Backyard Birding

How to Build a Chimney Swift Tower

Birds flying

You might be familiar with chimney swifts, Chaetura pelagica, actively feeding on insects into the early evening, especially in the late summer. Flying in flocks of a few birds to more than 1,000, the four- to five-inch swifts select a chimney, swarm in great swooping circles around it, then drop precipitously into it for a night’s rest.

Have you ever wanted to attract them into your own garden? They are one of nature’s natural pest controls, eating pesky insects on the wing. Click on the link below for a PDF on how to make your own chimney swift tower.

Chimney Swift Tower-materials

If your neighbors ask, “What is that?” Tell the truth. It’s a bird house.

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