New Chimney Swift Tower in Greenfield
By Adam Wilson
Millions of Chimney Swifts migrate to the United States from Central and South America in the spring for the summer and breeding season. Thousands of these wonderful, bug-eating birds live in and around Greenfield, Indiana. In 2019, after learning that only one pair of swifts would nest in a roosting location, I recognized the need this species truly has for breeding locations. My wife, Sara, and I began to explore what it would entail to build a Chimney Swift tower at one of our local parks.
I found a few resources that help me to identify options for structures, such as the book titled Chimney Swift Towers: New Habitat for America’s Mysterious Birds, by Paul & Georgean Kyle. After gathering some addition information from friends and online, doing recon around some local parks, and having an estimate of the potential cost, we contacted our always supportive friends at ABAS. Since they had previously helped to fund a Bluebird/Tree Swallow housing project at Beckenholdt Park in Greenfield, I was hopeful they might be able to help.
Exceeding expectations, as they typically do, they secured a grant for $1,000 through the National Audubon Society. This allowed us to expand the scope of this project. After the kindness of the city IT team, specifically Dave Goodrich and Robert Souchon, we were able to secure two streaming cameras and webhosting to watch the interior of the tower!
The Greenfield Parks Department, who have supported the Greenfield Birders group and our projects, worked with us to secure the best location for power and internet access. Beckenholdt Park was the choice. Josh Gentry, the parks Maintenance Foreman, agreed to manage and complete the build of the tower and he did an outstanding job. The build was completed quickly and was the tower was erected in the spring of 2021.
In May of 2022 the streaming cameras were installed and the webpage was created. This completed the project!! And now, it’s up to the birds. If you would like more information about the Greenfield Birders please either search “Greenfield Birders” on Facebook, or email NikonBirdHunter@gmail.com. We offer Saturday hikes at local parks that are also listed on the ABAS website.
If you would like to keep an eye on the tower you can visit the URL below:
www.greenfieldin.org/component/content/article/265-global/1961-chimney-swift-towers
