Author: mbchimneyswift@gmail.com

Hello everyone, my name is Amanda Shave and I am just starting work as the new Habitat Stewardship and Outreach Coordinator for MCSI.

Prior to this position I was working as an environmental policy analyst in Manitoba. I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Manitoba with work terms at Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada as a riparian health technician and at Ducks Unlimited Canada working on their Carp Exclusion Project at Delta Marsh, Manitoba. It was working and living in the middle of Delta Marsh during two springs and summers that my interest in birds started.

From 2015-2017 I completed my M.Sc. degree in the Avian Behavior and Conservation (ABC) lab at the University of Manitoba. I used light level-tracking devices and North American long-term breeding dataset to explore the impact of climate change on the migration and breeding timing of a long-distance migratory songbird, the purple martin.

My M.Sc. research and my future work at the MSCI have some interesting parallels. Both my research locally in Manitoba, and the long-term dataset would not have been possible without the help of citizen scientists involved in Manitoba and across North America. In Manitoba we were just getting a network of citizen scientists off the ground for the program starting in 2015, while across North America citizen scientist have been reporting breeding data for martins for over 20 years!  The roles of citizen scientists in research is so important in growing the reach of data collection, knowledge and enthusiasm for nature and I look forward to working with all of you. If you are interested in volunteering for this program, or learning more about chimney swifts please contact me at mbchimneyswift@gmail.com or call 204-943-9029.

–Amanda Shave

I’ve just posted an updated list of location codes for identifying our nesting and roost sites. The list may be found at https://www.mbchimneyswift.com/Documents/2019_MCSIcodes.pdf There’s a link to this list on the Resources and Links page of the website, too.

There’s an interesting job opportunity available that involves the Chimney Swift and Important Bird Areas projects. Details about the job may be found at https://www.mbchimneyswift.com/?p=2145 The deadline for applications is September 13.

We just discovered a short, but interesting article about swifts (their behaviour and plight) from, of all places, the August 15 edition of the London Review of Books. “Consider the Swift” is at https://www.mbchimneyswift.com/Documents/londonreviewofbooks2019.pdf (Our thanks to Gene Walz for discovering this gem. )

On behalf of the Steering Committee, thanks again to all of our dedicated volunteers !

— Frank Machovec for the MCSI

This is probably the final, FINAL, swift monitoring report of 2019, and oh what a year it has been! Unofficially, you, our volunteers, have watched more chimneys and identified more active sites than any previous year. Below we present a summary of the latest reports received since our last blogpost on August 21^st.

First to Dominion City and a report sent from Dave, a local homeowner and an email dated August 20th:

‘Just wanted to report another successful nesting season in my chimney. At least 12 years and running my swift family has been here and have raised yet another brood. Now the chimney has now gone quiet as they have now left for another year.’

Having been fortunate to look in the bottom of this chimney, I can tell you that it is absolutely packed full of swift nesting material.

Margaret and Millie sent a report from Brandon on the same day with an entry/exit cycle followed by two entries.

In Selkirk, Linda and Nia did not see any swifts at the Mental Health Centre, also on the 21st.

Blair sent his weekly summary of reports on the 21^st:

‘This week I saw one Chimney swift entering the chimney at 188 St. Mary’s on August 19th.  

For 261 Youville Street, I was watching two swifts over the season but on August 20, they were not seen, therefore no evidence of a successful breeding.

690 St. Joseph, was watch on August 21, and no swifts were seen this night.  Since there were 8 entering the chimney at last viewing the chimney swifts must have started their migration.’

It is sometimes very hard to decipher what has happened with such an elusive species, but Blair has been brilliant for MCSI in 2019. Thank you!

Also on the 21^st Rudolf sent his report from a waning East Kildonan:

‘I had not seen any swifts in my neighbourhood for about a week, but today two were near my home.’

Frank and Jacquie sent a report in from Waterfront:

Jacquie and I parked near MacDonald and Gomez to observe the waterfront chimneys. It’s hard to find line of sight to both chimneys…

Only one CHSW was seen during the roost hour, and there was one entry to the 527 Waterfront chimney. That’s it, that’s all.

I really thought we were going to see more activity tonight.’

On the 22^nd, Ken and Jan sent an update from Dauphin:

‘Well we missed last night’s count as we were helping set up our church for it’s 65^th Anniversary till dark so tonight was the night to check. As I sat watching an empty sky I thought well this is it for the season but, yes but, after 11 minutes one swift came in and down the chimney and within 2 minutes it was out and foraging again. It seems the young still have not fledged from this nest. Every 10 minutes or so there was an entry/exit cycle but, oh not another but, there was an exit when there was not supposed to be any birds in the chimney. Just before the end of my observation period, 3 single birds entered the chimney about 3 minutes apart. It looks like this pair has recruited a helper for this late in the season. These were the only swifts seen so everyone else must be heading to a warmer south destination.’

Barb was on hand to give some thoughts as to the activity in the chimney though:

‘Thanks so much for sending the summary along Ken…I think you’re likely in the post-fledging phase with flight training. The Aug. 14th activity looks suspiciously like touch ‘n’ go fledgling activity; it was triple the activity rate seen the previous week. 

Just for comparison, the ST A fledglings seem to anchor departure for 7-10 days minimum, so Aug. 22 in your chimney is nominally 1 week post-fledging. I think they could be gone – successfully, with juveniles in tow – anytime now and just start the southern trip slowly.’

