Author: mbchimneyswift@gmail.com

While figuring out anything to do with Chimney Swifts is difficult due to the hidden nature of their lives within the chimney, with careful watch (and investigation after the fact) we can sometimes determine when and if fledging of Chimney Swift young occurred. This year, we have our first two fledging events seen in St Adolphe by Barb Stewart. The first was at the Church chimney where the young left the chimney slightly early (day 27 as opposed to day 30) but Barb was able to see the young flying with at least one adult bird for comparison. The second nest in St Adolphe on Main St fledged on August 3rd! Our other way of determining nest success is to look in the chimney once the birds have left. Often the nest will fall as they are usually only used for a summer and then re-built the next year. In that fallen nest we can find clues such as unhatched eggs or eggshell fragments that we can use to piece together how many eggs were laid, how many chicks hatched, and how many chicks successfully fledged. All this to say, if you are watching a nesting chimney, keep your eyes peeled this week!

With that said, let’s move on to our monitoring recap of last week! We had volunteers out monitoring in Portage La Prairie, Brandon, Lower Fort Garry, Lockport, Selkirk, Dauphin, Souris and Winnipeg.

Gordon Oglivie and Janice Madill monitored the three chimneys on the Rufus Prince Building in Portage La Prairie on the evening of July 28^th from 9:00-10:00pm. They had 10 swifts go down the centre chimney, three swifts go down the north chimney and four swifts go down the south chimney. Gordon noted to me in an email that this is a higher-than-normal number of swifts for this site.

Also on July 28^th Louanne Reid and Glennis Lewis watched their normal chimneys on the Orange Block building in Brandon. Louanne was on the north chimney during the roosting period. There were two swifts that entered the chimney together, with one subsequent exit. There was a pause in observation for about five minutes, but as far as we know there was only one swift that was in the chimney for the night. The Peregrine Falcons continued to be out and about nearby at the site as well.

Glennis was on the west chimney on the same building (also for the roosting period). Her observations were more straightforward – still looking like the swifts are feeding the young. Her observations started off with a swift leaving the chimney almost right away, followed by another entry and exit, and then one more exit (so there were two swifts in the chimney when she started). After that there were three more entry/ exit pairs before she finished her 60-minute observation period with one swift down the chimney.

We had quite a bit of action in the nesting chimney at Lower Fort Garry last week! On Thursday (July 19^th), I had a phone call from Joanne Tuckwell at Parks Canada that staff had heard the young swifts calling from inside the chimney. In the past when staff heard the chicks, it has meant that the nest had fallen from the chimney wall. The staff were understandably worried again! Luckily, in a twist of fate Rob and Barb Stewart were at the Fort at the very same time monitoring the Chimney Swifts for our program! They were observing in real time, normal feeding cycles (three in 70 minutes), letting us know that despite the noise the young were doing fine (to the best of our knowledge). We think that the swifts had reached the point where they can leave the nest and move around the chimney (around 21 days old) and had simply moved down the chimney toward the (blocked) opening and were vigorous making noise in response to feeding.

Gerald Machnee was back at the chimney on July 27^th for a combination of daytime and roosting hour monitoring. He had two entries a couple minutes apart, followed by one exit a couple minutes after that, still showing that swifts were going into the chimney to (presumably) feed young.

On July 28^th Rob and Barb were back at the Fort for a morning monitoring period where they saw five sets of entries and exits in just under two hours.

On July 30^th Ariel watched the Fort chimney for 90 minutes during the morning and saw five feeding cycles in 90 minutes of monitoring.

Finally, Gerald was back on August 2nd from 1:10- 2:10 pm and saw one entry/ exit cycle. We continue to watch this site in hopes of having successful fledging this year out of this challenging chimney!

Gerald and Tim Verbiwski monitored the two chimneys on the St Andrews Lock and Dam maintenance compound building from 8:00- 10:00 pm. At the north chimney they had two entries at 8:18 pm, one exit at 8:36 pm, and then another two entries at 8:51 pm. They then had one exit at 8:52 pm and a final entry almost 30 minutes later (ending with three swifts in the chimney). At the south chimney they observed two entries around 8:45 pm, followed by another at 9:15 pm with a final quick entry and exit at 9:20 pm (ending with one swift in the chimney). This leaves us with four swifts using the building to roost.

In Selkirk Winona watched the St Merchants Hotel for an hour around noon on July 24th. She had five (assumed) feeding cycles in an hour. Glad to see them going strong. While we don’t know the timing for sure, this is a site to keep an eye on for fledging!

