Date: 10/15/26 6:57 pm From: Bradley Dalton (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Thousands of Chimney Swifts in Anderson, SC
My wife and I stopped by the old McCants middle school on Fant St in
Anderson this evening to check on the Chimney Swifts. We were not
disappointed. There was a huge whirl of swifts swirling over the building,
and after doing some calculations based on the estimated diameter, there
were at least 4700 birds. There’s no telling how many may have already been
in the chimney because it was already thirty minutes after sunset. There
were also several hundred behind us in the general area of the courthouse.
Many years ago I reported 4000 over Anderson University back in 2004. At
the time I was a student and didn’t know a thing about birds or even that
they were called Chimney Swifts. It wasn’t until years later that I made
the report based on the little video I had taken. After doing these
calculations immediately, I’m sure there were many thousands more back
then. I’d like to think that group is what now roosts at McCants. We
stopped by the university first tonight and there was a bat… no swifts.
That chimney has unfortunately been capped.
