Date: 9/30/26 4:04 am From: flyingcarlini via groups.io <flyingcarlini...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Chimney Swift roost in Kearney
Thanks William, Diane, and Robin for the reminder that September and early October is the time to view impressive numbers of Chimney Swifts streaming into our local chimneys to roost at night. The big old brick chimneys that shelter anywhere from dozens to hundreds of CHSWs moving through this time of year won't be around forever and unfortunately the new chimneys exclude entry, so It's great to document these crucial chimney roost sites on eBird and bring to light a largely out of sight/out of mind phenomenon featuring a vulnerable species that's in decline.
Interesting to think of them entering in groups of 4-6, maybe family groups? Some of our photos have shown rows in flight of similarly sized groups during pre-entry chimney flyovers.
Regarding their hesitation to enter a chimney, in addition to entry likely being slowed as other arrivals clear out of the way, wind seems to be a factor that can result in birds aborting entry attempts before finally dropping in. Sometimes it diminishes at nightfall, so maybe some delay their entry? Last year during a large flock entry one particular evening, several birds actually whacked HARD against the lip of the chimney while trying to enter (presumably inexperienced juvs) apparently due to wind and possibly a subpar approach direction of the circling flock. It looked brutal but they all appeared to ricochet off and stay airborne somehow. 2 nights ago, we tallied 285 entering the spacious chimney at Westminster church on South St. & Sheridan Blvd. during calm conditions which allowed them to more easily hit the bullseye and drop straight down in an orderly controlled flow.
-Shari Schwartz & John Carlini, Lincoln
On Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 09:58:32 PM CDT, Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> wrote:
Nebraska birders,
I had never watched Chimney Swifts go to their night roost. It was very cool to experience part of it with Bill Flack on September 24. It's too bad that we couldn't stay until the last swift descended into the chimney. I was unable to go back the next evening but I did this evening, September 26, arriving at about 7:10, when there were only five swifts circling the chimney. For a while, I thought that the swifts were using a different chimney this evening or that they had migrated south.
The number of swifts slowly grew and they continued to circle the church's chimney. I thought that I saw a few swifts drop down into the chimney but as Bill wrote, it was difficult to determine if the swifts were going into the chimney or dropping down behind it. It was hard to estimate the total number of swifts since I couldn't see the whole flock but I estimated 60 swifts. The swirling mass of swifts continued. When it was almost too dark for me to see the birds, it looked like many swifts were dropping into the chimney but many were still circling. When I stopped hearing them twitter, I assumed that they were all in the chimney. It was about 8:00.
My experience was very similar to Bill's and Diane's.
Robin Harding
Shelton, Nebr.
On Sat, Sep 26, 2026 at 9:11 PM dt via groups.io <dtandelsie...> wrote:
William, this actually sounds similar to what I saw in Gothenburg on August 29th. The darker it got, the more rapidly they disappeared down the chimney, but as some descended, others flew by and circled around, eventually also descending. I watched approx. 200 enter the single chimney in approximately 17 minutes. https://ebird.org/checkli.st/S388114605 Quite a sight ! It would be great if birders who live near these chimneys used as migration roosts monitored them in late summer early fall!
Diane Thomas in Laramie, WY
Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer
On Sat, Sep 26, 2026 at 9:36 PM, William Flack via groups.io<sparvophile...> wrote:
On Thursday evening, Sept. 24, Robin Harding and I watched Chimney Swifts circling over the block with St. Luke's and Central Elementary. I estimated the size of the flock as c. 200 birds. The orbit sometimes moved away, but generally included the St. Luke's chimney; and often, as swifts flew over the chimney, they fluttered a bit or dropped as though checking it out. However, it didn't appear that they were going down the chimney in any numbers. (It was hard to tell whether birds went down the chimney or behind the church, but it appeared that most were doing the latter.) Unfortunately, we had to get to a movie at the World at 7:30, so left the swifts at 7:23, before we could see if they'd actually go down the chimney in numbers.
The following evening (Sept. 25), I returned to the site, arriving at about 7:30. The swifts were again circling, but there numbers appeared to be about half of what they were the previous night—perhaps a different flock, or perhaps many had already gone to roost. This time, the loop in which they were flying always seemed to include the space right above the church. Again, birds passing over the chimney would drop down and flutter a bit, as though checking it out, but would usually resume circling. After a while, though, it appeared that they were starting to go down. It looked like 4–6 birds would drop down into the chimney; and, after that, birds would dip down to check, but no one else would descend for a little while, until another handful went down. My conjecture is that birds that flew down the chimney took some time to find footholds, and until they did, were beating their wings; if additional birds had flown down during this time, they would've interfered with one another, and possibly the whole bunch would've fallen to the bottom. Once this started, the number of circling birds seemed to decline surprisingly quickly, and the last of them were gone by 8 p.m.; presumably, down the chimney, though it didn't seem as though I'd seen that many going into it.
Other accounts make it sound as though large numbers of swifts pour down a chimney, unlike my birds, which seemed to go down a handful at a time. Maybe the St. Luke's flue is narrower than the brick chimney would suggest, and there's not room for all that many birds to go down at once?