Barb is such an asset to MCSI!

Earlier on the same day, Katrina had seen zero activity at the zoo tower over an hour monitoring session. It seems these birds may already have migrated.

The most excitement came from Brandon. Margaret and Millie had 5 swifts in the chimney, including some iffy entries. Yes, this chimney did it again and fledged a family of up to 3 young.

Robert and Donna counted 4 swifts using the large stack at the Mental Health Centre in Selkirk on the 22^nd. Gerald also had 2 swifts use the southwest chimney at Lower Fort Garry.

On the 23^rd, Gerald counted 3 entries and an exit at the St Andrews Maintenance Compound in Lockport, another successful year at this site by the looks of things.

Margaret and Millie only had 3 swifts in the chimney in Brandon on that evening, but then on the 24^th the full family of 5 showed up!

Bob and Valerie were at New Silver Heights in St James:

‘We observed the chimney at the Silver Heights apartments a couple of times recently (reports attached).  On 23 Aug 2019, it seemed that young had fledged, but it was very windy and as the birds seemed to be having difficulties with their entries into the chimney, our counts may not have been too accurate.  We looked again on 30 August 2019 for a while, but only saw one entry; we hope the other birds have survived.’

One week is ample time for these birds to spread their wings and seek some better feeding!

On the 25^th, Ken sent a lonely report from Dauphin:

‘Yes, I was out this evening to see how the swifts were fairing here in Dauphin after about a 2 inch rainfall and it appears that the swifts have missed it and headed south for the winter.’

Another report from Margaret and Millie came in:

‘Two swifts only, entered on Aug 26 – we wondered if they had been left behind; or, had they been the only two outside the chimney?

Poor weather kept us from monitoring Aug.27 & Aug 28.

Last evening, Aug. 29 no swifts were seen.’

Gerald also sent another report on the 28^th:

‘There are still 2 active chimneys here. Today, Robert Hempler noted Swifts entering and exiting the Infirmary chimney. This evening between 8:00 and 8:20 PM I noted 3 Swifts entering the north chimney at Lockport Bridge.’

Surely not still breeding in the infirmary?

Finally, Barb sent us her final St Adolphe update last week, documenting the final flaps of swifts as they exit town for another year:

‘Last week, on Tues. Aug. 20th, I did an hour long multi-site recce in town. Starting at 6:20 PM along the east dyke near the Curling Club, no Purple Martins, Barn Swallows, Tree Swallows, or Chimney Swifts were seen or heard. Moving over to the cemetery, a half hour later, yielded the last sighting of the season. A single swift flew low to the west of the Church ~7 PM. It may have been in the company of a second swift, but the fleeting glimpse made the bird hard to i.d. with certainty. That was it for over an hour of monitoring. Things were really winding down.

On Wed. Aug. 21st, I was really wound up. During a 90 minute roosting hour watch at Club Amical, there wasn’t a swift to be seen or heard. The absence of swifts made sense and you can’t really want them to linger. The food supply is running out. 

Tues. Aug. 27th and another week has slipped by. Swift watching may be futile. At 10 AM, it’s 100% overcast, 13 C, winds are gusting to 42 kph, and more rain is on its way. Another cold, wet, windy morning to challenge aerial insectivores. Two hummingbirds are sitting and sucking nectar at their feeder like it’s one big Slurpee dispenser. An adult Barn Swallow is taking refuge on the plant hanger under the deck roof. No other birds seem to be active in the area. The Chimney Swift breeding season in St Adolphe is over. 

Now it’s time to send a big shout out of thanks to many, many people for their contributions to MCSI ’19 – our 13th year of swift-seeking in Manitoba. My St Adolphe supporters, with their considerable patience and tolerance, make chimney vigils possible. Other monitors, who contribute to the big provincial picture by watching, waiting, and counting swift entries and exits, are sent a huge bouquet of appreciation. It is not a glamorous job, but it is an essential job, to generate those precious data points. Tim, as fearless leader, has done a remarkable job of coordinating all the elements of our program ~ monitoring, stewardship, & outreach ~ that make MCSI such a success. Frank, our amazing webmaster, is instrumental in linking all of our activities to the ether zone where we share information and knowledge. 

So, keep Chimney Swift issues in mind as the “off season” descends. We’ll look forward to swift-filled skies (and chimneys) next spring!’

And with that, the end of this (probably) final monitoring report of 2019. THANK YOU EVERYONE who has contributed to making 2019 a successful year.

Please, please, please send any outstanding reports back to us. We welcome them even if they are spring straddlers from May!

If you fancy compiling these reports in future, there is an excellent opportunity to do just that – https://www.mbchimneyswift.com/?p=2145.

-Tim Poole

Our project coordinator, Tim Poole, will soon be leaving us for greener pastures.

This means that we will be looking for a new person to look after Chimney Swift and IBA duties.

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The Manitoba Important Bird Area (IBA) Caretaker Program and Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative (MCSI) are seeking a full-time coordinator to run these programs in Manitoba, with the assistance of two volunteer steering committees. We envisage the successful candidate will work 3 days/week on the IBA Program and 2 days/week on the MCSI.  The successful candidate will be responsible for delivering multiple grant programs, including the Bird Studies Canada “Enhancing Avian Species At Risk Applicability in Conservation Delivery” in southwestern Manitoba and the Habitat Stewardship Program grant “Working with the Urban Development Sector in Manitoba to Provide Stewardship for the Chimney Swift”.

