Wisconsin Chimney Swift Working Group news

The Working Group met yesterday in Madison. We remembered our missing member, Dr. Noel Cutright, whose influence will continue to guide us.

Among news of many successful swift nights out, and other current projects of the Working Group, we had a great presentation from teachers, elementary school students, parents, and the village administrator from Hartland, who are working on the planned replacement of a chimney that was part of an historic building there, and which housed a roosting  flock of over 1,000 swifts this past late summer/early autumn. Their project can hopefully inspire others in communities around the Midwest. They are collecting funds to pay for the new structure, and we will provide some scientific and operational guidance for their project.

A new WISwifts.org website is in the works - looks for more news soon.

Assistance wanted: if you value the presence of swifts and would like to join our community of citizen scientists and volunteers, we have a winter project to work on while the swifts are on the wintering grounds. When you are in your home town, if you see likely chimneys that might be used as roosts - especially if you know they have NOT been monitored to date - please note the location with either a street address, a road intersection, or GPS coordinates, and send them to me. Photos are also helpful. More news on this off-season project to come!