Delaware Audubon’s president, Steve Cottrell, is featured heavily in a recent Delaware Public Media news piece titled, “More Delaware species join ‘greatest conservation need’ list as habitat shrinks.” The piece, which covers a new report issued by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control titled, “Species of Greatest Conservation Need,” which is currently open for public comment, reviews which plant, bird, and animal species face the greatest threat in the state.
Chimney Swifts, a migratory bird that breeds in Delaware, is one such bird identified in the report as a Tier 1 species of greatest conservation need, up from Tier 2 from the report’s last date of publication a decade ago. As its name implies, the bird nests in chimneys or tall tree hollows. The combination of deforestation plus changing chimney designs and homeowners’ effort to thwart the swifts nesting there has put pressure on the bird to successfully breed.
Photo credit: Peter F, Macaulay Library
Though Cottrell doesn’t need a new report to know the extent of bird population decline — multiple Audubon reports over the past decade have warned of the severe decline of North American bird populations — he has already taken action in his own backyard. He has built five 14-foot towers made of lumber and anchored in concrete bases. The towers have produced results: in 2024, Cottrell had 19 Chimney Swift fledglngs; in 2025, each of the five towers had nests with eggs. One nest failed, but the remaining four will produce 12 fledglings.
The five white man-made Chimney Swift towers that Delaware Audubon president, Steve Cottrell, installed on his property. Photo courtesy of Steve Cottrell.
As the article points out, “Cottrell welcomed [the report] as a sign that state officials are at least watching. “It’s good for people to know that there are folks in Delaware who are paying attention,” he said. “It’s up to individuals to contact their lawmakers. There might be some small areas where you can make an impact.”
It’s also worth noting that other Delaware homeowners can take small actions, such as what Cottrell has done, to create man-made habitats to replace those natural ones destroyed in the land development process. The above photo of Cottrell’s yard also reveals man-made Purple Martin nest colonies, which Cottrell and others across the state have begun to put on their properties in order to accommodate the migratory Purple Martins.
Since habitat destruction ranks among the Top 2 reasons for rapidly declining bird populations, every small effort makes a difference. These conservation at home tips from the National Park Service are a great place to start.