Once a familiar bird in urban areas, the Chimney Swift has shown widespread declines across its continental range. The Breeding Bird Survey indicates that the population has experienced a dramatic decrease in Canada with an estimated loss of 90% of its population since 1970. The species commonly nests in chimneys. Due to the severity of its population decline and loss of potential roost and nest sites, it was assessed as Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 2007 (COSEWIC 2007b; re-confirmed in 2018), and listed under the Species at Risk Act in 2009. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
In the 1980s, there was a negative change point in the Breeding Bird Survey population trends of swallows, swifts, and nightjars as a group across most of North America (Smith et al. 2015). Indeed, the Chimney Swift is one of several species of aerial-foraging insectivores showing widespread declines in Canada. Causes of these declines remain unclear, but changes in aerial insect populations (e.g. Nocera et al. 2012) have been suggested as one possible common factor as well as landscape changes, insecticides, and climate change (Blancher et al. 2009, Nebel et al. 2010). For Chimney Swifts, the loss of breeding and roosting sites, including large hollow trees, abandoned buildings and chimneys, is an additional cause for concern, and may be responsible for a large part of the decline (COSEWIC 2007b). The number of suitable nest sites in buildings or natural trees is forecast to continue to decline in the near future (COSEWIC 2007b). Collisions with vehicles and communication towers are also a concern for the species (Steeves et al. 2014). For information on the legal status of this species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and to view available recovery documents, see the SARA Registry.
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.