On Thursday, July 7 at 7:00 p.m. in MSU-Northern's Hagener Science Center, the Montana Audubon organization hosted a presentation about chimney swifts. Led by Peter Dudley, Big Sky Watershed Corps Member with Montana Audubon, the presentation covered the ecology and identification of swifts, followed by a walk around Havre to survey local chimneys for nesting sites. Event organizers invite area residents to get involved with the research on one of Montana's newest residents, the chimney swift.

In the last three years, Audubon staff and volunteers have located new chimney swift nesting sites in Billings, Glasgow, and Miles City. "While we know the chimney swifts are out and about, we really need help locating more while the birds are active and nesting during June and July. Because little is known about their nesting range throughout our state, Montana Audubon is turning to citizen science for answers. Unlike searching for other swifts, chimney swifts are best surveyed in towns and near buildings with large chimneys. Surveys are short, occurring 30 minutes before until 30 minutes after sunset, with observers being stationed for just a short time at selected chimneys," report Montana Audubon personnel.

Efforts to understand the status of the chimney swift will help decide future management practices and will assist biologists and conservationists in understanding how these aerial insectivores are faring in a changing world. Specifically in Montana, chimney swifts are a species of Greatest Inventory Need, due to habitat loss and other unknowns.

Montana Audubon is partnering with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks throughout eastern Montana to discover where chimney swifts are active, breeding, and nesting. Anyone interested in joining the survey period, which lasts until July 31, is encouraged to contact Dudley via email (peter@mtaudubon.org) or phone (406-443-3949).

According to its website, Montana Audubon was founded in 1976. Serving as an independent, statewide conservation organization, its mission is "to promote appreciation, knowledge, and conservation of Montana's native birds, other wildlife, and natural ecosystems and to safeguard biological diversity for current and future generations."

An informational circular published by the organization suggests that citizen efforts to monitor chimney swifts have emerged across North America to help track the decline of this unique aerial insectivore. During spring and fall migration, chimney swifts fly most of the day, only roosting between sunset and dawn. During the breeding season in June and July, pairs will separate from the communal roost to nest alone.

This small, uniformly dark bird is one of four swift species in Montana and the only with a distinct eastern distribution. Often called a "cigar with wings," these birds can be seen around towns and cities at dusk, where they frequently roost and nest in chimneys or hollow cottonwoods. Often seen foraging high in the air and exhibiting a characteristically rapid, stiff wingbeat, these swifts eat insects and feed while flying. The sexes look similar but are marginally different in size. Plumage is slightly glossy, especially on the wings, and the short, rounded tail occasionally has spiny tips visible. The rump and upper tail-coverts are more blackish than gray, while the throat, chin, and cheeks are paler in color. Rather than perch like swallows and songbirds, chimney swifts cling to vertical surfaces.

The objective of this survey effort is to identify potential chimney swift habitat, to get better population counts, and to follow up with volunteer surveys to determine if sites are being used for either nesting or roosting. Chimneys that are good-sized, open-looking, and made of brick, stucco, or concrete are prime sites for the birds. Citizen surveyors are asked to arrive at their selected chimney observation point at least 30 minutes prior to sunset-or 45 minutes prior to sunset on cold, cloudy or rainy evenings because swifts often return to their roost early in poor weather. Surveys can be conducted in most weather conditions, even if there is a light drizzle or intermittent rain, but not during a thunderstorm or downpour.

Observers should watch the chimney until approximately 30 minutes after sunset or until a chimney swift is sighted. If possible, this site should be visited at least three times and data collected if birds are observed. The data form should include the city name and site address; the date and visit number; start and end time; weather conditions; building type (school, church, commercial building, residence, other) for each chimney; chimney material (bricks, terra cotta, cement, other); number of chimney swifts observed flying overhead; and number of chimney swifts entering the chimney.

This information can be emailed to Dudley: peter@mtaudubon.org. Dudley developed a love for the natural world while growing up at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Charlottesville, VA. After graduating from Haverford College in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology and an Environmental Studies minor, he went on to work in public horticulture at West Laurel Hill Cemetery and Chanticleer Garden in Philadelphia, PA.

Ultimately, Dudley accepted a Conservation Fellowship with Montana Conservation Corps that placed him with the Forest Service Trail Crew in Hungry Horse. Currently, he is working with Montana Audubon's Conservation Ranching Program out of Helena, a position which represents an intersection of his interests in native plants, resource conservation, and agroecology. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, birding, playing music, or searching for Montana's few squash courts.