A new spin…

A New Spin on 2020 Chimney Swift Monitoring in Manitoba

Since 2007, MCSI has grown an active engaged monitoring program, now growing to include participation in the National Roost Monitoring Program, Wednesday night blitzes and all-season nest monitoring. Over the past couple of years we have seen increasing volunteer participation, with more chimneys being watched than ever before. This has helped MCSI to identify over 50 new active sites in the past 3 years and swifts are being found in the breeding season in new communities such as Emerson and Neepawa.

Covid-19 has already affected a great many different programs and activities. For Chimney Swifts, we have learned all spring roost monitoring (NRMP), in Quebec, Ontario and the Maritime provinces has been cancelled. Many other field programs (such as the Breeding Bird Survey, and other research by government and research

organizations) have also been cancelled this summer. As medical professionals put their lives at risk during this pandemic, we have to assess our best course of action in Manitoba. As biologists and citizen scientists, we also have to support the significant efforts of our fellow medical scientists battling on different fronts to contain, study and beat this virus.

2020, MCSI will limit sponsorship of monitoring programs to a yard, balcony, or window-based Chimney Swift and aerial insectivore survey. We will be sending out a protocol and links to an online data submission tool by the middle of May, with our aim of beginning monitoring in the week of May 18th. Our goal is to create a survey that still uses citizen science to collect important data on Chimney Swifts, and at the same time attract new volunteers from people not previously engaged in our program. This approach might even reveal that swifts are breeding in previously unknown communities! With the additional of other aerial insectivores, we also hope to raise awareness of this threatened group of birds, including swallows, martins and nighthawks (although we will continue to focus on Chimney Swifts). We also hope that through catching the Chimney Swift bug, we might be able to recruit new neighborhood volunteers for our renewed monitoring program in the future.

MCSI will notify our valued monitors if a change in monitoring protocols is to be made. We did not take this decision lightly, but considered solidarity with currentpublic health advice, the ongoing need to social distance, need to limit travel distance, and wanting to demonstrate best practice, and avoid an image of biologists ignoring the public health threat. This will obviously be a disappointment to many people, but we believe the long-term benefits of this decision will outweigh the short-term loss of data. Even as the province opens up, many of our citizens will remain in their apartments, condos and homes, and we do not want our volunteers to be an added stress and burden at this time.

Every dark cloud has a silver lining. We look forward to you joining us with your participation in the “backyard” counts. We have seen a rise in the prevalence of backyard birding and local birding, and we hope to generate similar enthusiasm for Chimney Swifts and other aerial insectivores, as well all of us discovering the diversity of aerial insectivores in our own backyards.

Stay safe,

— Amanda Shave, Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative Coordinator, on behalf of the MCSI Steering Committee (Christian Artuso, Ron Bazin, Neil Butchard, Lewis Cocks, Ken De Smet, Jack Dubois, Nicole Firlotte, Frank Machovec, Tim Poole, Barb Stewart and Rob Stewart)