Wisconsin Chimney Swift Working Group launches new mapping site to track roosts

WISCONSIN – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently announced that the Wisconsin Chimney Swift Working Group has launched a new and efficient tool for those interested in monitoring chimney swift roost and nest sites.

The tool will be available in time for community scientists to use during Swift Night Out events around the state in August and September.

"This new tool will make it easier for Swift Night Out organizers to submit data on the numbers of roosting swifts they count at these events," said Rich Staffen, DNR Conservation Biologist and Co-Chair of the Wisconsin Chimney Swift Working Group. "Anyone out birding or counting swifts at a roost site can use the tool, and it also allows folks to add information on summer chimney swift nesting sites."

The new data collection site and mobile app, Chimney Swift Roost and Nest Data, includes a user-friendly form to contribute data on any swift site being monitored and includes a live map detailing sites across Wisconsin.

How to host a Swift Night Out event

Swift Nights Out are community events that count roosting swifts, with an added social component. They’re a wonderful way to raise awareness of chimney swifts and their conservation needs. And they’re easy to host!

• If you know of a chimney used by chimney swifts as a roost site during fall migration, select a date (or multiple) for the Swift Night Out event. You will need to gain permission if the site is private property.
• Share the event information with your community and invite them to come. Also notify the Wisconsin Chimney Swift Working Group so they can promote your event on their website.
• Identify at least one person who will count swifts entering the roost during the event. They should follow the protocol listed in this article.
• As attendees arrive, welcome them and share information about chimney swifts, then sit back and enjoy the spectacle.

How to count swifts

• From mid-August for northern Wisconsin to early September, look for tall, uncapped brick chimneys. Watch for swifts swooping and circling near a chimney in the evenings to determine if they might roost there.
• Watch the birds entering the chimney about 20 minutes before sunset until 10 minutes after the last swift enters the chimney. Stay in one location, even if you do not see swifts right away. They may come to your site later. If you have zero swifts entering your chimney, record this. This is still valuable information.
• Count (or estimate) the number of swifts as they enter the chimney. It’s useful to count in groups of five or 10 when they enter quickly in large numbers. A hand-held clicker counter can also be helpful.
• Submit your observations to Chimney Swift and Roost and Nest Data.
• Data sharing is a critical piece of this activity to allow swift conservationists to access your count data!

The 2025 Wisconsin Wildlife Action Plan includes chimney swifts as a Species of Greatest Information Need and the Federal State of the Birds Report lists chimney swifts on the Yellow Watch List for birds most at risk for extinction without significant conservation actions.

The new survey tool will allow researchers and the Wisconsin Chimney Swift Working Group to more easily interpret information submitted by observers to advance swift conservation.

The new survey collection platform, Chimney Swift Roost and Nest Data, will be especially useful in gathering additional information on swift nesting sites and to track long-term usage of these sites.

If observers already use eBird, the DNR strongly encourages them to use the Chimney Swift Roost and Nest Data as the primary place for submitting survey results.

For more information on chimney swift identification, how to protect them or to find a Swift Night Out event near you, visit the Wisconsin Chimney Swift Working Group website.