Chimney swifts are fast, acrobatic birds that dart around the sky hunting insects. They are the only swift found in Minnesota, but their populations have declined.
Chimney swifts use structures with vertical interior surfaces for nesting and roosting. Common roost locations include large chimneys associated with schools, older buildings, churches or factories. Chimney swifts can also use other structures like old silos, ventilation shafts, old wells and barns, and natural structures like hollow trees.
To better understand their population status and monitor further change, this project will help identify where active chimney swift roosts are located throughout the state and how many chimney swifts use them.
Volunteers will document chimney swift roost locations and roost use, helping us better understand the geographic distribution of chimney swifts in Minnesota and inform future conservation research. This community science project is a cooperative effort between the Nongame Wildlife Community Science Program, Urban Bird Collective, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and others to learn more about chimney swifts.
What will Chimney Swift Roost Monitoring Project volunteers do?
Volunteers can participate in this project in two ways:
1. Report chimney swift roosts
What you will do: If you know of or find a chimney swift roost, report it to our database.
Use our online roost reporting form if you find or know of a chimney swift roost.
Time commitment: Submitting a roost report takes about 5 minutes. Optionally, you can sign up to survey your roost or let us know if you are interested in having volunteers survey the roost for you.
What you will need to know or learn: What chimney swifts look like and how to identify roosting behavior (trainings provided).
2. Observe and count chimney swifts at roosts
What you will do: Count chimney swifts as they fly into a roost and record other information like weather conditions and location
Time commitment:
Surveys occur around sunset
Each survey takes about 1.5 hours plus drive time
Minimum of one survey per month from once a month from May-August (every 2-3 weeks preferred)
What you will need to know or learn (training and resources provided):
What chimney swifts look like in flight and entering a roost
How to count swifts entering a roost
Ability to travel to and from roosts
Ability to enter data into an app
Who can participate?
This program is open to anyone who can:
Learn to count chimney swifts entering a roost
Navigate safely outdoors to and from a roost site around sunset and potentially after dark
Survey at least once a month from May - August
Collect accurate data about the number of swifts seen, weather conditions, and time
This program is a great fit for:
Anyone with a chimney swift roost in their neighborhood
People who observe chimney swifts entering or leaving structures
Urban and rural residents
How to get involved
Anyone can submit an observation of a chimney swift roost using our online roost reporting form.
If you would like to participate by monitoring a roost, contact Urban Bird Collective for next steps regarding training and being matched with a roost in your area.
- What are chimney swifts?
- Chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica) are small birds that eat airborne insects in flight (referred to as aerial insectivores). These migratory birds can be found across Minnesota in the spring and summer, and in the Amazon basin during winter. In Minnesota, swifts are classified as a Species in Greatest Conservation Need.
Swifts have long, narrow wings, short bodies and a distinct "chittering" call. They spend most of their time airborne, except when roosting at night or nesting and caring for young.
Swifts are one of the few species adapted to perch only on vertical or near vertical surfaces; they cannot perch on tree branches or wires like other birds. Chimney swifts roost (communally perch) together in large numbers, especially during the spring and fall migration.
- How does this project help chimney swifts?
- Chimney swifts are the only swift that nests in Minnesota, and their populations have declined drastically in the last 50 years. Like many other aerial insectivores, chimney swifts are a “common species in decline” and we need information about their distribution, behavior and habitat use.
- What is a roost survey like?
- During a roost survey, observers count all the swifts that enter a chimney or other structure. Each survey begins approximately 30 minutes before sunset and ends 30 minutes after sunset or when it is too dark to see swifts entering the roost.
Monitors choose a safe place to sit or stand to observe the roost, record basic information like date and weather conditions and then count swifts as they enter the roost. Most people find a tally counter or a counting app (one simple example is called "Counter" but several options are likely available in your device's app store) on a phone to be helpful when counting, depending on how many swifts there are. You can also use a piece of paper to count swifts as they enter.
Required equipment:
A swift monitoring data sheet and/or link to the Survey123 web form
A tally counter, phone app, or other means of counting swifts
A watch, phone, or other device with a clock
Optional equipment:
A chair or blanket to sit on so you can watch comfortably
A flashlight or headlamp
Bug protection (repellant and/or protective clothing)
Volunteers will be responsible for:
Learning where their roost is located (with assistance)
Finding a good vantage point to observe the roost
Navigating to and from their roost before and after the survey
Evaluating if weather conditions are suitable for a survey and collecting basic information about the weather conditions
Counting all swifts seen exiting the roost
Submitting the data to our database
- How can I tell if swifts are using a chimney or other structure as a roost?
- Chimney swifts are easy to notice, especially in groups. If you see and hear chimney swifts in a specific area near dusk, watch to see if they enter a structure. If swifts enter a structure to spend the night, that’s a roost!
- How can I tell if swifts are using my chimney for nesting?
- Generally, only one pair of swifts will nest in each chimney, though they may allow others to roost there at night. Swifts that are nesting in a chimney can be seen going in and out periodically as they construct their nest, lay eggs and raise their young. When the chicks have hatched you may be able to hear them making noises in the chimney when they beg for food.
- What should I do if I think I have chimney swifts nesting in my chimney?
- Chimney swifts are federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It is illegal to disturb, destroy or remove them while the nest is being used.
Swifts are also good neighbors! They are not a pest that needs to be removed from your chimney. Chimney swift nests are small, and only one pair of birds nests per chimney. The nest generally breaks down over the course of the year after swifts have moved out. Closing your damper can help make sure they don't accidentally end up in your house.
- How can I help chimney swifts?
Be a good swift neighbor! If you have swifts in your chimney, avoid using the chimney after swifts have arrived in the spring (usually around late April).
Don't cap your chimney, or install a raised cap that still allows swifts to enter
- Is identifying chimney swifts hard?
- No, swifts are easy to identify. Chimney swift ID will be covered in our training. They are also generally very noticeable when they enter the roost in groups.
- Is it hard to locate a new roost?
- Sometimes. Chimney swifts can travel quite a bit during the day when foraging. Seeing chimney swifts flying during the day does not necessarily indicate that there is a roost nearby. When chimney swifts start to gather up and circle toward dusk, that's the time to keep an eye on where they're going. It may take multiple tries on different evenings to locate the actual roost.
If you notice chimney swifts gathering in an area near dusk, you can also spend some time looking around during the day for structures that might be used as roosts and then revisit them in the evening to see if any swifts go in.
- Can more than one person survey at a time?
- Yes, we encourage people to monitor in pairs or teams. This allows for the person counting to trade off and take a break, or to have multiple counters and compare numbers. If you want to bring other observers during your survey that is also fine, as long as they are able to stay quiet and not interfere with anyone counting swifts.
It is also beneficial to have multiple observers if you are trying to locate a new roost. This allows for multiple perspectives on a group of gathering swifts and you are more likely to observe them actually entering a structure. At least one person in the group must be signed up as a volunteer with Urban Bird Collective.
- What if I want to survey, but there are no roosts near me?
- We are hoping to get reports of more roosts throughout the summer and continue this project in future years. You can also watch chimney swifts in your area, report the roost to our database, and sign up to monitor that roost (see "What will chimney swift volunteers do" section above. You can sign up to receive our updates newsletter to stay informed (sign-up box is located at the bottom of this webpage).
- More information about chimney swifts
- Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas
US Fish and Wildlife Service: On the Wing with Chimney Swifts