Chimney Swift

Scientific name: Chaetura pelagica

Biology.
Adult body length: 5 1/2 inches
Adult body weight: about 1 ounce
Appearance: Body black and cigar-shaped; short, wide beak
Egg incubation period: 19 days
Broods per year: 1
Brood size: 4 to 5 eggs per clutch
Birthing Period: Late April through May
Age at which young leave nest: 14 to 18 days
Activity seasonality: April through September
Primary diet: Small flying insects (e.g., bees, flies, flying ants,
moths, beetles)

Pest status. Chimney swifts are gregarious birds that build their half-cup-shaped mud nests on the inside surfaces of residential chimney flues and the smoke-shelf area above fire places, as well as the large boiler smoke stacks of industrial and older institutional-style buildings (in which they may nest by the hundreds). In numbers, their nests may reduce the drafting efficiency of a flue while fires are burning in the fireplace. Chimney swift chicks are very vocal when adults return to the nests with food. The raspy chitter-chitter sounds that frequently emanate from the fireplace are often annoying and disturbing to homeowners during the 14 to 18 days that the chicks are in the nest.

CONTROL
Habitat modification. Since chimney swifts feed on flying insects while in-flight high above the tree tops, little can be done to prevent a population of these birds from returning to a locality that is favored, year after year.

Harassment / intimidation. Chimney swifts are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and, while the nests contain eggs and young, cannot be removed or disturbed without a depredation permit issued by the US Fish and Wildlife Service through the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources.

Physical / Mechanical Control
Exclusion. After the young have left the nest(s) in late spring, a Rottler technician can be called upon to scrape / remove the nesting materials from the chimney flue(s) and then install one or more chimney caps to prevent these birds from entering and building new nests in the future.

Chemical Control
Repellents & Toxicants. No chemical repellents or toxicants are labeled for use against chimney swifts.