EAST LIVERPOOL — Those driving around in parts of Columbiana County lately may have noticed some tall thin structures. These are Chimney Swift Towers that have been built and installed by volunteers from the Beaver Creek Wildlife Education Center with valuable assistance from other groups and individuals.

The Beaver Creek Wildlife Education Center received an Environmental grant in October of 2024 from TC Energy’s Build Strong program to build and place these towers at several locations in Columbiana County. The goal of this project is to help the population of Chimney Swifts increase by providing them with wooden “chimneys” for nesting and roosting each night. They are designed to give the birds protection from predators and the elements. The towers are 14-feet tall and 24-inches square with a hollow interior like a chimney.

Chimney Swifts historically nested and roosted in hollow trees. As people cleared forests and built houses with chimneys, the number of trees available to them declined. Consequently, the swifts began using chimneys. Their numbers are now declining as homes no longer have chimneys, and existing chimneys are being capped to prevent birds from entering. Because of their declining numbers they are classified as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Bird of Conservation Concern.

Chimney swifts are very beneficial to humans as they can eat nearly one-third of their body weight in flying insect pests such as mosquitoes and biting flies every day. They are small gray birds with a cigar-shaped body, a short, stubby tail, and long wings that beat rapidly. They are often called “flying cigars” because of their shape. They have large dark eyes that can focus on the insects as they fly, and spines on the ends of their tails to help them cling to vertical surfaces.

Due to their unique toe structure, they are not able to perch, walk, or hop like songbirds. They are in the air all day, eating and drinking as they fly. At dusk they gather in flocks and enter chimneys in a

swirling vortex. They stay in the chimney all night and fly out again in the morning.

One can hear the birds chattering as they fly around catching insects. They make nests of twigs that are held together and to the inside of the chimney by their sticky saliva. The nestlings chatter during the day as they beg for food from their parents.

The birds migrate each year, arriving in Ohio in late April, nesting and raising their young from May to September. They travel back to South America in early October.

As part of the grant, the center needs to collect data showing which towers are being used and estimate how many birds are present. Anyone who would like to adopt a chimney and help collect data should send their name and contact information to beavercreekw@aol.com and tell which tower to adopt. Observations will include the date, how many swifts one estimates seeing, and any other important information. Volunteers will keep a tally of all the observations. Each tower needs to be observed at least one day a month from now until the end of September. It will take time for the swifts to find the chimneys. Once they do they will be entering them each evening at dusk throughout the summer.

The following list includes the location of the towers with their identification number. #1 and #2 Beaver Creek Wildlife Education Center, #3 Leetonia Trail Head on the Greenway Trail, #4 Franklin Square Trail Head on the Greenway Trail, #5 New Waterford Dog Park, #6 Salem Waterworth Park by the Dog Park, #7 Salem Waterworth Park by the Duck Pond, #8 and #9 Fairfield Township Property by the pond, #10 and #11 Elkton Community Park, and #12 Leetonia Sportsman’s Club by the pond. These sites were chosen because of their proximity to towns with known swift populations, or close to areas where the birds might be present.

For information on Chimney Swifts and constructing these towers, go to www.fws.gov/story/chimney-swifts, or www.beavercreekwildlife.org.