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Chimney Swift Tower Built at Outdoor Classroom

Nov 13, 2023

Chimney swift tower joins other shelters for birds to reside on campus

You may be wondering why there is now a new structure (pictured above), that looks like a stand-alone chimney, on our outdoor classroom campus? This is a chimney swift tower, a safe spot for the chimney swift bird to shelter! The chimney swift tower joins several other shelters on the outdoor classroom campus for birds and bats to reside. 

 

Chimney swifts are small, quick birds that spend a lot of their time flying in the air. Due to deforestation, and the increase in buildings, these birds began living inside actual chimneys (which look and feel a lot like hollow trees). The chimney swift needs a habitat where they can cling to vertical walls, as they don't perch on tree branches and limbs. Chimney swift towers are dedicated homes for the bird to find shelter. 

 

The swifts migrate between the eastern half of North America and the western half of South America. They eat many bugs that thrive in watery habitats, just like our Outdoor Classroom. 

 

You can learn more about the chimney swift here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chimney_Swift/overview.  

 

Building the chimney swift tour took a collaborative effort, and we are so thankful for those who helped to make it happen! Myers and Chapman volunteered their expertise and materials to construct the tower itself. The outdoor classroom’s own property maintenance volunteers, Larry and Butch, helped dig the post-holes, which is not an easy task to do by hand! Big thank you to Charlotte ToolBank for renting us the tools we needed to complete this project. Lifting up such a heavy, tall structure posed a challenge; our partners at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden connected us with, Dixie Forestry and Grading, that had the equipment to get the job done safely. We are so very grateful for Jackie Bagley, Chad Fields, Lance Canty, and Connie Wade from Catawba Nation who contributed their time and talents to help put the metal flashing on top of the chimney swift and get the structure on its feet, even after the sun went down. 

 

We hope to see birds enjoying their new home soon!  

05 Apr, 2024
Happy Earth Month! While every month is Earth Month here at Catawba Riverkeeper, we’re excited about the extra attention and enthusiasm for protecting our local environment that comes every April! Throughout this month, we're amplifying our efforts to spread awareness and provide a variety of options for you to get out and learn from, engage in, or advocate for the preservation, protection, and restoration of our shared waterways. Because of that, our calendar is jam-packed with public and private cleanups, guided tours, education programing, outreach events, and fun activities at Confluence & The River Room all month long. Just take a look at some of the events we have going on! In honor of Earth Month, we hope that you engage with us in some of these events by volunteering your time to clean up our water, learning more about issues affecting our water, and sharing our work and mission with other people as ambassadors. If you'd like to make an Earth Month contribution to Catawba Riverkeeper, you can give to our Spring Education Appeal, help us purchase a new Catawba Riverkeeper vehicle, or attend our Ambassador Training and represent us at events throughout the year. Our work is not possible without the support of people like you. We are only a drop in the bucket of worldwide water conservation efforts, but with the support of people like you, we can make mighty waves of change! Thank you in advance for your support, and happy Earth Month!
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