Approximately fifty people of all ages, some coming from as far away as Chapel Hill and Dunn, joined SWC to learn about the fascinating biology and habits of chimney swifts, as they gathered to roost in the nearly-100-year-old chimney at the old Fuquay Varina Middle School. This nightly spectacle is fun to watch and provides a great opportunity to learn about these unique migratory birds. For instance, did you know that chimney swifts . . .
- Are relegated to roosting in chimneys, due to loss of natural habitat in our developed landscape
- Eat entirely while flying, consuming about 1/3 of their body weight each day or as many as 12,000 insects in a single day
- Cannot stand or hold onto a branch – they can only hang from a vertical surface
- Have declined in population by 72% in the past 50 years due to insect population decline, fewer and capped chimneys, and building collisions
- Fly all the way from South America, arriving here in March and leaving in October
We were joined by a representative of Wake Audubon, Jim Hunsberger, who lives near this site and regularly tracks statistics of these birds. Jim shared some great perspectives on the habits of these birds, as well as a bit of history of the original school structure, which dates back to the 1920’s. As the future of this facility remains uncertain, since the school moved to a new facility last year, Jim is active in raising community awareness of the importance of retaining this chimney, whatever else is done with the site, given its importance as a historic and active roosting site for the chimney swifts. Please reach out to Jim, if you would like to express your support.
Please continue to watch and join us for future SWC activities, including field trips such as this!
South Wake Conservationists 