A version of the following article appeared in the October 9, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Thousands of chimney swifts swirl above Charlotte at dusk, but the old brick chimneys they depend on are disappearing
Chimney swifts approach a chimney last week at East Mecklenburg High School. (Video courtesy of Amber Veverka)
by Amber Veverka
At first, nothing. Then, in threes and fours, black shapes swooped through a twilight sky. Soon, they were joined by others, all chittering in high, alien voices.
A handful became dozens, then hundreds. Finally, they were a swirling flock of more than a thousand, wheeling in a counterclockwise vortex until it looked like the very sky was alive.
The chimney swifts were returning to their evening roost in an old chimney at East Mecklenburg High School on a recent night, with their human fans watching in wonder below. The massive flocking — part of the birds’ preparation for a 3,000-mile migration to South America — is a sight fewer in Charlotte may get a chance to see. That’s because swifts are losing the large brick chimneys they rely on for pre-migration roosting.
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