Bluebird Nest Box Tips from LVAS Habitat Committee!

Spring thaw is right around the corner!!

Eastern Bluebird at entrance to nest box - photo provided by Lehigh Gap Nature Center

Provide Clean Nest Boxes for Bluebirds

Now is a great opportunity to finish up some winter projects and get ready for nicer weather and some great birding.

If you are thinking about adding a bluebird box to your property, now is a great time to get it installed. Birds are slowly moving around and starting to inspect locations for nests this season.

If you have nest boxes up already, now is the time to get them cleaned out and ready for the next generation of bluebirds! No need to add material, simply remove any old nesting material or caches that rodents may have left for winter.

Keep an eye out for bi-weekly bird/habitat tips!

If you’re not a member of our Community Chapter of Audubon, please join and/or volunteer to help with our ongoing Lehigh Valley habitat preservation efforts.

You can read summaries of some of our efforts to Preserve habitat in the Lehigh Valley, like our multi-species Nest Box Trail System, or read related, more detailed stories by clicking a tag or category to filter this page.

Additional Bluebird Nest Box Construction and Maintenance Information:

https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/birds/eastern-bluebird/

https://www.audubon.org/news/how-build-bluebird-nest-box

Purple Martins at Minsi Lake

Jim Wilson, Recreation & Conservation Specialist, Northampton County Parks

Originally Published in July - September 2024 Quarterly Newsletter of The Lehigh Valley Audubon Society

There were no Purple Martins nesting at Minsi Lake before 2020.

Purple Martin project at Minsi Lake

Since Northampton County Parks Martin Habitat Partnership initiative with LVAS was begun in 2020 with Mike McCartney, Scott Burnett, and Tim Kita, the success of this species at Minsi Lake has been phenomenal. Thanks to LVAS volunteers, a large and growing Purple Martin colony can now be seen at Minsi.

Over the past five years, five 18-unit condo towers have been installed. Occupancy this nesting season in those condos (36 of which are new this season) is over 90% with nesting pairs in 80 of the 90 condo units. At Minsi Lake, it really is a build it and they will come situation. The lake provides an ideal habitat for these birds of greatest conservation need—a shallow, warm water lake teeming with dragonflies and other food sources.

There is lakeside space at Minsi for eight more 18-unit Purple Martin nesting towers.

Northampton County Parks and Recreation will fund three more towers at the Lake for next year’s nesting season, and Friends of Minsi Lake will have funding for the remaining five towers.

The expanded Purple Martin project at Minsi Lake means more volunteers will be needed to maintain and monitor the nesting condos over time. The Northampton County Parks and Recreation and LVAS partnership now manages 108 condos in six nesting towers—five at Minsi Lake Park and one at Louise Moore Park. Next year, they’ll be tasked with 144 units, which the small team of dedicated volunteers have agreed to do. If the Purple Martins indicate there’s continued need for nesting cavities at Minsi, up to five more towers will be provided the following year—for a total of 13 Purple Martin condo towers and 234 units to maintain and monitor from March through September.

Maintenance involves removing the PVC nesting gourds from their towers after each season, hosing them out and storing them at a nearby Parks and Rec facility. The gourds are then brought back to the lake in late winter. Pine straw is placed in each condo and the condos are attached to the towers in numeric order for recording nesting data in each unit throughout the spring and summer.

Monitoring during the nesting season requires one or two volunteers to visually check each of the 18 condos hanging from the towers by lowering and raising the racks. Observations are then recorded on a datasheet that is eventually shared with several national databases to track Purple Martins and the community and citizen conservation science needed to sustain them here in the East.

After hatching, only federally licensed bird banders can physically handle and weigh, measure and band the Purple Martin chicks when they are several weeks old. Volunteers are still needed to shuttle chicks in baskets back and forth from their nests to the banding station set up next to the towers.

Northampton County Parks and Recreation needs LVAS continued support to help with installation labor, monitoring, maintenance, winter storage, and, of course, all the banding and data collection done each nesting season. If anyone is interested in volunteering their time to this project in 2025 and subsequent years, please send an email to James Wilson, Recreation & Conservation Specialist for Northampton County Parks, at jwilson@norcop.gov.