Job Description

The position is currently funded fully up to March 31^st 2020, and part-time from April 1^st 2020, with actual days worked being flexible depending on the candidate’s availability and work requirements. The exact start date is negotiable, preferably by October 2019. It is envisioned that the successful candidate will work from Nature Manitoba’s Winnipeg office; however, other locations may be acceptable to suit the successful candidate’s preference. Travel to various Manitoba locations, especially southwestern Manitoba, will be involved. The position will require field work and the successful candidate may need to stay overnight in rural Manitoba.

We seek a dynamic individual who can engage a variety of audiences and rally support for the projects from different sectors. The successful candidate will:

• work independently, but with input from both committees, to continue the development and promotion of province-wide programs,
• write funding proposals and to seek opportunities to expand the programs
• be skilled at giving presentations, recruiting volunteers, and organizing events
• organize volunteer events, including habitat stewardship work parties and volunteer monitoring blitzes
• engage with diverse community groups to deliver stewardship and monitoring, including beef producers, landowners, First Nations, birders and building owners
• deliver monitoring for various groups of birds including shorebirds, grassland birds and aerial insectivores
• train and coordinate volunteers in avian monitoring techniques
• be able to use the IBA monitoring protocol (eBird) and technical tools and to explain their usage to volunteers
• be able to manage a database of Chimney Swift records and coordinate contributions to national monitoring programs
• create and manage partnerships with governmental and non-governmental organisations
• maintain the website http://importantbirdareasmb.ca, social media accounts and provide content to the volunteer webmaster for the MCSI website
• manage two separate budgets, subcontracts and summer staff
• represent the programs at meetings or conferences as required
• coordinate the two programs and be accountable to two Steering Committees as required

Compensation: $22.50/hr starting salary with the possibility of increased hours and pay dependent on performance review.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated oral and written communications skills,
• Demonstrated knowledge of natural history and conservation (although a degree in biological or ecological sciences is not required, this program will benefit from someone who can speak with confidence and authority on the conservation issues pertinent to IBAs and Chimney Swifts).
• Familiarity with Manitoba’s avifauna, experience in conservation programming, experience in working with community organizations and/or NGOs, fundraising experience, and bilingualism, are strong assets.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and negotiate with different groups of people to deliver and negotiate stewardship for Species at Risk
• Demonstrated avian monitoring skills
• Basic computer familiarity, especially with Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook). Familiarity with Adobe or other photo-editing software an asset.
• Valid driver’s license (own vehicle or ability to rent a vehicle preferred)

Apply To:

Please send (electronically in .doc, .rtf, or .pdf format) a résumé and cover letter with the names of three referees to Paula Grieef at  p_grieef@ducks.ca.

Deadline: Sept 13, 2019, 5 pm Central time. 

It feels like this will be one of our last Chimney Swift updates for 2019 – but what a year it has been!

Here are some updates from around the province, proving there is still life in the old swift yet.

We begin with Selkirk:

On July 19, Robert and Donna, counted 15 swifts at the large stack at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre and 2 in the infirmary;

On July 24, Robert and Donna, counted 34 swifts at the large stack at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre, 4 in the yellow brick and 2 in the infirmary;

On July 24 and July 31, Ray and Sybil did not have any activity at the Merchant’s Hotel;

On August 2, Gerald counted 1 swift at Lower Fort Garry in the Fur Loft;

On August 5, Gerald counted 3 in one chimney, and 1 in the other chimney at St Andrews Lock and Dam in Lockport;

On August 8, Gerald counted 2 in the chimney at Lower Fort Garry in the Fur Loft;

On August 13, Linda and Nia counted 28 swifts at the large stack at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre, Robert and Donna counted 2 at a busy nest site at the yellow brick chimney and 2 in the infirmary;

On August 14, Ray and Sybil’s luck changed and they counted a net 10 at the 367 Main Street site and August 15 a total of 7;

On August 14, Gerald counted 2 in the chimney at Lower Fort Garry in the Fur Loft;

In Brandon, Margaret and Millie continue their vigilant watching. Here is their brief report from the 9^th:

‘We decided to go earlier so this report includes daytime monitoring. We are concerned that our swifts arrived later and are at increased risk of nest failure. They are still feeding – we left feeling hopeful!’

Continuous feeding of young was going on. Jump to August 13, and the feeding was as busy as ever, 7 entries, 6 exits in 72 minutes. A similar rate was recorded on the 18^th. Fledging must be close for this pair.

Speaking of fledging, Garry sent this report on the 13^th:

‘20:24 – 1 swift circling, with low sweeps by chimney several times.

20:25 – same swift enters chimney, in a rather halting fashion.

20:33 – 1 swift circling chimney for almost 10 minutes. Making many wide circles and several low sweeps low to the chimney. Then it disappeared.

20:51 – 2 swifts circling chimney, keeping close company, some twittering with several low sweeps by chimney.

20:55 – the 2 swifts enter chimney, both in a halting manner.

21:03- 1 swift enters chimney. Came out of nowhere and dove in like a bullet. Adult I presume. 

Waited until 21:19 but saw no other entry. There were distractions with cars pulling out from where I was parked so not impossible that I missed one more dive-bomb entry.

