If I had a soap box, I’d get on top and urge everyone in earshot to build a Chimney Swift tower. More Chimney Swifts in the world mean fewer mosquitoes, and Chimney Swift towers provide these birds with the nesting sites they need to survive in a world with fewer and fewer chimneys.
     The insect-eating Chimney Swift is a beneficial bird something like a swallow but unable to stand, walk, hop, or perch. They spend most of their lives flying or clinging to the sides of things. Hollow things.
     Like hollow trees, but since hollow trees are rare these days, chimneys have taken their place. Modern Chimney Swifts have been roosting and nesting in chimneys for hundreds of years, and thus the name. Unfortunately, chimneys aren’t all that common anymore, at least Swift-friendly chimneys are not. The newer models are lined with metal, or capped with grates, which means that Chimney Swifts are running out of places to take their much needed rest.
     “Why should we care?” I hear you ask. That’s a good question. Chimney Swifts are unspectacular birds — average-sized, oddly made, and uniformly dark in color — but they do consume insects at a prodigious pace. They do much good and cause little trouble, and anywhere there are twittering Chimney Swifts there are fewer flies and mosquitoes.
     Chimney Swifts leave very little imprint on our human world. Because they don't perch, they make no mess to speak of and spend most of their time patrolling the upper altitudes in search of bugs. All they ask of a chimney owner is to refrain from summer fires and keep a clean chimney, actions beneficial to swifts and humans alike.
     During migration, the sight of a flock of Chimney Swifts spiraling down into an open chimney is an awesome sight. But in that critical time of year when they breed and raise their young, a pair of Chimney Swifts takes sole possession of a chimney. So for each breeding pair, there needs to be one Chimney-Swift-friendly chimney. And that is the problem.
     Since the 1980s, Chimney Swift populations have been declining. New chimney designs and overzealous homeowners have combined forces to make modern houses critter-free, to the detriment of Chimney Swifts. In an effort to boost swift numbers, Texas conservationists Paul and Georgean Kyle have written a practical book called “Chimney Swift Towers” which describes in detail how to construct nesting towers for these beneficial birds.
     Such towers need not be large — eight feet of vertical space will serve, and a 14-inch diameter allows the swifts to fly up and down inside. Some towers are freestanding, others attach to other buildings. Some use wood, others use cinder-blocks — all need a degree of insulation and protection from predators — and plans for every contingency are found in the Kyle’s useful book. Some of the most compelling designs involve urban structures like bill-boards and shopping malls, where towers are incorporated into the building design.
     Once a tower is built, the hard work is done. “What of the mess?!?” I hear you say. Well, there’s hardly any mess and clean-up happens only once a year when the swifts have gone. One might even say that Chimney Swift towers are the lazy person’s purple martin house, as a tower landlord mostly sits back and listens to the happy sound of swifts as they patrol the upper atmosphere for bugs.
     If you have a swift-friendly chimney, close your damper in spring to prevent a nesting swift from wandering into the house, and refrain from using your fireplace until summer is over. And keep your chimney clean — creosote buildup can interfere with successful nesting.
     If you’re an architect or a city planner, consider including hollow masonry towers into your next project, for swifts are at home in an urban environment, and wherever there are swifts there are fewer mosquitoes.
     To build your own Chimney Swift tower, or to learn more about Chimney Swifts, go to chimneyswifts.org, where you’ll find information, the book “Chimney Swift Towers,” and other worthy books and publications. Making a home for Chimney Swifts will make your own home a nicer place to be.