TRANSCRIPT:
Hello this is Dr. Tom Mullikin with SCDNR for Into the Wild.
Near sunset in late summer, look above an old school, church, or downtown building. You may see dozens or even hundreds of small birds circling a chimney in a tightening spiral.
Chimney swifts spend most of the day in flight, catching insects on the wing. Their feet are built for clinging to vertical surfaces rather than perching on a branch. Before chimneys became common, they used hollow trees. Today, many depend on rough masonry structures for nesting and migration roosts.
Then, almost at once, the flock pours into the opening and disappears for the night. It is one of the most dramatic wildlife gatherings in an ordinary neighborhood. Sometimes an old chimney is more than part of a building. It is a temporary home along a journey to South America.