Community-wide Chimney Swift Sit

August 20th, 8:00 p.m.

Have you seen the Chimney Swifts doing their aerial acrobatics above the old Henderson High School, 107 North 8th Street or in LeSeuer at St. Anne’s School, 511 North 4th Street?  Many people think they are bats.  Each evening dozens of swifts dive into the depths of the church and/or school chimney/s as darkness descends.  Veracious insect eaters who fly non-stop from morning to night, Chimney Swifts are incapable of perching like other birds but have claws and a bristle tail that enable them to cling to the rough interior of the chimney where they roost during the night.

Chimney Swift populations have declined by over 50% in the last 40 years. This is due mainly to the loss of suitable homes as old chimneys are knocked down and homeowners are lining and capping their chimneys making them inaccessible to the swifts. 

Locally you can take part in the Community Chimney Swift Sit in the Henderson area after Al Batt’s presentation Saturday night (still some tickets left). Since Chimney Swifts move around from chimney to chimney periodically the Sit will be held at the site having the most swifts. The exact location will be announced on Friday the 19^th so watch for signs at the Henderson Hummingbird Hurrah. Ron Windingstad of the State office of the National Audubon Society who heads up the Minnesota Chimney Swift Conservation Project will be there to answer questions about these mysterious birds. Come with a lawn chair or blanket and then just sit back and enjoy the marvelous show the swifts will put on as they enter the chimney in a cyclone type fashion.