NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A Hampton Roads nature group is celebrating a new way to save an endangered species.
The Elizabeth River Project is hosting an event at Paradise Creek Nature Park Friday to unveil a structure for Chimney Swift birds.
Park Manager Larry Lapell says hundreds of Chimney Swift gather outside St. Patrick Catholic High School in Norfolk. The birds are called Chimney Swift because they are adapted to nesting on chimneys after hollow forest trees across the U.S. were cut down.
Paradise Creek Nature Park Manager says that there are fewer birds around from losing nearly 70% of their habitat since 1970.
To combat that issue, two 14-foot-tall wood towers that mimic chimneys are placed at Paradise Creek Nature Park. The Elizabeth City River Project, in partnership with other agencies, got the towers built through a grant from the Department of Wildlife Resources.
“Only one bird pair per season will nest in the tower, but many will roost there. They’ll come and rest and sleep overnight, but actually, one pair per tower will nest and have babies. So that’s part of the reason why their critical declines. They have very specific requirements for their nesting,” Lapell says.
The ceremony is at 11 a.m. and Lapell encourages local agencies to consider putting up towers around the Commonwealth.