Chronicling a Whirlwind Effort to Save Our Swifts

Jennie Gilrain

Originally Published in April - June 2021 Quarterly Newsletter of The Lehigh Valley Audubon Society

This is the story of how a community came together to protect a species by saving its urban habitat.

 Every spring in late April-early May, I anticipate the return of the Chimney Swifts. Somehow the sky seems dead without them. They bring sound and movement to the air we breathe. High above the trees of my urban backyard, they play and flirt in two’s and three’s, performing tandem feats of daring, and my heart soars.

Paying Attention

This summer, my husband and I decided to look for their nighttime homes. In July of 2020, we stumbled upon a large roost at the Masonic Temple, 202 Wyandotte Street in our South Bethlehem neighborhood. This chimney was 45 feet high and 5 feet square.

Swifts at Masonic Temple of Bethlehem Pennsylvania by Peter Saenger

In August of 2020, we frequently brought family and friends to watch these spectacular aerial acrobats. We wanted others to experience the sense of awe and joy inspired by their beauty. Every evening at dusk the birds gathered, flying in large circles around the chimney. The flight pattern morphed into a figure eight, then back to a swirling tornado. Finally, they began pouring into the mouth of the chimney like a bag of sunflower seeds into a birdfeeder. On August 23rd, we estimated 2,200 birds entering the Masonic Temple chimney.

The number of birds diminished gradually throughout the month of September from 2,000 to 1,000, 500, 250, until only a few stragglers remained. Then in October they were gone, on their way to South America-- Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. The skies over Bethlehem seemed suddenly silent and empty above the river and rooftops.

Danger Afoot

Walking through the neighborhood on November 21, 2020, I was shocked to find a chain link fence surrounding the Masonic Temple property. Construction signs warned passersby to keep out. “Warning: Construction Area, Hard Hat Required, High Visibility Vest, Safety Shoes.” For years, we heard rumors of redevelopment and demolition, but had no idea it was about to begin! I suddenly panicked, imagining a “silent spring” (Rachel Carson) in South Bethlehem. My love and passion for these birds inspired a call to action. I asked Christine Ussler, architect for the redevelopment project to ask the developer to consider the birds. I alerted the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society (LVAS), Bethlehem City Council, Bethlehem Environmental Advisory Council (EAC), Bethlehem Director of Community and Economic Development, and Lehigh University South Side Initiative to the potential destruction of habitat.

 A New Hope

On December 8, 2020, I got a phone call from John Noble, the Masonic Temple/ Wilbur Mansion property owner and developer. I was surprised to learn that John and his family loved wild animals and nature. John wanted to know more about the birds. Amazing!

John Noble property owner and developer has agreed to “Save Our Swifts”

Photo by Peter Saenger and Jennie Gilrain

On December 11, 2020, at 9:00 am, LVAS Habitat Committee Chair and Chimney Swift expert, Scott Burnet met with Developer, John Noble, at the Masonic Temple to consult about the possibility of preserving the existing chimney or building a replacement tower on the property about 60 feet North of the original. John’s wife, Lynn, and daughter, Cassie, construction manager, were also present, as was architect Christine Ussler.

On December 14, 2020, we convened a meeting of concerned citizens via Zoom to discuss ways to support the effort to preserve or relocate the Masonic Temple roost. Attendees included Bethlehem Director of Community and Economic Development, Bethlehem EAC President and members, Sierra Club Lehigh Valley Chair and members, LVAS President, Lehigh University South Side Initiative Director, and Developer John Noble and family. LVAS President, Peter Saenger pointed out how unusual and commendable it was for a developer to change course at great financial expense for the sake of protecting wildlife. The community decided to work together to support John Noble in his commitment to save the swifts by saving or replacing the Masonic Temple roost.

On December 19, 2020, Ed Gallagher, wrote his first blog post about the swifts as The Bethlehem Gadfly. And we’re off! The Gadfly kept the public informed and entertained, as well as attracting the attention of other journalists from newspapers and television, including Bo Koltnow of Channel 69, The Morning Call, The Bethlehem Press, Fig Magazine and NBC News in Philadelphia.

