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Contact: Sean Mahar
Audubon New York
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Creating Urban Bird Habitat in Unlikely Places: Chimneys
Audubon and New York State Parks honor dedicated conservationist by building nest boxes to save a fast declining bird species

New York, NY March 27, 2009- With the spring bird migration just beginning, The National Audubon Society, Audubon New York and New York City Audubon, in partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, have built Chimney Swift towers to lay out the welcome mat for this fast declining migratory bird. The towers have been erected in three State Parks in New York City: Clay Pit Ponds State Park in Staten Island, East River State Park in Brooklyn, and Roberto Clemente State Park in the Bronx, in an effort to provide nesting places for the Chimney Swift and honor the legacy of a dedicated conservationist.

These towers are being installed in memory of Geoffrey Cobb Ryan and were paid for by donations from his family and friends. Geoff was an avid birder and conservationist and devoted an incredible amount of time and effort to Audubon. He helped found the New York City Audubon Society, served as chair of the Audubon Council of New York State, was Vice Chair and a charter member of the Audubon New York Board of Directors, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Audubon Society representing the Northeast Chapters. In addition, Geoff was also the former Director of Public Affairs for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. He was a great advocate for the national, state, and local Audubon programs working together on behalf of birds, other wildlife and their habitats.

"Connecting people with nature was a true passion for Geoff," said Audubon President John Flicker. "His years of effort and achievements are richly deserving of this special tribute."

"Geoff was such an integral part of Audubon and the bird conservation movement in New York State, and we couldn't think of a better way to honor his memory than building these important towers to help this fast declining bird species," Said Albert E. Caccese, Executive Director of Audubon New York. "As the Chimney Swifts are just beginning their long migration back to North America, these towers will provide these birds with important nesting places in New York City and help give them a fighting chance."

"These chimney swift towers are a fitting memorial to Geoffrey Cobb Ryan, a founder of NYC Audubon. Geoff understood, as few did thirty years ago, that connecting city residents to nature was essential for the future of our environment. Chimney swifts depend on structures built by people, and are declining as a result of changing building practices. These towers will help ensure that these delightful little birds remain in every borough of New York City for future generations."

"State Parks provide a haven for plants and wildlife, especially in the heart of New York City. These nesting places will not only shelter a declining species of birds, they will help spark an interest in park visitors of all ages to learn about the amazing creatures living in our urban parks," said Carol Ash, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. "My thanks to Audubon for their fine and creative work protecting the birds that contribute so much to the natural splendor of New York."

The Chimney Swift is a small migratory bird that has been declining rapidly in number throughout North America. Swifts can be seen flying over the city from April through September, catching and eating insects while in flight. They spend their winters in South America as far south as Chile, making their annual migrations among the longest in the western hemisphere. Currently, they are on their northward migration and will return to the New York City area in a few short weeks.

Long ago, swifts used hollow trees for nesting and roosting and their populations actually increased as humans built chimneys, which replaced the trees that were lost as large regions of North America were cleared for farmland. Chimney Swifts took full advantage of these artificial structures as protected sites to roost and build nests. However, in recent years, many masonry chimneys have been capped and others torn down in favor of new construction. Still others are lined with metal rendering them useless to Swifts. One solution is construction of Chimney Swift towers, which can be thought of as large and elaborate nest boxes.

Audubon staff members pre-fabricated these 12-foot tall Chimney Swift towers at Constitution Marsh Audubon Center and Sanctuary in Cold Spring, NY, and erected them in March. Monitoring of the towers will take place throughout the spring and summer by New York City Audubon and State Parks volunteers. Tours of the towers are available upon request by New York City Audubon at 212-691-7483.

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