At the Selkirk Mental Health Centre monitoring took place on July 28^th. Robert Hempler watched the infirmary chimney from 9:00-9:45 pm and had a number of entries and exits with the last entry at 9:30 pm. Robert was also watching the artificial tower attached to the infirmary building and had one entry there at 9:30 pm as well.

Nia was watching the yellow brick chimney at the Centre on the same night. She had a surprising monitoring observation with four sets of entries and exits in 60 minutes, before two swifts went down the chimney for the night. If there was nesting in this chimney it likely would have had to start after July 15^th (all chimneys/ towers at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre were watched in a morning blitz and no activity was seen at the yellow brick chimney). If these are indeed late nesters, hopefully they make it to the finish line. Stay tuned for updates on this one!

Ken Wainright did a spot check on the Dauphin roosting chimney on July 30^th. His observations were, “There were no swifts until after sunset and then a flock of about 10 arrived. When I finished observing there was the odd swift flying around but not going down, however I had counted 13 that did go down. The sky was smoky and the sun was a red/orange colour which may have affected the birds’ return to the chimney.”

We also heard about Dauphin’s new nest site (discovered last week at the Hong Kong Café). Ken mentioned that they were seeing feeding rates of at least six times per hour!

Katharine Shultz spent some time in Souris last week and kindly did some monitoring for us in town! She watched the chimney of the Whistling Donkey Pub on July 24^th and July 25^th for abbreviated monitoring sessions. I had watched this chimney when I was in Souris earlier this summer for grassland bird surveys – so it was a delight to see that the nesting swifts are still going strong. For her first 35-minute session Katharine observed a variety of entries and exits in the early part of the evening (approximately 9:30- 9:44 pm) which when counted up led to three swifts in and out of the chimney. After 9:45 more swifts headed down the chimney for a total of seven roosting for the night. Katharine also wrote, “I believe these earlier entry/ exits were still feeding runs that have been observed frequently ongoing earlier in the day and prior to formally beginning the monitoring session”. She also noted more swifts in the air further towards the west, where we do have more swift chimneys noted from past years. On July 25^th at the same chimney Katharine saw an entry/ exit cycle approximately every five minutes as she watched the chimney for 15 minutes.

On July 22nd Garry Budyk watched his local nesting site at 722 Watt St for a morning monitoring session. The swifts on site have been feeding young for multiple weeks now too, so keeping our fingers crossed for successful fledge soon! He continued to see feeding behavior. His session started with an exit at 9:30 am, then two entries at 10:04 am and 10:13 am. He then had an exit at 10:25 am, and entry at 10:28 am and ending with another exit at 10:40 am. It is interesting to note that one swift seemed to stay in the chimney for 15 minutes (and possibly longer since we can not differentiate between individuals).

Also on July 22^nd, Ariel monitored 71 Kennedy St (Scarsdale Apartments) for 90 minutes. Chimney Swifts had previously been observed here by Ariel and Tim Poole, but no swifts were seen this time. This is a difficult spot to monitor due to the viewing angles so hopefully the swifts were just coming and going in a way that is hard to see, or fledged, but we do not know for sure.

Tim Poole was out for a bike ride during the late afternoon of July 26th and caught a lucky entry at Clarence Court Apartments (526 Walker Ave). Or perhaps those swifts are just working hard to feed their young, as Vicky had a very active monitoring session there previously! Regardless, once Tim saw the entry, he waited to see the exit, which happened just one minute later.

Frank and Jacquie Machovec monitored two new chimneys for our program on July 28^th. Both chimneys were visible from the same spot. The first was at 217 Sherbrook St. No swifts were seen or heard in the vicinity of that chimney. The second chimney was at 198 Furby St. Tim Poole had been biking past here and thought he saw an exit (have you caught onto Tim’s pattern of biking and swifting?) so Frank and Jacquie took up the post and had two early entries for the night at 8:30 pm.

Blair watched the swifts at 690 St Joseph from 1:58 – 3:35 pm on July 28^th. Both Blair and the swifts were braving the afternoon heat. He saw four entry/ exit cycles in 35 minutes, so the swifts were busy feeding young despite the temperature. He also saw five swifts circling in the sky.

In Winnipeg, I checked out Nelson McIntyre Colligate with a friend on July 29th after seeing some swifts out and about during an evening BBQ a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, there were no swifts to be seen or heard.

