Bird watchers could potentially help three little birds at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center by looking up at the evening sky this week.

The environmental center is on the hunt for colonies of chimney swifts. Staff at the center have been rehabilitating three swifts in recent weeks, and they are rapidly nearing the date of their release.

“They don’t like to be by themselves. They’re social in their natural habitat,” said Susan Gallagher, chief naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Center.

Chimney swifts live in colonies that seek out chimneys and abandoned buildings. Without a colony, it will be difficult for the trio of young birds to build the strength for their annual migration to South America.

Spotting chimney swifts can take keen eyes. Birds in the swift family don’t perch on the ground or branches like other birds. They cling to vertical surfaces. In the case of chimney swifts, the only type of swift found in the eastern United States, that is usually artificial structures like the inside of chimneys or abandoned buildings.

The best time to spot chimney swifts is in the evening, when they come out to feed on flying insects. They can be found around the buildings where they take refuge the rest of the day.

“We know there are colonies around here, but I don’t know exactly where,” Gallagher said.

Swifts are known for gliding, diving and soaring in between rapid beats of their wings. In flight, they can sometimes be confused for bats, but their wings are longer and shaped like a sickle.

When in flight, they’re sometimes described as a flying cigar because of their body shape. They’re also compared to fighter pilots for their aerobatic skills.

The three birds at the environmental center haven’t earned their pilot’s wings just yet. But they are rapidly growing to the point when they too will be able to swoop and fly for their meals.

That makes the location of a colony vital, and time sensitive.

“If someone has these guys in their chimneys, or in a building across the street, an old abandoned building, I would love to know where it is,” Gallagher said.

Anyone with information on local chimney swifts can contact the environmental center at 570-645-8597.