On December 23, 2020, John Noble met his friend and engineer, Ron Carr of D’Huy Engineering at the Masonic Temple to examine the chimney. They drilled into the side of the structure to discover its walls were three bricks thick and lined internally with terra-cotta tiles. Together the two friends determined that it was possible to save the existing structure. They viewed the effort as an exciting challenge rather than an impossible problem. This was good news, as the birds are much more likely to return to an existing roost than discover a replacement.

On December 30, 2020, the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society created the Save Our Swifts Go Fund Me Charity to raise funds to support the preservation or relocation of the Masonic Temple roost.

On January 5, 2020, I spoke at the Bethlehem City Council Meeting to propose naming Chimney Swift the Bird of Bethlehem, citing reasons of economic impact, historic significance, wildlife protection, and health and safety. Councilwoman Olga Negron took the reins and began drafting a Resolution.

On January 15, 2020, the Bethlehem Environmental Advisory Council wrote a letter of support for the effort to save the Chimney Swifts, to preserve the Masonic Temple chimney and to name the Chimney Swift the city’s official bird.

On January 22, 2021, fifteen Freemansburg Elementary School fourth grade students wrote letters to the Bethlehem City Council asking them to name the Chimney Swift the official bird of Bethlehem.

On January 25, 2021, the Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium (LVEHC) funded a joint proposal of LVAS, Bethlehem Area Public Library (BAPL) and Lehigh University South Side Initiative to present a series of forums designed to engage the public in considering the plight of the Chimney Swifts and their threatened urban habitat. Our title: S.O.S. Save Our Swifts by Saving their Urban Habitat: Telling the Story of the Chimney Swifts and their Connection to Our City.

On February 2, 2021, the Bethlehem City Council voted unanimously, 7- 0, to adopt Resolution 10D: “Now therefore, be it resolved by the Council of the City of Bethlehem that in recognition of the special value of this bird species to our city the Chimney Swift is hereby designated the Official Bird of the City of Bethlehem. The resolution is sponsored by Ms. Negron and Mr. Reynolds.”

On February 17, 2021, the first LVEHC Public Event, “Chimney Swifts and their Adaptation to Urban Habitats,” hosted by BAPL on YouTube, featured a slide presentation by LVAS President Peter Saenger with an engaged live audience.

Forum #1: S.O.S. Save Our Swifts by Saving their Urban Habitat: Telling the Story of the Chimney Swifts

Bethlehem Area Public Library (BAPL) presentations in partnership with Lehigh Valley Audubon Society and the South Side Initiative: S.O.S. Save Our Swifts by Saving their Urban Habitat: Telling the Story of the Chimney Swifts and their Connection to Our City

On February 26, 2021, Lehigh University English professor and Director of the South Side Initiative, Mary Foltz, and Environmental Initiative professors, Karen Beck-Pooley and Breena Holland met to discuss ways to engage Lehigh students in the effort to protect Chimney Swifts and their urban habitat.

On March 11 and April 21, 2021, the second and third S.O.S. Save Our Swifts Public Forum Events will focus on changing building practices, the effect on urban habitat of Chimney Swifts, and the potential for cooperation between development and conservation.

Save Our Swifts: Forum #2!

Save Our Swifts Forum #3: Modeling a Solution of Cooperation between Conservation and Development

Currently, the Masonic Temple chimney stands alone, while the building has been completely demolished around it. John Noble plans to restore and reinforce the structure to make it safe. Mr. Noble also hopes to connect his Event Center to the chimney with a space dedicated to educating the public about Chimney Swifts.

Thank you

So much is possible when we engage the collective imagination of a community, when we listen to one another: children and adults, developers and conservationists, politicians and professors. Passion and dedication are paramount: John and Lynn Noble, Scott Burnet and Peter Saenger, Mary Foltz and Olga Negron, Ed Gallagher and Bo Koltnow, and so many others played key roles in this unfolding effort to save a species. Perhaps this marriage of conservation and development will inspire others to consider the birds. Our dreams take flight.