So … I would say at least 2 young have been reared in this chimney, maybe 3, judging by the somewhat careful entries of 3 swifts.’

Brilliant news from Watt Street in East Kildonan. Thanks Garry for watching and sharing. More success in Portage la Prairie where Cal sent this report:

‘This evening Gord and myself along with Janice Madill did another swift watch. Gord covered the former Women’s Gail and had 3 rather late entries. Janice Madill and myself covered Trinity United Church.

The following is a quick breakdown of events at the church:

8:43 – a flyover flock of 16 swifts seen
8:48 – a flyover flock of 19 swifts seen  (a real surge in numbers over last week )
8:20 to 8:52 – several attempts at entry by an obvious fledgling
8:58 – 2 quick entries
9:02 – 1 quick entry followed by (at last) the rather clumsy entry by a fledgling
9:16 – another quick entry

Total 5 final entries for the evening all in the south chimney. There is the possibility that more than one of these 5 entries was a fledgling. We don’t really think so though as they were all “smooth” entries with the one exception. Unless of course two more fledglings “caught on” quicker on how to make more skillful entries!’

Back in Winnipeg, and it looks as though we had a fledged swift reported by Barbara and Phil:

‘Plenty of aerial CHSW activity (I counted 13, but there may have a couple more) over east Osborne Village.  No entries into Royal Oak. There were some tantalizing low flyovers of the Clarke chimney, three failed entries (3 different birds, or just one who couldn’t get it right?).  But only 3 entries in the end. Where did the other 10 go?’

Where indeed! Blair in St Boniface sent this:

‘My reports for this week. They cover two locations that had a pair of swifts all season.  This week was a repeat of what I saw last week.  

261 Youville – had swifts entering and exiting a couple of times, then two swifts went in for the night.

340 Provencher Blvd – had two swifts enter the chimney, 1 left 15 minutes later and then two returned 8 minutes later, for a total of 3 in the chimney.’

The suspicion here is that Provencher fledged one swift and Youville is still an ongoing nest attempt.

Randy from the Manitoba Museum sent an intriguing report on the 14^th:

‘And, while having a coffee meeting with other curators at Joe and Lilly’s in Sports Manitoba, a swift entered the gray-painted NE chimney of Children’s House on Pacific. It entered about 10:40 and exited less than a minute later. I did not see another entry after about 20 minutes.’

A second report came 24 hours later from Randy.

‘Watched the Pacific Avenue chimney yesterday (Aug 15) for about 10 minutes in the morning, 8:15-8:25, and ten minutes in the afternoon, 4:45-4:55 with no observations.

Watched for 55 minutes this morning (Aug 16) with some activity:

8:14 – 1 leaving

8:14 – 1 leaving
8:15 – 1 leaving
8:30 – 1 entering (might have missed the exit?)
8:35 – 1 entering
8:37 – 1 exiting
8:56 – 1 flew over the chimney about 5 feet above, did not enter
9:06 – 1 entering
9:08 – 1 exiting

Chimney is in full sun by 8:10 or earlier. Birds exited towards the east or the southeast (towards the river) and returned from similar directions.’

New Silver Heights was very active on the 16^th, watched by Bob and Valerie:

‘We went to look at the chimney at the Silver Heights apartments yesterday.  Activity, but apparently no fledging yet.’

Katrina still had an entry at the zoo on the 15^th. This tower has been a hive of activity in 2019!

Ken and Jan had a busy week in Dauphin starting on the 14^th:

‘Started out being a great night to watch swifts but then rain clouds moved in about an hour before sunset and drowned us out at one chimney but cleared out by the time we move to the roost chimney. Chimney 2018-14 wasn’t observed this night as volunteers are now working with Elections Canada so we started with 2018-15. We immediately spotted swifts flying overhead, 5 became 8 then 11 and then 14 but all flying high overhead. There was one entry event with 2 swifts going down with the last one clearing having trouble and hovering over the chimney mouth before dropping in. I would suggest this chimney has now fledged and one adult and a YOY are using the chimney for roosting.

Moved on over to observe the roost chimney #600 and observed the larger flock from 2018-15 of over 14 swifts flying through the light rain. There was then a series of 5 entry/exits which correlates to last weeks observation that the roost has a nest inside with young still not fledged. As sunset came, individual swifts started to roost but the big flock number did not materialize so it might be a composite flock of fledglings, parents and migrants. The final estimate for swifts in the chimney was only 7 but the maximum seem flying at one time was 16. It seems likely that the rest of the flock split themselves into the two nesting chimneys.

A summary could look like this: 16 swifts minus 7 in roost = 9 with 2 in nest chimney = 11 minus 4 adults = 7 possible YOY fledged so far which is a really good number with the nest in the roost still to fledge (maybe I’m dreaming this success number!).’

The intrigue continued on the 17^th at the large roost chimney:

‘Stopped by the Dauphin roost on our way home from a meal of Chinese food tonight and in less than 5 minutes saw an exit, entrance and exit so they are still not fledge yet.’

Finally, Barb has sent possibly her last report from St Adolphe for 2019:

‘Chimney Swift activity in St Adolphe was much reduced on Waning Wednesday, August 14. The aerial presence of the swifts along the north-south corridor was non-existent. At minute 50 of a one hour watch, a quick exit was made at the Main St. chimney. The departing swift was black and sleek, but was not presenting itself in a way to i.d., so it may have been a juvenile but that can’t be confirmed.

