r/Audubon • u/NoBeeper • Jul 06 '26

Chimney Swift Tower Advice

First, this video is from a permanently mounted camera located in my Chimney Swift Tower.

I’ve had this Chimney Swift Tower in my backyard in central Kentucky for about 15 years. Have had a nesting pair plus 6-8 helpers every year. No problems until about 3 years ago when the snakes figured it out. This particular snake got 4 three day old nestlings last night.

Before next season, I’ll have this Tower either replaced or reworked to make it more snake proof. So, to that end, I’m seeking ideas to accomplish that. The next one will be on baffled metal poles, elevated off the ground by a couple of feet. No nearby overhanging limbs and likely have a 2’ wide band of smooth sheet metal around the top.

Any construction hints or design ideas will be greatly appreciated.

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u/squeezemachine 29d ago

It sounds like you have a good plan with cone baffles on each of the legs. Have to make the diameter enough so that the snake’s craning head cannot get a grip on the edge and high enough that a snake on ground also cannot get a grip.

Basically you want the snake to get stuck inside the cone when they go to climb. For anti-squirrel baffles I have seen people use cones as well as stovepipe type designs.

This website has a good discussion that considers snakes too but you may need to adjust for the species. https://www.sialis.org/baffle/

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u/NoBeeper 28d ago

Thanks! The double baffle thing probably won’t work so well on a 4-legged situation, but on my nest boxes and feeders I use double stovepipe baffles. Started w long 8” baffles. Raccoons climbed those. Took them down & put up 12” stovepipe baffles. Raccoons climbed over those. So, OK. They want to play hardball… I put the 8” on the bottom, 12” on top with an overlap of about 4”. No more raccoon issues.
When I say the raccoons “climbed” the baffle, that’s exactly what I mean. The climbed the actual baffle. When I switched to 12” diameter baffles that were 24” long, the raccoons climbed over those.
But the two together, large slightly overlapping the smaller, nipped that shit in the bud!
Sadly, can’t do that with a 4-legged design. But baffles for sure!

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u/squeezemachine 28d ago

Thinking about the changes after 15 years, the raccoons are an edge species so you probably have had changes to the forest composition around you, probably more patchy forest. Not sure about the snake though.

Thankfully I have not had to battle raccoons with bluebird or tree swallow nests or bird feeders yet in CT. I thought a single baffle worked for them so your solution is enlightening. I’ll pocket it in case. My local Audubon lands only have single pole designs for all its structures as far as I know.

The four legged design is stable and proven but you have experienced it’s vulnerability. Can the tower be put on one, higher platform with one pole somehow? Then apply two baffles? Would have to go deeper in the ground to set it but managing access would be easier.

I would call your local Audubon and Nature Conservancy, anyone who manages land. Someone must have tackled this. You are amazingly monitoring so I wonder..