Sharing our FPCB Stories

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

The Tale of the Swifts continues...

We hope you have been enjoying the story of the chimney swift tower built on our property by Eagle Scout Elijah Sivick, and his friends and family.

Here is a wonderful article about this project, thoroughly researched and written by Tami Quigley for the Bethlehem Press. Be sure to note the comments shared by trustee Don Masters, and Rebecca Angione, Facilities Manager, about working on this project:

“Swift towers house a single nesting pair of birds. Nesting pairs also struggle to find suitable housing,” Angione said. “First Presbyterian values all creation, great and small, recognizes the contributions the swifts make to our environment and the important role they play in maintaining the delicate balance of life.

“I first noticed the mesmerizing acrobatics of the swifts in the fall of 2009, but long-time members tell me that the swifts were here long before that,” Angione said.

This has turned out to be a very timely story for the city of Bethlehem. As you may be familiar, the demolition of the Masonic Temple on Bethlehem's SouthSide 'shone the bright light' on the plight of the swifts, which use the chimney on that property during their annual migration.

Concerned citizens stepped in to work with the property owner, John Noble, and the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society (LVAS), and the chimney was saved. In the wake of this, the City of Bethlehem has declared the swift as the official "City Bird" and there is an effort underway to renovate or replace the chimney at that location.

You can read more about the Masonic Temple story - and it's a heart-warming one! - right here.

The Bethlehem Area Public Library is offering a series of virtual presentations in partnership with Lehigh Valley Audubon Society: S.O.S. Save Our Swifts. The next is "Saving their Urban Habitat: Telling the Story of the Chimney Swifts and their Connection to Our City."

Developer and property owner, John Noble will tell the story of his commitment to conservation, his discovery of the birds in the Masonic Temple Chimney in South Bethlehem, his decision to save the birds by saving an important part of their migratory habitat and the impact of this decision on his development project.

Other speakers will focus on the environmental impact, and then the public will be invited to imagine: What does it mean for a city to befriend a bird? How might the symbolic gesture of naming the Chimney Swift the Bird of Bethlehem impact our relationship to the species?

Then how might we implement policy changes that reflect that changing relationship? How might this story encourage a city-wide attitude of respect for wildlife, a changing relationship to the earth?

All the details and registration are here for the Wednesday, April 21 program.

The swifts will soon begin their annual migration, and we can once again enjoy their dancing in the sky!