Over at the older residential area near the curling rink on Wednesday, up to 6 swifts could be seen flying low over the mature tree tops. They were feeding actively with Purple Martins. Watching the rim of the newly identified nest site yielded no entry/exit observations in 30 minutes. There was no need for concern though as fledging took place at this site Aug. 10-11. Fledglings could be seen flying near the nest chimney on Monday and again Wednesday, so flight training is well underway.

For other nest site monitors, it is fast approaching the cutoff date for successful fledging. In St Adolphe, August 16 is the latest known date for successful takeoff – and that was a Day 32 liftoff at the Brodeur Bros. site in 2010 (fledging was delayed by significant, prolonged wind activity). Watch for changes in activity patterns at your sites: an increase of activity by adults may signal drawing the young up to the chimney rim prior to fledging; an increase in activity by obviously flight-challenged swifts – including tentative entries – suggests fledglings are learning to navigate in the airspace. Once fledging takes place, the use of the natal site diminishes over 7-10 days and, yes, it can be variable between sites. This year the SE Club fledglings were in/out of the chimney often during the day for over a week while the Main St young were not using their chimney at all during a 90 minute watch 2 days post-fledging.

Margaret and Millie often have successful fledging at their site in Brandon at later dates in August. Tim has some good thoughts on this…’

In response to Barb’s last ‘poke’, Tim’s hypothesis is that swifts arrive back in Brandon later than the east. Maybe the season draws out longer in the southwest, stays warmer, and perhaps there is less insecticide spraying in the city. And that’s that!

And that is indeed our update. A plethora of great reports. Thank you everyone One more week to come, and possibly another week of great reports. We look forward to hearing from you.

Tim Poole

As the summer begins to wind down, there were still numerous reports of swifts in Manitoba to keep us busy. We will still have swifts into next week, so why not take a final look before they depart on their long journey south?

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We return to St Adolphe to begin this weeks report. Barb had the ultimate in rude awakenings, as she tells us here:

‘Wednesday August 7th was a wild ‘n’ wonderful morning in St Adolphe. It was Day 30 for the Main St juveniles and time to fledge. The youngsters obliged with a brief aerial parade over the condominiums just north of their natal site. The day before, the adults were significantly more active in the chimney (4 entry/exits per hour which isn’t high, but it was double the frequency seen lately). Thursday’s wind was blowing a couple of juveniles around in the morning and things were really tough to track. So the best estimate for now is that 2-3 fledglings are airborne from the Main St nest site.

It is always a pleasure chatting with passersby, as was the case Wednesday. Two people asked about how juveniles find their way up and out of the chimney. One person was quite happy at the prospect of having the baby birds, which were sounding off in their chimney – loud enough to be heard in the kitchen, move along to the exterior too! HUH? Our conversation took an unexpected turn, as did my car when I made my way to old town to check out a roof top. Barely out of the vehicle, an obviously moulting adult Chimney Swift swooped over a terra cotta collar extending above a brick chimney. The swift hovered to align itself, then dropped in! Another swift dropped in seconds later! My eyes were wide and my head was feeling overwhelmed. Here I am, thirteen years into MCSI monitoring and thinking all the sites in St Adolphe were “known”. But in front of me was definitely a newly identified nest site! I’m not sure who was in a deeper state of shock – me or the homeowners.

As it turns out, the homeowners heard similar baby bird noises in 2018. So the chimney appears to have been occupied by swifts for at least two consecutive seasons. At season’s end, we will be taking a closer look at the terra cotta collar, chimney side wall material, dimensions, and all that will help educate us on what makes this chimney attractive to swifts. Clearly, other candidate chimneys in old town St Adolphe could be lurking. Time to step back, take a breath, and start thinking about how best to approach 2020’s research project!’

Strangely, we always considered that St Adolphe sites were all known. How wrong we were!

Ken sent us an update from Dauphin as well on Wednesday:

‘Well, today I took it on myself to monitor the 3 Dauphin chimneys as all other observers are now busier as summer winds down. Both the nesting chimneys I monitored for an hour during the day and then the roost was done during the roosting hour.

Both nesting chimneys are still occupied but entries are well spread out as it appears that insects might be at a premium in our area, in one case, there was 30+ minutes between entries with the swift only being in the chimney for under a minute. For both sites there was also 2 entries within a minute of each other indicating both parents are out actively sourcing food for the young.

The roosting chimney was very quiet when after 20 minutes of watching, there was an exit; 15 minutes later an entry and 5 minutes later another exit, is there a nest in the roost? About 10 minutes after sunset, there were suddenly 8 then 14 swifts flying overhead and just as quick 11 went down the roost chimney and then 1 more leaving 2 unaccounted for that may have gone to one or the other nesting chimney for the night. There was no indication that any young swifts might be about as all entries were straight in without hesitation.’

Cal sent an interesting update from Portage la Prairie:

‘This evening (Aug 7) Gord and myself covered the Rufous Prince Building and Trinity United Church respectively. Gord ended up with a total of 6 swifts settling in for the night with 4 in the south chimney and 2 in the north one.’

