CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – An abandoned Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools property in South Charlotte is at the center of two efforts: wildlife conservationists want to preserve its brick chimney, and parents at a nearby school want the vacant building demolished.
The chimney provides a roosting site for more than 1,000 birds, drawing viewers who gather at dusk to watch them return.
Catching the birds’ dramatic evening flight is becoming harder to witness. Experts say the swift population has fallen by more than half since the 1960s, putting the birds on a conservation watch list.
“Every time we lose one of these chimneys, we’re losing an active or potential roosting site for these birds,” said Alden Picard of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation.
Swifts use the interiors of brick chimneys as resting places. Habitat loss has contributed to their decline, while development and technology have made the structures harder to find, Picard said…