On July 30^th I checked out the Marion Hotel, a historic site for our program that has not been watched yet this year, during the day. There were almost constantly 2-10 swifts overhead flying from northeast to southwest. None were low to the chimney though. My next thought was to follow the swifts! So I checked google maps on my phone and saw that another site (Springs Christian Academy) was nearby and headed over there. Earlier in the year Blair Reid had spotted two swifts using the site during the MCSI monitoring nights, but a subsequent monitoring session by Frank and Jacquie Machovec on July 7^th had not picked up on swifts. Despite the hot weather (by now it was around noon) I was able to watch a swift exit and enter the chimney for four feeding sessions in an hour. This accounts for two of the swifts I saw, but while monitoring I saw a maximum of 12 swifts. We are not sure right now where the other swifts belong. Perhaps at undiscovered sites? Perhaps they belong to the big roost on River Ave? This story is to be continued…

Vicky continued to do daytime Chimney Swift monitoring for some sites that do not have a monitor through the summer. Unfortunately, she ended up with no signs of swifts at several sites (303 Assiniboine Ave, 52 Donald St, 346 Broadway, 2415 Portage Ave, 3219 Portage, 155 Traill Ave and 239 Colony St). However, at the same time she noted some nearby chimneys that she thought could merit at watch next year including 219 Colony St, a private residence on Balmoral St and 165 Kennedy St. None of these sites had swifts this year (the residence on Balmoral had swifts overhead though), but you never know what next year will hold, so it is good to have a record of these additional candidate sites.

Moving on to where Vicky did see swifts! She had two entries during a morning monitoring session at 348 Assiniboine Ave on July 23^rd and noted them as doing “super dives!”. She also spotted nine more swifts flying over the river southeast of her viewing spot.

On July 26^th she watched the chimney on St Paul the Apostle Parish in St James in the morning. She saw two feeding cycles (quick entries/ exits) before a second swift popped out of the chimney nearing the end of her monitoring period. This site has not been monitored before this session this year, so we don’t have an estimate fledging time, but it is good to know it is being used as nest site.

On July 27^th she had two sites with Chimney Swifts. The first one she watched was the Granite Curling Club. Here she saw one feeding exchange in the hour she watched. One feeding exchange an hour can be enough to sustain a nest, although we more often hope to see 2-4x an hour. Then from noon to 1:00pm she watched the Ladywood Apartments and saw one entry at 12:46pm. With no exit it may be that the Chimney Swift was taking refuge from the heat (30^oC at monitoring start).

Stay cool and keep your eyes on the skies for newly fledged Chimney Swifts!

• Amanda

Hello everyone, it is Amanda again! As of the time when I am writing this blog, we have gotten a bit more rain at various sites across Manitoba. While Chimney Swift monitoring in the rain is not possible, we know how important this rain is for Chimney Swifts, as well as the rest of nature in Manitoba this year! However, this blog is reporting on what we saw during the last week or so, so keep that in mind while reading.

Before we conduct our tour of various chimneys in Manitoba – I would first like to draw your attention to our newly updated car placard that you can use on your car when Chimney Swift monitoring. Frank has kindly made it available on our Resources and Links page (https://www.mbchimneyswift.com/Documents/placard.pdf)

We have reports from Winnipeg, Brandon, Darlingford, Morden, La Broquerie, Portage La Prairie, Lockport, Lower Fort Garry and Selkirk this week.

On July 13^th in Winnipeg Ariel watched 690 Rue St Joseph in the St Boniface neighbourhood. She had no entries but up to 11 Swifts circling the building. On the same day, she also visited 80 Lombard Avenue. She did not see any Swifts and noted it was impossible to listen for them as the trains were making a ton of noise! In search of more Swifts, she then tried 54 Adelaide St but unfortunately was once again skunked (zero Swifts)!

Vicky watched the Lanark Tower Apartments in Winnipeg on July 14^th for a daytime monitoring session. She saw a total of five Chimney Swifts in the air at once, as well as seeing one quick entry and exit about midway through her monitoring period. While one entry/exit cycle per hour is low, according to the Kyle family (Chimney Swift experts in the United States) it can sustain a nest, so it is possible we have young in this chimney.

On the same day Vicky also watched several apartment buildings in the Osborne area. The first was an apartment building at 118 Scott St. About 30 minutes after she arrived there were four swifts seen in the air. At 7:15 AM one Swift exited the building (for a total of five swifts seen during the monitoring session). However, after that one Swift exited, only the one Swift hung around the chimney area until Vicky’s monitoring session was finished. The next stop on Vicky’s early morning monitoring blitz was 141 River Avenue in Winnipeg. She saw an exit at 8:10 AM and an entry at 8:18 AM, but no other activity. The last site was at 321 Stradbrook Avenue (Fontana Apartments). She saw no Chimney Swifts around this site.

