On Wed, Sep 30, 2026 at 10:23 PM Bill Kaempfer via groups.io
<William.Kaempfer...> wrote:
> It seems to me that I did see an artificial swift roost somewhere. It was
> a hollow concrete tree stump with the outside painted to look like bark and
> stood about 12-15 feet tall. Wisconsin maybe?
>
> Bill Kaempfer
> Safety Harbor, FL
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> on behalf of Don and
> Shirley Maas via groups.io <snowbirds2012...>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 30, 2026 2:52 PM
> *To:* Nebirds <NEBirds...>
> *Subject:* Re: [NEBirds] Chimney Swift roost in Kearney
>
> [External email - use caution]
>
> Maybe it’s time to preserve or build chimneys for Swifts much like we do
> for
> Bluebirds and Wooid Ducks.
>
> Don Maas
>
>
>
> On Sep 30, 2026 at 6:02 AM, <Jerry Toll via groups.io
> <carolnhattie...>> wrote:
>
>
>
> Thanks for the reminder! We see lots of Chimney Swifts migrating at the
> Hitchcock Hawkwatch. Also the Florence area business district hosts roost
> for them.
>
> Jerry Toll
>
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 30, 2026 at 6:04 AM flyingcarlini via groups.io
> <flyingcarlini...> wrote:
>
> 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=
> <yahoo.com...> 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
> <https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=US_Acquisition_YMktg_315_SearchOrgConquer_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=US_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100002039&af_sub5=C01_Email_Static_&af_ios_store_cpp=0c38e4b0-a27e-40f9-a211-f4e2de32ab91&af_android_url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?<id...>&listing=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?
>
>
>
> William Flack
>
> Kearney
>
>
>
>
