please consider donating to this project today! 

This photo shows the roosting behavior that chimney swifts display during their fall migration to South America.  Birmingham Audubon members have documented roosts in the downtown area to provide habitat to thousands of migrating swifts.

Birmingham Audubon's Junior Board is committed to supporting the organization's efforts to enhancing urban wildlife habitat.