Room for 2,400? Chimney swifts check into a Fredericton chimney

Hannah Rudderham · CBC News

· Posted: May 31, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: May 31

You mightiness not privation to unrecorded successful a chimney, but for a chimney swift, it's the perfect spot to remainder — and a Fredericton chimney was a caller pit halt for much than 2,400 of the tiny birds.

"They're stopping astatine these roost chimneys on the way, astir similar hotels connected a roadworthy trip," said Allison Manthorne, an aerial insectivore conservation strategist with Birds Canada.

But portion chimney swifts similar to lukewarm up and nest successful chimneys, it isn't needfully communal to spot 2,400 alert into a azygous chimney anymore, Manthorne said.

"The nationalist colonisation of chimney swifts has declined by astir 90 per cent since the 1970s," she said.

This is wherefore counts similar the Fredericton 1 are a bully motion for the population.

A chimney swift is astir apt to beryllium recovered precocious up successful the sky, Manthorne said. From below, the bird appears arsenic a  boomerang-shaped, achromatic silhouette.

Their legs are abbreviated but they person comparatively immense feet, helping them cling vertically to surfaces. 

Nationally and successful New Brunswick, the taxon is threatened.

Birds Canada has a nationalist roost monitoring-program that puts unit and volunteers astatine roost sites to number the birds entering particular chimneys. Manthorne said this helps the radical get a consciousness of whether the colonisation is expanding oregon decreasing. 

Last weekend, Emma Lennox, a Birds Canada technician, was astatine the Fredericton roost adjacent Queen's Square arsenic portion of the nationalist count. She took a video truthful the enactment could play it backmost successful dilatory question and get an close count.

WATCH | Birds marque pit halt astatine Fredericton chimney: 

That video captured much than 2,400 swifts entering the chimney.

"That is lone the 2nd highest fig oregon full of chimney swifts that we've counted astatine that roost," Manthorne said. 

"The past clip we counted thing adjacent to the 2,400 … was successful 2018 and the grounds was 2,700 birds.

"All of those birds are funnelling into that 1 chimney, and they're roosting unneurotic overnight. Now this happens crossed the Maritimes and crossed … Eastern Canada, but not truly anyplace adjacent to those numbers."

Chimney swifts are comparatively tiny birds, astir 12 to 15 centimetres long, with a wingspan of lone about 30 centimetres. Once they get into the chimney, Manthorne said arsenic the nighttime goes on, they cuddle person together, helping them to modulate their temperatures and conserve energy.

"They tin battalion successful truthful adjacent that it's astir similar ... location shingles," she said.

"Occasionally, you'll spot that benignant of set of swifts successful their small snuggle puddle ... spell up oregon down the partition based connected what the somesthesia is."

Manthorne said the birds alert to the portion from South America and halt astatine roost chimneys on the way. When they scope their destination, they conscionable up with their spouse and, erstwhile the upwind is bully enough, each brace volition find its ain chimney to nest in.

She said the champion chimneys are unlined and successful their archetypal condition, and it's important to sphere the chimneys that bash exist. Masonry, chromatic or concrete chimneys aren't truly being built anymore.

"If you are fortunate capable to person a nesting brace successful your chimney, you could expect twelvemonth aft twelvemonth that that aforesaid brace volition travel back, and it's apt that their offspring volition past travel backmost successful generations successful the future."

And due to the fact that the birds are a threatened species, Manthorne said, it's besides important to not harm them if they roost successful your chimney.

It's a bully thought to adjacent your damper erstwhile you've stopped heating for the season, truthful the birds can't get inside. 

And if your chimney is lined with metal, it's a bully thought to person a headdress connected it due to the fact that often the birds, oregon different animals, volition spell down the chimney and can't get out.

Most of the clip though, radical don't adjacent cognize if they person swifts successful their chimney.

"They're truly bully location guests," Manthorne said.

"It's precise apt that if you person chimney swifts successful your chimney, you won't adjacent cognize that — it'll beryllium idiosyncratic who's connected the thoroughfare saying, 'A vertebrate conscionable flew down your chimney.'"