In mid-May, 2007, Pam Smolen, Don Verser and other birders counted hundreds of Chimney Swifts returning to a tall boiler stack at Pershing Middle School. They also noticed that a company was on-site demolishing the buildings around it, and the boiler stack looked like it was next. Don had monitored this site over several years and knew it to be one extensively used by Chimney Swifts. He believes that in the fall perhaps a thousand swifts may use it as a roost.

Pam and Don reported the potential danger to Houston Audubon. I emailed school authorities, called the demolition company. and, in a very friendly way, explained that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects any swifts that may be nesting in the stack. I also advised them that the TPWD may not allow them to demolish the stack. TPWD Game Warden Susan Webb visited the site and left a message that the stack could not be demolished without obtaining a permit from USFW.

HISD responded very promptly by requesting Gilbane Co., who is managing the project, to hold off demolition and to determine if the stack could be saved. I had a very productive discussion with the Project Manager, Mr. John Risher II, during which I was able to explain the Migratory Bird Act by referring to the resource page on the Houston Audubon web site. After a structural engineer determined the stack was sound, HISD has now decided to leave the stack in place and incorporate it into the new building design.

The Chimney Swift/Pershing Middle School Stack is a great demonstration of a structure that is available for bird conservation and education that worked in a very cooperative, supportive way. The stack would be down today, and most of us would not know any different, if one person had not made the decision to take the first step. I would like to thank the birders, Ted Eubanks, TPWD Game Warden Susan Webb, and all who contributed essential information to this, most positive, outcome. HISD and Mr. Risher are to be commended for their great cooperative spirit and prompt attention to protect the birds.

We hope that a partnership between HISD and HAS can be established to interpret the stack and use it for science education, as Portland Audubon is doing at a school in Portland. Mary Anne Weber has already been in contact with the Pershing Middle School Principal to present a program there in the fall.

On the Value of the Pershing Chimney Swift Stack

by Georgean and Paul Kyle of the Driftwood Wildlife Association (posted on Texbirds on May 16, 2007)

While a large number of roosting swifts does not mean a large number of nests (one nest per structure is the norm regardless of the size of the structure), it does not preclude the existence of an actively nesting pair of swifts, and disrupting even one pair is a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In fact, it is not uncommon for a nesting pair to share a structure with a roosting flock. The nest is generally low in the structure while the non-breeding birds roost over-night in the upper portion. We have observed this behavior for more than 20 years in the towers that we have built and maintain at Travis Audubon's Chaetura Canyon Bird Sanctuary and Chimney Swift Observatory. There are currently two towers on the property with this configuration at this time.

While the loss of this particular chimney would not be catastrophic in itself, the loss would be part of larger problem continent-wide. Large structures such as this chimney are being decommissioned on a regular basis all across North America. They are not only important migratory way stations for the swifts, but places where increasingly large numbers of non-breeding swifts can find relative safety throughout their stay in the northern hemisphere.

As recently as two decades ago, Chimney Swifts were seen roosting in large numbers only during migration -- primarily in the fall. Today it is not unusual to view large numbers of swifts funneling into suitable structures through out the summer months. The speculation is that with the decrease in suitable nesting sites (clearing of traditional habitat with large hollow trees, capped chimneys, demolition and new construction with metal rather than masonry chimneys) non-breeding swifts are congregating in large suitable structures -- like the one at Pershing Middle School.

It should be noted that although Chimney Swifts are often overlooked by birders and conservationists alike, their numbers are in dramatic decline. This is particularly evident on the outer fringes of their breeding range. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has recommended that Chimney Swift be listed as "threatened" in that country. This should be a wake up call for those of us in the States.

We applaud the efforts of those who worked to save this roost site. This could be a an excellent model for similar Chimney Swift conservation efforts in other parts of the North American continent.