Links for More Information

https://www.bapl.org/saveourswifts/

Save Our Swifts: The Role of Chimneys in Swift Habitats - Southsider

Chimney Swift Towers

Chris Hugosson

Originally Published in October - December 2016 Quarterly Newsletter of The Lehigh Valley Audubon Society

Chimney Swifts suffer from fewer chimneys. Scott Burnet leads Lehigh Valley Audubon Society’s effort to help.

Hang on… Chimney Swifts Photo by Scott Burnet

There’s light at the end of the tunnel. Chimney Swift Tower Nests Photo by Scott Burnet.

Even in a setting like this, Chimney Swifts have successfully reared chicks. Photo by Chris Hugosson

What is the problem

Chimney Swifts spend most of their life on the wing. But even they need to nest and, during migration, roost. Historically, large hollow trees served this function. But as large trees became rarer, chimneys replaced them. Today, even chimneys are becoming rarer as they are capped or taken down. This contributes to the Chimney Swift population falling. BirdLife International states that between 1966 to 2007 the population came down by 90% in Canada and 50% the USA. Counting survey blocks in the PA breeding bird atlas with confirmed nests, the numbers are down by more than 50% between the 1980s and 2000s.

What has been done

Existing chimneys need to be saved. Chimney Swifts do remember chimneys from year to year so keeping traditional roost sites available is important. And that has happened. LVAS has helped secure assurances that the chimney at Muhlenberg College will remain. Same thing with the 200 year old chimney at Lehigh Parkway. Both nice places to witness flocks of swifts swirl in right before sunset.

To reverse the negative trends that is not enough. New chimneys are needed. Hence we have towers that only serve Chimney Swifts.

Scott Burnet and his team of volunteers have so far built four towers in the Lehigh Valley. Starting in 2012 Scott built his first tower by his garage. In 2013 and 2014 two towers came up around Lake Muhlenberg. One tower on the island and the other on Cedar Beach. You might have seen the information kiosk around the one at Cedar Beach. This year one tower is coming up at Lehigh Gap Nature Center and another in Mertztown, Longswamp Township.

All these efforts have now started to bear fruit. The first nests have been confirmed in the Cedar Beach tower.

How to build

Building a tower takes both expertise and money. It quickly becomes apparent that without experience managing construction projects and a rich network of contacts, towers remain a dream. Challenges include getting permission to build, negotiating access to equipment, identifying price worthy material, and finding volunteers. And not least, having the grit to synchronize all the pieces. We are lucky to have such a person in Scott. Hearing Scott describe his kayak trips with ladders and swinging 60lb tower sections while balancing on a 10ft ladder in the dark just reinforces that image.

Thank you

LVAS has many to thank in addition to Scott.

• James Hardie Corporation contributed siding material

• Dries Lumber helps with material

• Dan Kunkle’s group Color of Nature has volunteered many hours of work

• Friends of Allentown Parks and Karen El Chaar has helped with funding and assistance

• Lynn Serfass has helped with funding

• And many volunteers have contributed to this success

What is next?

More towers will come up and you can help. Look for LVAS emails, facebook posts, and Meetup events where you can volunteer. You can also donate money via our website. If you prefer, you can earmark your donation to tower construction.

LVAS Chimney Swift towers now proven to be used by the species for nesting

Scott Burnet (LVAS Habitat Committee Chairman), and his wife Linda Shankweiler (LVAS Social Committee Chair) discovered two Chimney Swift nests on 8/27/16, in the LVAS swift tower located just east of Cedar Beach pool in Cedar Creek Parkway, near Lake Muhlenberg. Today marked the first internal inspection of this tower, since it was completed in fall of 2014. Single birds had been observed entering the tower during the day, both during breeding season last spring and this spring as well. It was hoped that nesting had occurred, but today's discovery of actual nests provides physical evidence. As a follow up, Scott and Linda plan to do an inspection of the tower on the island at the lake tomorrow morning (8/28). This will be the first internal inspection of this tower since the causeway to the island was removed two years ago. Access is now only possible via boat, and with permission from the Allentown Parks Dept. It is hoped that similar findings will be made there also, as swifts have been observed entering that structure during nesting season over the past few years since that tower was finished in late summer of 2013.