Ariel was also out in Winnipeg on July 14^th, this time in the Kildonan area. She watched the chimney on the St John’s Anglican Cathedral. While she did not see any activity at the chimney itself, she did see between two and four Swifts periodically flying past. She was also able to have a chat with the groundkeepers about the Swifts! It is always great when we are able to mix monitoring and outreach opportunities – especially if the Swifts oblige with a nice flyby!

Ariel then tried out a new site at 1637 Main St, the Bleak House. It is a historic house in Winnipeg that has two chimneys. She could tell that the west chimney was capped, but could not tell if the east one was as well. Normally, our go-to in this situation is to look for a chimney (or a small black hole) in satellite imagery or Google Streetview, but unfortunately the images are too blurry and have too many trees to tell. Regardless, there were no Swifts seen during her monitoring session but a site to keep in mind to gather more information on in the future.

In Winnipeg we have a report from Garry Budyk at 722 Watt St on July 18th. Garry mentioned that “I was expecting multiple visits with quick turnarounds per hour, but instead, 2 swifts seem to be spending more time together away from, and together in, the chimney”. He started off with one Swift already in the chimney when he arrived (as evidenced by its exit a couple minutes after his monitoring period started). Then there was another entry 10 minutes later. That Swift exited the chimney after 29 minutes. About half an hour later, those two Swifts approached together with one immediately entering the chimney and a second doing a circle before also entering. Both Swifts remained in the chimney until Garry left, about 12 minutes later. If you recall Garry’s last monitoring period on July 9th, he was seeing our typical twice an hour quick entry and exit pattern. The consensus for the current monitoring period is Swifts feeding non-brooded young (no adult Swift staying with the chicks in the nest) – but also taking a break from the hot weather by hanging out in the chimney!

On July 19^th Vicky checked out 526 Walker Avenue in Winnipeg – where there was lots of activity! In a 70-minute daytime monitoring session she had six entries and six exits! During one of the early entries two Chimney Swifts went in. One appeared to stay in the chimney for the duration of the monitoring period, while the other went in and out, almost once every 10 minutes. This certainly looks like the two Swifts are working hard to feed young. Next on July 19^th, Vicky took a short walk over to 625 Osborne St to monitor for an hour. No activity here though – even though when she was watching at the Walker Ave Apartments it looked like the swifts were flying in this direction.

Ariel was also out in Winnipeg on July 19^th at the Plaza Apartments (71 Kennedy St). She had two possible exits – but was having trouble seeing due to the height of the apartment building and chimney. There were up to 11 Swifts flying over, so she mentioned that she will be trying again soon, and will look for another vantage point.

In Brandon Glennis Lewis, Kathryn Hyndman, and Gillian Richards watched the west chimney on the Orange Block Building on July 14^th from 9:12-10:12 PM. They saw two sets of entries/ exits in the hour, before one bird entered the chimney at 9:55 PM.

We have two reports from Paul Goossen to report on. The first is at the Darlingford School Heritage Museum (in Darlingford). Paul monitored this site for just over an hour during the roosting hour. He had one entry and one exit in that time period. Paul also monitored the chimney on Lucky’s Chinese Restaurant in Morden on July 12^th for the roosting period. Here there was a lot of action! He saw six entry/ exit cycles in just under an hour!

Frank and Jacquie Machovec were back to watch the two chimneys at the St Joachim Church in La Broquerie on July 14^th for a 90-minute monitoring session in the evening. In the small chimney they observed an entry at 8:50 PM, followed two minutes later by an exit. Two Swifts ended the monitoring session in this chimney. The large chimney also had an earlier entry and exit (8:41 PM and 8:55 PM respectively), but ended the night with three Swifts heading down the chimney. There were up to eight Chimney Swifts seen flying in the area but only five Swifts between the two chimneys. So three unaccounted for Swifts were still around somewhere.

Gord Ogilvie watched the south chimney on the Trinity United Church in Portage la Prairie on the night of July 14^th. There were up to six Chimney Swifts seen in the air during the evening monitoring period, with two Swifts entering the chimney 12 minutes apart a little after sunset. There were no exits from the chimney.

We had Gerald Machnee monitoring at the southeast building (the Fur Loft) at Lower Fort Garry on July 13^th. There was no Chimney Swift action during the “daytime” part of the monitoring period (i.e. prior to a half-hour before sunset). However, there was an exit at 9:02 PM and then an entry approximately 20 minutes later. There were no other Chimney Swifts seen for the last 30 minutes of Gerald’s monitoring period.

