birdsoup

Today I saw the first Chimney Swifts of the year.  It is one of those birds whose name pretty much tells it all.  Its name is simple and straight forward.  Few observers ever see the red belly on a Red-bellied Woodpecker or note the crests on a Double-crested Cormorant.

Roger Tory Peterson describes the swift as a cigar with wings and that is what it look like.  They are always in flight, zigging and zagging.  They have crescent shaped wings and appear to have no tail.  You never see them perched because they can’t.  The legs are not developed for perching.  They roost inside brick chimneys, 100s of swifts clinging to the vertical side of the chimney.

Several years ago I was leading a Bird Walk at Harts Brook Park.  One of the women on the walk mentioned she had never seen a Chimney Swift.  A few minutes later as we walk near the greenhouse, I noticed one flying over.  As I pointed it out, the swift veered sharply and flew straight down into the chimney of the old greenhouse – a perfect illustration of its name:  “swift” and “chimney”