We definitely appear to have some young about to fledge soon. Here’s what I came up with, all in the south chimney as usual:

8:30 6 flying over the Church
8:34 1 entry
8:35 1 exit
8:37 1 exit
8:42 2 entries
8:44 2 exits
8:45 9 flying over the Church
8:54 2 entries
8:55 2 exits
9:01 2 entries
9:03 1 entry
9:05 2 exits
9:13 1 entry
9:13 1 exit
9:14 1 entry
9:18 1 entry
9:18 1 exit
9:22 1 entry
9:23 1 exit
9:28 1 entry

Busy night!’

In Brandon, Margaret and Millie sent this update:

‘We were downtown yesterday Aug 6, and stopped in the lane just north of the Orange Block for less than 10 min. There was 1 entry and 1 exit in that time and definitely by 2 different swifts.’

Over to Lower Fort Garry, and Gerald sent the following dated this morning:

‘I was at the farm house from 8:20 PM to 9:30 PM. There was no activity at the house or the building to the east where they are digging. I sat to the south of the house so I could watch the east building inside the walls as well. I had two entries at 8:46 PM and at 9:20 PM.’

To Winnipeg, and Barbara and Phil sent an Osborne Village update:

‘It looks as though the young have fledged at Clarke, judging from the botched entries! Phil watched the Moxham chimney. It’s a little confusing, as on Google Earth the chimney appears to be in the middle of the roof, but the one he watched (maybe not from the best viewing point) is on the NE corner of the building. There was certainly a great deal of low flying activity in that direction that I could see from my place. Most of the earlier high-flying activity was over Fort Rouge Park and the river. Very little vocalizing.’

In Point Douglas, Frank and Jacquie checked chimneys at 515 and 527 Waterfront. The chimney at the rear of 527 had some entries and exits, and may warrant a return visit to confirm successful nesting.

In East Kildonan, Rudolf sent this quick update:

‘Once again a number of swifts were overhead at Kildonan Drive between Irving Place and Cheriton this evening. They have been a regular feature; at least 9 birds this time.’

Bob and Valerie were out in St James:

‘We eventually went to look again at the chimney at the Silver Heights Apartments this evening and saw a lot of activity, although apparently no indication of fledging yet. ‘

Blair was again doing some excellent monitoring, and had a great deal to report:

‘I did a small blitz in St. Boniface in the last 4 days, since my wife was away on a trip.

Tonight, I checked two new chimneys

• 180 de la Cathedrale – Part of St. Boniface U
• 228 Hamel – Aulneau Renewal Centre
  but no Swifts were seen in the area.

The next three locations were Chimneys that previously had a pair of Swifts occupying them this season.

• 188 St. Mary’s – had only one entry in the hour between, 30 minutes before and after sunset.
• 340 Provencher – had an entry and exit, followed by 3 entries for the night, possibly a new Swift fledged.
• 261 Youville – had two entry/exit events, about 2 minutes apart, then the two adults entered for the night, both at the 9:13 minute. Seems to be still feeding.’
  Kristyn at the Assiniboine Park Zoo sent this:

‘Here is the chimney swift survey completed on August 8 at Assiniboine Park. There were two cooper’s hawks hunting a squirrel quite close to the chimney during the survey. I saw one swift fly into the chimney, but did not see any come out.’

And if you are still here, Tim completed a downtown blitz on Thursday night:

‘I hit thrilling Thursday this evening, a multi-site blitz around downtown. I started at the Kennedy apartment and managed to get 2 entry exit cycles in this chimney, so feeding still going there. I also tried to keep an eye on two adjacent chimneys, one a tall apartment which hosted a nesting pair in 2018. There certainly seemed to be possible interest here on a couple of occasions.

I left at 9 because I wanted to check if the fall roost had formed at 303 Assiniboine. Nothing here, but I wandered to another chimney which has 2 flues, a bust cage and a tile top, found by John Hays about this time last year. A pair were really active overtop and soon entered the bust cage side. After this, a swift entered the tile side and quickly left. A minute later 2 swifts entered the tile side again, one stayed and the other left and headed towards 303 Assiniboine. A third entered the cage side, so likely in my opinion we had a successful breeding here (John recorded similar strange behaviour in 2018).

Back to the first spot, and I caught a last single swift enter the tall apartment, confirming use here for this year.

So 3 chimneys and 4 flues occupied this evening!’

–Tim Poole
Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative Coordinator

Swifts are still here, and the reports are still flowing. Here is the latest monitoring news from the chimney tops of Manitoba.

We start at the Assiniboine Park Zoo. Kelsey sent this report on Thursday morning via text:

‘I think there might be fledging at the zoo. I have 2 bird with feathers missing on their wings and a third cleaner looking bird that took 3 shots to get into the chimney’

For those unfamiliar with swift biology, the adult birds moult during the breeding period, and if you look closely in binoculars, you can often see the missing wing feathers. However, fledging birds do not moult and have clean looking wings. The second part of the text re. the 3 three attempts to enter the chimney is very typical of an inexperienced bird. We therefore believe (unless Barb tells me otherwise) that Kelsey has confirmed that at least one Chimney Swift has fledged from inside this tower.

Katrina also watched the same chimney that same day, and 3 birds continued to be observed in the area.

in Brandon, Margaret and Millie continue to watch the Orange Block. They sent the following update from Tuesday evening:

‘Princess Ave was busier than on Sunday nights, but not distracting. Insects are in short supply!!’

