Habits of the Chimney Swift

The main diet of the chimney swift consists of flying insect. The will do the majority of their feeding above lakes and ponds where they usually find an abundance of these insects. They love flies, leafhoppers, mayflies, and the like. Being a communal species, they usually feed in groups.

Therefore, as chimney swifts begin their mid morning feeding runs, it is very common to see a flock of them flying in close formation to each other. In addition to structures that are made by man, such as chimneys, these birds also love to seek out and build their nests in hollowed out locations in trees left behind by woodpeckers.

But, Although chimney swifts love to make their nests in our home chimneys, the chimney is really one of the most hazardous places where they could live. Many times the heat or deadly gases from an active chimney will kill the birds that live in these enclosures. In fact, unfortunately, homeowners inadvertently kill thousands of these creatures over the course of a year.

You might think that because of their small size, chimney swifts are easy prey. But In the wild, even though they are smaller birds, chimney swifts have little to fear from predators, mainly because of the speed at which they can turn on a dime in midair and escape their pursuers.