Chaetura pelagica
Chimney Swifts are among the most challenging birds to rehabilitate. Their delicate beaks, feet, and feathers are easily damaged, and even minor injuries can prevent them from returning to the wild.
These remarkable aerial acrobats spend almost their entire lives in flight, catching insects, drinking, bathing, and even sleeping on the wing. Today, they rely mainly on chimneys for nesting and roosting.
Le Nichoir is currently caring for sixteen young swifts from across Quebec, one clutch coming from as far as Drummondville, where an individual drove a 5-hour round trip to bring them to the centre. These birds are fed insects every 30–60 minutes for up to 15 hours a day. Once fully feathered, they move to an outdoor aviary with an artificial chimney to practice flying and roosting before release.
Conservation
Chimney Swifts are listed as threatened in Quebec. Protecting nesting chimneys is one of the best ways we can help this remarkable species.
Did you know?
A pair of Chimney Swifts builds their nest by snapping tiny twigs from tree branches while flying! They glue the twigs together and attach the nest to the inside wall of a chimney using their own sticky saliva.
