It’s that time of year when the snow is melted, the grass is green, and the trees explode with the vibrant green of new leaves. The air smells fresh and the flowers start to bloom, bringing the birds from the North. Bird watching is a great activity, especially if it involves sitting on the front porch and relaxing with a glass of lemonade while you watch. The next time you’re out looking for different kinds of birds, take special notice of any gray, cigar-shaped, smoky looking smudge with wings. If you see this, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen a chimney swift. This is a special little bird, spending most of its life in flight. It can’t perch, so when it does land, it has to cling to the inside of a hollow tree or a chimney.
Life of a Chimney Swift
If you live in the west, you probably won’t see a chimney swift because chimney swifts mainly live in the eastern part of the United States. They migrate south to South America during the winter, then head back up for the warm days of the northeastern United States. Because swifts need to cling, rather than perch, the interior of hollow trees is the perfect spot, and that’s where they landed. However, as the region became more populated, hollow trees began to become more scarce and swifts had to find a new place to land. Chimneys were a natural choice, being hollow, warm, dark, and out of the path of the wind or harsh weather. The thing is, however, that chimney swifts can cause some small problems.
Chimney swifts in your chimney can’t really cause any physical damage, but they are noisy little birds, especially when raising a family. Because they are a small bird, their nests aren’t really big enough to catch a spark and start a fire. They are loud, especially when little ones are born. A good thing to remember is that when the little ones are at the point of making noise, they’re pretty close to the point of moving out of your chimney.
Call Chim Cheroo Chimney Service Inc
If the noise is too bothersome for you, the best idea is to get rid of those swifts after the family has moved out and then prevent them from moving back in. Give Chim Cheroo Chimney Service Inc a call and we’ll make sure that your chimney cap is in great shape, and that’ll keep the swifts out of your chimney in the future.