Wisconsin Swifts

09/19/2021

Tonight we are heading to Cherokee Heights Middle School in Madison to watch the incredible Chimney Swifts come in to roost. Grab a picnic blanket or lawn chair and join us! Binoculars are fun but definitely not required.
The big show is around 7:00pm. Pro tip: come early to watch the build up.
This event is held in partnership with Madison Audubon, in memory of Sandy Schwab, who was a passionate champion for swift conservation.
📷: Ann Mader

09/03/2021

This year, Madison's Swift Night Out on September 19 https://madisonaudubon.org/field-trips is planned in memory of Sandy Schwab, one of Wisconsin's biggest champions for chimney swift conservation. Sandy rehabbed swifts with Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center, she led the WI Chimney Swift Working Group, people passionate about securing the future for chimney swifts in Wisconsin, and she shared her love of swifts with everyone she met. Sandy passed away in June. This video by Christina Ciano shows Sandy in action at the wildlife center as she cared for and then released some swifts back into the wild.

After several weeks of intensive care, which consisted of feeding each bird 6 to 8 meal worms every half hour, Sandy, a Four Lakes Wildlife Center volunteer, is…

08/26/2021

At summer's end, hundreds of chimney swifts use brick chimneys for their nightly roost as they prepare for migration. "A Swift Night Out" is a continent-wide effort to raise awareness about chimney swifts and their need for roosting habitat. The Madison Swift Night Out is co-hosted by Madison Audubon and the Wisconsin Chimney Swift Working Group to showcase the amazing phenomenon of chimney swifts coming into roost for the night.

Bring a lawn chair and binoculars to observe and count swifts as they gather at communal roosts before fall migration to South America.

HONORING A MEMORY
The Swift Night Out 2021 is held in memory of Sandy Schwab, who was the chair of the Wisconsin Chimney Swift Working Group and was a wonderful, passionate, and inspiring advocate for chimney swift conservation. Sandy passed away in June 2021 and leaves her love for birds and nature as a legacy. Join us in celebrating chimney swifts and Sandy’s contributions to their conservation in this event!
https://madisonaudubon.org/field-trips/2021/8/27/swift-night-out?fbclid=IwAR3TOpUlYyQ26jpb888n5SiMCepKy8Fw_NvnJTOmrzM42QX-XAViFqFs0aY

At summer's end, hundreds of chimney swifts use brick chimneys for their nightly roost as they prepare for migration. "A Swift Night Out" is a continent-wide effort to raise awareness about chimney swifts and their need for roosting habitat. The Madison Swift Night Out is co-hosted by Madi

11/13/2020

https://swiftsinthecity.indiana.edu/

Swifts in the City webpage

09/30/2020

REQUEST FOR SWIFT TOWER INFO
Now that fall roosts are occurring or have finished, I'm asking one more time for the following information on chimney swift TOWERS (not actual chimneys, but towers built specifically for swifts). If you have one, please write to me and tell me:
1) location [can be a set of GPS coordinates, or a street intersection; the more precise, the better]
2) Did swifts nest in your tower? Was there a successful nest [fledged young, how many]?
3) Did a group of swifts [number, if you counted them] use your tower as an autumn roost site in August or September?
4) Did you use insulation in your design?
5) Did you use playback to attract the birds in spring?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

William P. Mueller

[email protected]

Milwaukee, WI

09/04/2020

https://madisonaudubon.org/events/2020/9/1/a-swift-night-out-wisconsin

An online, Wisconsin-wide citizen science event through September. Join in!

08/31/2020

https://birdcitywisconsin.org/news/64-chimney-swifts-now-is-the-time-to-count #.X01cA1r-_98.facebook

Chimney Swifts! Now Is the Time to Count! Chimney Swifts are on the decline, and we need YOUR help in identifying roost chimneys and counting the swifts that use them. It’s easy and fun to conduct a “Swift Night Out.” By identifying roost chimneys, we’ll have a better chance of saving them.F...

08/26/2020

Watch Chimney Swifts roost at the Geneva Lake Museum Sept. 6-12! Details: http://www.genevalakemuseum.org

Watch Chimney Swifts roost at the Geneva Lake Museum Sept. 6-12! Details: http://www.genevalakemuseum.org. If you live in a Bird City that is hosting a Swift Night Out soon, let us know! We'll add your announcement to our online events calendar.

Wisconsin Swifts
Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership - WBCP
Midwest Aerial Insectivore Discussion Group

08/20/2020

I've been checking swifts at Cherokee Heights Middle School in Madison this summer. Here are dates and numbers down the chimney on those dates:
6/17 123
7/1 140
7/18 210
8/5 383
8/19 690

07/28/2020

Have you taken the WI DNR Chimney Swift survey yet?
This Wisconsin DNR survey seeks to identify chimneys providing bird habitat - A Pilot Project Aims To Help Owners Pay For Repairs To Preserve Habitat

MADISON, Wis. - Brick chimneys may be a key component to conserving acrobatic, fast-flying chimney swifts, so Wisconsin residential and commercial property owners are being asked to report if their chimneys are currently being used by swifts through an online survey. Conducted by the Wisconsin Chimn...