2 swifts continue to use this site.

Frank and Jacquie braved the (not so) coming storm at 464 St Mary Avenue and 274 Osborne on the 31st. Unfortunately, no swifts were seen. Just down the road, Tim noted a single entry at the Granite Curling Club. This was a very early entry, and we suspect all swifts went to bed early that night.

In St Boniface, Blair sent a nice report in:

‘I was back to watch the chimney at 690 St. Joseph for evidence of fledged Chimney Swifts.  This chimney was successful last year and seems to be successful again this season. 

When we arrived, there were 10 – 11 Swifts in the air.  Between 8:35 and 8:53, there were 3 entries. Then 9 swifts were seen in the air for a total of 12 in the area.  During the hour the chimney was watched, I recorded a total of 8 entries, with one exit at the very end.  This swift did not return to the chimney during the time it was watched.

Previous visits to this chimney this season resulted in only a pair of swifts in the chimney, so with 8 entries tonight, there could be 5-6 young present now.’

In Osborne Village, Barbara and Phil provided another excellent update:

‘We didn’t go out on Wednesday because of the lightning, so these are from Friday.

It looks as though the young have fledged at Royal Oak, and Clarke (My Place) is still active (though they roost very early)‘

Leah also let us know that there were swifts still feeding during daytime at Lower Fort Garry on Thursday morning, and then she even found 7 swifts around Kildonan United Church on Kilbride on her way home.

Finally, Gerald sent the following from Selkirk:

‘Robert and Donna Hempler counted 34 Chimney Swifts entering the large stack at the Selkirk Mental |Health Centre on July 24, a season high number.’

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And there we have it. Keep the energy going folks, there is very little time left, and still swifts to find and swifts to count! We suggest that you take a leaf out of Blair’s book, and return to a site you have already monitored before the season ends.

— Tim Poole, Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative Coordinator

We were very saddened to hear of the passing of long-term MCSI volunteer David Dawson. David volunteered in his home community of La Broquerie from 2010, doing his final monitoring check at the end of June this year. 

During his years of volunteering, David monitored the Paroisse Saint Joachim in La Broquerie. For many of those years, he only watched the large chimney on the side of the building. However in 2016, David organised to have the chimney on the rear of the building cleaned (funded by MCSI). He found a bees nest blocking access, removed it, and swifts have been using this spot ever since.

David was also well known for his building prowess – he was keen to build boxes for bats, as well as towers for swifts. Having decided that his two towers would stand better chances being attached to existing buildings, David donated them to other MCSI volunteers. One now stands in a private address in St Vital, and the other is attached to the side of the building at the Carman Elementary School. 

His efforts and enthusiasm will be hard to replace. 

His obituary can be read at https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-265887/DAWSON_%20DAVID

— Tim Poole, Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative Coordinator

No, not THAT south! Here’s an update from the Chimney Swift capital of Manitoba, Saint Adolphe.

Taking wing was the theme of the last week of July. For me, heading off to Ontario for a family wedding was eased by the support of a legion of friends. Tim, Lynnea, Frank, Jacquie, Lewis, and Roberta did a magnificent job of monitoring the Club Amical in St Adolphe in my absence. At the SE nest site, ongoing daytime feeding on Thurs./Fri. changed to a burst of activity on the evening of Sat. July 27th, then an increased head count in the chimney was detected Mon. morning. I flew down to town upon my return and at least 2 fledglings were patrolling the Main St corridor Mon. afternoon/Tues. morning; Wednesday, the fledglings were practicing some touch ‘n’ go entries and exits.

Over the August long weekend, the Main St juveniles should be next to launch. Stay tuned for that fledging news next week.

Now, it’s time to move to another round of shout-outs and info updates for Southern Ontario. Starting in Guelph on July 26, our hosts Karen and Ken B. took us to the refurbished factory site where Sleeman Breweries has opened Spring Mill Distillery (in the Metalworks development on Arthur Street). The old brick chimney at this site should be opened for Chimney Swifts in 2020.

Moving over to the Kitchener wedding, taking a patio break at dusk on Sat. July 27th was a good move. A single swift flew over the Victoria Park Pavilion then 4 quickly winged their way by. Were these possible fast flights to a roost site?

At another gathering on Sun., July 28th we had the good fortune to hear of Bryan R.’s continued stewardship activities for a Toronto nest site. Years ago, Bryan was instrumental in following up on raccoon predation in an active swift chimney next door. This year, he linked with Ontario’s swift stewards ~ Bird Studies Canada ~ to track demolition plans for the same site; luckily those plans have been thwarted. The bonus round was Bryan recently catching a big flurry of activity consistent with fledging!

It is rewarding to see how many folks make an effort to support Chimney Swifts. That’s what is needed throughout the summer and winter ranges of these birds – zone defence and beyond. Take an interest and make a difference – do what you can, wherever, and whenever you can!

__ Barb Stewart

Apologies for the delayed weekly update. Tonight is another Wednesday and we would encourage you to get out and follow-up on any nesting in sites, as there may well be young swifts in the sky. Send us your reports and we will try to interpret what is happening for you.

The past week has generated much excitement in Manitoba’s Chimney Swift world. We had our first confirmed fledged chicks in St Adolphe for 2019, numerous active nest sites were observed and we even managed to find several new sites. Buckle down for a review of the past 10 days.

