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Who's That Singing? Chimney Swift

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Who’s That Singing? The Chimney Swift

Early September is a fabulous time to listen for Chimney Swifts, as they are migrating in full force from the US (including Wisconsin) to the Amazon basin in South America. During this time, Chimney Swifts will form big flocks at sunset through dusk, swirling around in a tornado of birds above a big chimney. Eventually they drop in and cling to the inside of the chimney, where they sleep for the night. It’s an amazing sight to behold, and full of the most adorable Chimney Swift twittering noises you can imagine! It’s so fun to watch, events called Swift Night Out are held around the country, including in Wisconsin.

Chimney Swifts are small aerial insectivores, meaning virtually all of their diet is made up of insects, and they hunt while flying. They eat a variety of insects — beetles, flies, mayflies, mosquitoes, and therefore are an important part of the food web. And it almost never stops flying! It flies while hunting, eating, courting, even mating. The only time it stops flying, more or less, is to nest inside of a chimney or roost at night inside of a chimney.

The Chimney Swift’s nickname is “Flying Cigar” because it has a short, stubby tail, compact body, and short, pointy bill, which together looks a lot like a cigar! Its wings are very long compared to its body, making it extra acrobatic in flight. And its feet are specially designed to cling to a vertical structure — it is unable to perch, or sit on a branch or the ground, like many birds.

Chimney Swift in flight (photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren)

Swifts would have used hollow trees to roost prior to European settlement here, but with the construction of chimneys and removal of dead, hollow trees, swifts have become quite reliant on chimney structures.

So! What do they sound like?

They don’t have a song, but their call is delightful — a fast, repetitive, twittering from high above. You’ll almost always hear them ABOVE you — not to the side or down in the shrubs. In summer, you might hear a just few at a time as they hunt during the day. I hear 3-5 almost every time I work in the garden at my kids’ elementary school throughout the summer. In fall, if you are fortunate to visit a chimney they use to roost at nightfall, you can hear them in the hundreds or even thousands.

This is one of those bird species that you’re much more likely to HEAR before you SEE, so a perfect one for folks who like to bird by ear. Enjoy swift migration — it won’t last long and they’ll be out of Wisconsin and onto their wintering grounds.

Who’s That Singing? is a series designed for Birding by Ear class participants but available to anyone interested in learning more!

Written by Brenna Marsicek, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance director of outreach

Cover photo: Chimney Swifts come in to roost at Cherokee Heights Middle School in 2020. Photo by Brenna Marsicek/SoWBA

other articles in the Who’s That Singing? series:

Featured
Who's That Singing? Chimney Swift
Who's That Singing? Chimney Swift

Early September is a fabulous time to listen for Chimney Swifts, as they are migrating in full force from the US (including Wisconsin) to the Amazon basin in South America. During this time, Chimney Swifts will form big flocks at sunset through dusk, swirling around in a tornado of birds above a big chimney. Eventually they drop in and cling to the inside of the chimney, where they sleep for the night. It’s an amazing sight to behold, and full of the most adorable Chimney Swift twittering noises you can imagine! It’s so fun to watch, events called Swift Night Out are held around the country, including in Wisconsin.

Photo by Brenna Marsicek/SoWBA

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