Chimney swift tower built in Lindenhurst
After hearing about Kane County Audubon members Richard and Marion Miller's successful project with a chimney swift tower, Lake County Audubon Society pursued its own structure at Bonner Heritage Farm in Lindenhurst.
The tower was built in sections by Lake County Audubon board member Jack Nowak. Lake County Forest Preserve District installed the bottom section of the tower in a concrete base. On Nov. 7, volunteers assembled the tower and, on Nov. 20, vinyl siding was added to complete construction.
Funding for the materials was provided by a Collaborative Funding Grant from National Audubon Society. Volunteers from the chapter and forest preserve employees provided the labor.
Chimney swifts feed while in flight, devouring a variety of more than 1,000 mosquito-sized insects daily. Their menu consists of a variety of insects bothersome to humans. Due to the unusual structure of their feet, they don't walk on the ground, but spend their time when not flying roosting or nesting in chimneys and large abandoned buildings.
The chimney swift population has been declining since the 1980s. This is partially due to the fact people have capped their chimneys, which is where the birds built nests to cling to the inside of that structure.
They congregate in the hundreds, even thousands, around appropriate roosting sites, forming large flocks during spring and fall migration. By the time of installation, nesting time will be over, but there is still an opportunity for roosting and becoming familiar with the tower for next year.
There has been a movement in other parts of the country to install chimney swift towers to provide the birds with nesting sites designed with their specific needs in mind.
Pre-eminent in this has been a couple from Texas, Paul and Georgean Kyle, who developed a workable design and published a construction guide titled "Chimney Swift Towers: New Habitat for America's Mysterious Birds." It is their design and instructions that have been used for the Lake County tower.
Education will be part of the installation, since the swifts provide a valuable contribution to the human population. There will be an information station near the Bonner Farm site, where installation was recently completed.
The construction and installation, led by Nowak, took place over several months as materials were put together and installation dates opened up on the forest preserve calendar.
Photos of the workdays, taken by Emma England, are available on the Lake County Audubon Society's website link, www.lakecountyaudubon.org/information/.