We begin in Osborne Village. We had ten chimneys watched on Wednesday evening, and lots of activity in some chimneys, less in others. Phil at the Royal Oak on River had an impressive 14 entries and 12 exits, with a very pair on this site. Barbara had 3 entries and 2 exits at the My Place Realty property at 105 Clark. Theses sites seem to be at very different points in the breeding cycle, the Royal Oak looking very close to fledging date. Phil and Barbara also managed to recruit Lisa and Peter to watch the new chimney on Scott. Although we are still waiting for the full report, we know that they had some good activity here as well. Blair took on the Biltmore, at 395 River and reported:

‘I saw a maximum of three swifts in the air at one time.  There were 6 entries and exits at 1-2 minutes later during the evening. There at 9:31 and 9:33 two swifts entered for the night.’

Frank sent his report from three chimneys that he and Jacquie were watching:

‘I took up a position in the back lane for better line of sight to the 424 River location while still close to the Stradbrook sites. Up to six CHSW were in the vicinity in the earlier part of the monitoring period, but I couldn’t determine where these birds roosted. They were making a wide arc over the area, generally focused to the east of my location. Jacquie didn’t see the “group of six.”

There were a few VERY low passes by a very vocal trio of CHSW, but they didn’t appear to use ”our” chimneys.

During the fly-bys I shifted location to try to see where the swifts were going. One could almost reach up and touch them, or so it seemed.

So:

Augustine United Church: 1 CHSW

411 Stradbrook: 1 CHSW

424 River: 1 CHSW’

Sabina at 245 Bell, a new spring find, was out of luck:

‘I hope you and everyone had more success than I did at 245 Bell last night! However I know others must have had success because I saw swifts diving around River Ave and saw upwards to 15 swifts around. Just not a single entry/exit for me..’

Tim tried a new site on Harkness, saw 4 swifts fly over at sundown, and then nothing. Kelsey however did have a pair feeding young at 141 River.

Finally, Leah took on 549 Gertude:

‘So… last Wednesday was an odd evening at 549 Gertrude (2017-35).  Heard and saw virtually no birds, which is odd as the previous week, from down the street, it sounded like there were all sorts of birds around this site!  The good news is… two birds did go into the chimney at sunset.  I also saw what I believe was a departure earlier on.  And then a 3^rd bird showed up almost a half hour after sunset…. made a few attempts at the church chimney, and then may have gone in a chimney in a house next door.  It all happened very quickly and the light was going…’

Cal in Portage la Prairie sent the following:

‘Gord and I did a watch on Wednesday evening with me manning Trinity United Church and Gord the former Womens Jail. We had a total of 6 final entries for the evening, 3  for the Jail and 3 for Trinity so there were at least 6 individual birds about.

My activity breakdown is as follows, all for the south chimney:

8:55 – 4 flying over the Church
9:04 – 1 exit
9:06 – 1 entry
9:13 – 1 entry
9:15 – 2 exits
9:34 – 2 entries
9:37 – 1 entry’

Moving to Morden, David has sent a promising update:

‘I had been away from my chimney for too long and didn’t know what to expect tonight.  Luckily, all seems to be well in the Swift world.  The pair was busy entering then exiting the chimney, their time inside varying between 33 seconds to 65 seconds.  8 different entry/exits were recorded during my session, followed by roosting entries for both birds.’

Brilliant news, and on the 28^th, David sent a second update:

‘Very similar pattern to what I observed this past “Swift Wednesday”.  8 entry/exit cycles with 20-60 second stays in the chimney over the monitoring session. Also 2 roosting entries about 15 minutes after sunset.  The only “different” behavior was that one bird made a single fly-by of the chimney before entering 30 seconds later the first time and 10 seconds later the second time.’

In other news, we have numerous reports from volunteers around the province. Blair checked a couple of his sites. At 188 St Mary’s, he had an entry and exit during the day on the 23^rd and on the 22^nd, he had 3 entries and 3 exits at 340 Provencher. Certainly a breeding attempt still going in the second of these chimneys.

Tim proved once again that he is better at finding swifts on his bike. On the 23^rd, he spotted an exit from 71 Kennedy on his way home from work. This chimney has been on the database since the early days of MCSI, but has never been confirmed as an active site for swifts. On the 24^th, he spotted a swift enter, and then exit a chimney on a private house on Balmoral. On the 25^th, it was a third new site confirmed in 3 days, spotting a swift entering a chimney at the apartment at 555 Lanark, next to the swift playground that is Lanark Gardens. We also had a report of 2 swifts entering a chimney on Dorchester by Cam, another new site.

The Assiniboine Park Zoo is still active. Paulson was on site on the 19^th and observed one exit. Kelsey  also confirmed that there is still daytime activity on the 25^th, with an early entry and exit.

We will have a proper update soon from Barb in St Adolphe, but we were delighted to hear that there was a fledging event at the Southeast Club Amical at the weekend. While Barb was away, Frank, Jacquie, Lewis, Roberta, Lynnea and Tim all took the trip down to the valley to make sure that we were able to catch the fledging event. On Monday, Frank and Jacquie recorded 13 entries and 11 exits. However, the total in the chimney was 4 during this session, and with no helpers on site, and the pattern of activity, we are confident that 2 swifts fledged.

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Let’s keep those reports flowing in!

— Tim Poole, Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative Coordinator