{"id":1579,"date":"2019-08-01T09:00:20","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T09:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/?p=1579"},"modified":"2021-09-07T03:25:47","modified_gmt":"2021-09-07T03:25:47","slug":"the-jet-set","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lafayettepark.org\/staging_5\/the-jet-set\/","title":{"rendered":"THE JET SET"},"content":{"rendered":"
BY\u00a0KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n
Everyone has their own personal markers of summer\u2014the flash of a firefly, the pulsing hum of cicadas, the aroma of freshly cut grass… I’m sure you have a favorite.\u00a0 To my mind, nothing says summer quite as definitively as the sight of chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagic<\/em>) foraging overhead.<\/h5>\n
These small, sleek birds have belonged to the feathered Jet Set since way back. They\u2019re trendsetters, not fad followers. For example, fashionistas trade angora sweaters and down anoraks for bright floral sundresses and tropical guayaberas as the calendar flips past March, April, and May, but swifts stick to a classic all-season, all-purpose ensemble in understated hipster tones of sooty charcoal accented with an ash-gray ascot. \u00a0Tr\u00e8s chic! \u00a0Moreover, chimney swifts really don’t need a cold weather wardrobe; when the temperature changes swifts change their address. They winter in Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, or Chile, not St. Barts or Dubai, and they always<\/em> summer east of the Rockies. They simply love, love, LOVE the U.S.A and Canada, dahling.<\/h5>\n
\"\"Every chimney swift would be a platinum-status frequent flyer if they weren’t all pilots themselves. Their cigar-shaped fuselage and narrow, curved wings are built for speed and acrobatic maneuverability, so you won\u2019t find them shuffling through airport security headed for the first-class lounge. Commercial flights are so\u2026 pedestrian. Anyway, these birds are rarely ever seen standing still. \u00a0Their Latin family name\u2014Apodidae\u2014means \u201cfootless,\u201d and while that\u2019s not strictly true their legs and feet are not their strongest feature. \u00a0Swifts don\u2019t perch; when forced to land they cling to vertical surfaces, including the walls of those eponymous chimneys.<\/h5>\n
Which brings us to another characteristic that sets swifts apart from the globetrotting glitterati. Long before Airbnb matched adventurers and accommodations, chimney swifts were bypassing 5 star hotels in favor of host families. It all started when Europeans arrived in the New World and began building houses and fireplaces. \"\"The local swifts, who had been housekeeping in hollow trees for more generations than anyone could count, saw an opportunity to make a killing in real estate. They seized the day and the rest is history. Now swifts are North America’s summer house guests, albeit usually uninvited and sometimes unwelcome.<\/h5>\n
It\u2019s not because they\u2019re inconsiderate. Swifts mostly mind their P\u2019s and Q\u2019s. They don\u2019t monopolize the bathroom taking long, hot showers\u2014a quick splash in a puddle or pool, followed by a thorough mid-air shake, does the trick.\u00a0 They never raid the family fridge\u2014thousands of in-flight protein-rich insects snacks each day provide nourishment.\u00a0They don\u2019t expect a chambermaid and fresh linens\u2014using found objects, such as small twigs, and glue-like saliva they fashion temporary fire-resistant DIY berths on the chimney wall to cradle their offspring.<\/h5>\n
Actually, it\u2019s their kids that cause most conflicts with the conscripted landlords. \u00a0Chimney swifts rear 1-2 broods of 3-5 young while visiting the Northern Hemisphere.\u00a0 The chicks, who snuggle up quietly together while napping, turn into the very definition of sibling rivalry each time a parent arrives at the nest to deliver a meal. The hungry mob push and shove for position, stretching wobbly necks to the heavens. They open their mouths wide and scream their heads off so Mom or Dad will notice and reward them with a juicy morsel. \u00a0Those high-pitched squeals for attention amplify as they bounce down the open chimney shaft, past the damper, and out into the room below. Multiply that acoustic event by hundreds of feedings per day and the human residents can begin to feel as though they\u2019re being strafed with sound.<\/h5>\n
\"\"There\u2019s a simple solution to live and let live. \u00a0A thick slab of Styrofoam\u2122 (aka expanded polystyrene) from the local craft store, cut to fit snugly inside the hearth opening, will reduce the chatter to a tolerable decibel level. Just remember, their parents are scouring the skies above your humble abode for mosquitoes, making summer evenings outdoors much more pleasant. Plus, it only takes 2-3 weeks for the youngsters to progress from hatchling to flying away, which is pretty impressive you have to admit.<\/h5>\n
Still, if you\u2019d rather not play innkeeper to international travelers you can turn off the Vacancy sign by installing a chimney cap. \u00a0This relatively inexpensive device will not only exclude all manner of wild things from moving into (or falling down) the flue, the cap will also stop downdrafts, prevent sparks and embers from landing on the roof, and block rain, leaves, and branches.<\/h5>\n
Keep in mind, though, that once a chimney swift family has moved in you can\u2019t legally evict them. \u00a0The Migratory Bird Treaty Act gives swifts and most other wild birds a kind of diplomatic immunity so you\u2019ll have to wait until they jet back to South America to pull up the Welcome mat.<\/h5>\n
Learn more about the birds who call Lafayette Park home<\/span><\/a>!<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u00a9<\/strong>\u00a02016 Next-Door Nature\u2014No reprints without written permission from the author (I\u2019d love for you to share my work , just ask first). Thanks to these photographers for making their work available through a Creative Commons license (from top to bottom): Paul Hurtado<\/a>, Chester A. Reed (public domain), Greg Schechter<\/a>, and Jim McCulloch<\/a>.<\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY\u00a0KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Everyone has their own personal markers of summer\u2014the flash of a firefly, the pulsing hum of cicadas, the aroma of freshly cut grass… I’m sure you have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1580,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":0,"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,16],"tags":[59,18,24,25,19,26,6,27,71,72,64,65,66,23,31,12,37,68,69,32,73,14,54,15,33,17,57],"class_list":["post-1579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-birds","category-wildlife","tag-animal-behavior","tag-backyard-wildlife","tag-behavior","tag-biology","tag-bird","tag-bird-behavior","tag-birds","tag-breeding-behavior","tag-chaetura-pelagic","tag-chimney-swift","tag-ecology","tag-feeding-strategies","tag-fledglings","tag-flora-and-fauna","tag-natural-history","tag-nature","tag-nesting-behavior","tag-nestlings","tag-reproduction","tag-suburban-wildlife","tag-swift","tag-urban-wildlife","tag-vertebrates","tag-watchable-wildlife","tag-wild-birds","tag-wildlife","tag-wildlife-watching"],"yoast_head":"\nTHE JET SET - 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