Marshall library's 26-foot chimney swift tower showcases local artist, tells birds' tale

MARSHALL - Madison County Public Library's Marshall branch boasts 11 themed gardens, including a butterfly garden, attracting visitors from all over. Now the branch has unveiled a new amenity to bring more visitors in, and this one is big enough to not miss.

The county library system and Marshall Native Gardens worked together with artist Lois Simbach and other community stakeholders, including Frank Tedone, to establish a nearly 30-foot-high chimney swift tower at the North Main Street library in Marshall.

Ed McNally is Marshall Native Gardens' coordinator and landscape architect.

Construction of the tower took roughly 18 months, McNally said.

Lois Simbach, the chimney swift tower artist, said she's been receiving compliments on the work, which will be unveiled to the public on May 18.

"I especially made it to be bright and happy for the children," Simbach said in a message to The News-Record & Sentinel.

"My first job ever, when I was 16, was shelving books at my hometown's public library. So this was a real honor."

Simbach depicted the four seasons on panels on the tower, which stands at 26 feet,

"Each season talks about what is happening with the chimney swifts, and what to look for in the gardens as far as native plants," McNally said. "A lot of it is mimicked in the mural. So, as you walk around, you'll get a different perspective of what's happening with the chimney swift, what's happening in the gardens, and it's educational information."

Simbach will be present at the May 18 opening to the public, which will feature native gardens tours led by docents.

County residents, including Frank Tedone, Howie Kronin, Bill Klodt and Mickey Coulson, worked with McNally on the project. Pat Kean worked with McNally on landscape design.

"I want to personally thank Ed for his dedication and devotion to all the library projects," Tedone said. "I was honored to contribute to this amazing place, Madison County, I now call home."

The Rotary Club of Madison County will be helping to maintain the structure. Rotary provided sponsorship funding for the project along with the Tourism Development Authority of Madison County, Marshall Native Gardens, the library director and the Friends of the Madison County Library, McNally said.

In addition to these community organizations, students from the French Broad River Academy and Magnolia Mill School in Weaverville assisted with construction of the project, including establishing a gravel walkway and building fencing around the HVAC unit. Members of Teens of Madison County helped out in the construction.

The youths also assisted in finishing a walkway from the bird garden to the tower area, through the back patio.

McNally and the team also have put in place an audio recording of chimney swifts to attract the birds for the first year.

"The idea is to attract them to come in and use it for breeding in the spring," McNally said. "In the fall, when they're migrating, they're looking for places to roost."

After that, they won't need the recording, as they'll have imprinted into their memories their Madison County trek.

According to McNally, the tower could hold as many as 700 chimney swifts at once.

The top of the tower will also utilize a solar web camera for livestreaming.

The livestream idea came from Madison County Public Library Director Kim Bellofatto, who said she is "thrilled" to partner with Simbach and Marshall Native Gardens for the tower.

"The tower is both functional in support of this declining species and a beautiful example of local art. In one project we were able to support two of our strategic focus areas, creativity and the arts and conservation," Bellofatto said.

"This addition to the library has generated significant enthusiasm among our local residents and schools. We look forward to their upcoming visits in the coming weeks."

More: Marshall Native Gardens hosts fest Marshall Native Gardens to host inaugural Native Plant Festival

More: Teens of Madison County spotlight 'Past, present and future': Madison teens making impact in their community

Chimney swifts

According to McNally, unlike many birds, chimney swifts can't perch on a branch or wire, and instead perch like a bat would.

The inside of the tower uses T-111 siding to allow for the birds to attach themselves to the sides of the structure while inside.

"That's how it hangs, like a bat would hang," McNally said. "It also builds its nest attaching to it, as well. So the whole inside of the tower is lined with that material.

"These birds are pretty similar to monarch butterflies, McNally said. "They actually will fly up real high in the sky to be getting their insects, and they actually sleep on the wing. They're really different."

Chimney swifts historically used large, hollow trees for nests and roosts, but the structural degradation was unsafe for the birds, who are pest-controlling birds that eat flying insects such as mosquitoes, biting flies and termites.

According to Marshall Native Gardens' literature, chimney swifts, like purple Martins, rely almost entirely on man-made structures for nest sites.

Protected by the Migratory Bird Act of 1916, chimney swifts cannot "perch" and need deep shafts in which to raise their families and roost at night.

The chimney swifts migrate as far north as Canada, and as far south as Peru.

"They're insect eaters," McNally said. "Our winters, and the winters north of here, it's not going to work trying to eat insects that time of year. So, that's why they migrate south. All the birds from Florida and into Canada, that's their summer range.

"So they've got a really interesting story to tell."

The public reception will take place May 18 with sessions at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the Marshall library, located at 1335 N. Main St.

Johnny Casey has covered Madison County for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel for nearly three years, including earning a first-place award in beat reporting in the 2023 North Carolina Press Association awards. He can be reached at 828-210-6071 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Chimney swift tower to attract birds to Marshall library