Ariel also monitored at the southeast building at Lower Fort Garry, but on July 15^th. She had one entry in 90 minutes of monitoring. The many Barn Swallows at the site made monitoring here a bit trickier.

Bonnie Chartier and Tim Verbiwski monitored the two chimneys on the St Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound in Lockport on July 14^th. Their monitoring period included both daytime monitoring (8:00-9:00AM) as well as roosting period monitoring (9:00-10:05 PM). At the south chimney there was one exit at 8:21 PM (so likely a Swift in the chimney before they started monitoring), and one entry at 9:21 PM. At the north chimney there were entries at 8:34, 8:58 and 9:09 PM. These entries were followed by an exit at 9:11 PM and an entry again at 9:22 PM. Perhaps a Swift left for a quick snack before bed?

Ariel stopped by the St Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound after visiting Lower Fort Garry on July 15^th. She had one entry at the north chimney, but only stayed 30 minutes due to the heat!

The last part of our round up follows all of the monitoring that happened in Selkirk at the Mental Health Centre. On July 14^th Nia Massey and Linda Adie watched the powerhouse stack replacement tower and the yellow brick chimney for an hour and forty minutes. At the powerhouse stack replacement tower they had no entries or exits, but saw up to six Swifts flying around. The Swifts would periodically pass by starting at 8:48 PM. By the time of their last sighting (10:05 PM) only one Swift was seen overhead.

At the yellow brick chimney Nia and Linda also had the sighting of up to six Swifts flying around (not surprising as both the powerhouse stack replacement tower and the yellow brick chimney are in the same sightline, and not too far from each other). The yellow brick chimney had an exit at 9:40 PM, suggesting that a swift had been in the chimney since the monitoring period started at 8:00 PM. It then had two entries, one at 9:42 PM and one at 9:50 PM.

At the same time Winona Hook and Robert Hempler were watching the new Chimney Swift tower that is attached to the infirmary building (not to be confused with the infirmary building chimney itself). They also saw up to six Swifts flying overhead periodically. They did have one entry at 9:39 PM.

As the infirmary attached tower and the infirmary chimney are very close to each other, Winona and Robert were also watching the infirmary chimney as well. As expected, the number of Swifts seen in the air was the same as for the attached tower (six Swifts). However, there was a bit more action at the chimney, with an entry at 9:38 PM, followed by an exit five minutes later. The last Swift action here for the night was an entry at 9:51 PM.

Gerald covered the east and west artificial Chimney Swift towers, also on July 14^th. Similar to the others at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre that night, he saw a maximum of six Swifts passing periodically overhead. There were no entries into the east tower, but one entry in the west tower at 10:05 PM.

Overall, at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre on July 14^th there were 6 swifts seen in the air and 5 swifts that went down the chimneys/ towers.

This is a map of the Selkirk Mental Health Centre Chimney Swift chimneys and artificial towers. 1 is the west artificial tower (the tallest). 2 is the powerhouse stack replacement tower (former site of the roosting chimney). 3 and 4 are the infirmary artificial tower and infirmary chimney respectively. 5 is the yellow brick chimney and 6 is the east artificial tower. All of the artificial/ replacement towers are free-standing except the infirmary artificial tower which is attached to the building.

Myself, Vicky, Tim Poole, and Barb and Rob Stewart did a daytime monitoring blitz on July 15^th at Selkirk Mental Health Centre as well. Taking a page from how the Selkirk Birders set themselves up for Chimney Swift monitoring, we had Barb watching the infirmary chimney and the attached artificial tower at the infirmary building and Rob at the west artificial Chimney Swift tower. Vicky watched the powerhouse stack replacement tower, I watched the yellow brick chimney and Tim watched the east artificial Chimney Swift tower. We all watched for 90 minutes.

Barb had by far the most activity, but only at the infirmary chimney. There were two birds with distinct chimney exit styles entering and exiting the chimney. One would exit down the north face of the chimney at a lower height and turn west, while the other would also come out of the chimney to the north, but would stay higher in the air. In total there were four entry/ exit events in two hours of monitoring. Barb’s summary notes state, “The frequency of entry/ exit events indicates feeding juveniles is taking place. Brooding vs non- brooding cannot be determined definitely, but the current activity at the Main St site in St Adolphe [which Barb watches closely], which is at the non-brooding stage, is comparable to this site.” The brooding stage is when there is still a parent on the nest with the chicks. Once the chicks at around 6-7 days old, they are able to self-regulated their temperature and the adult is no longer needed on the nest during the day, so brooding is not needed. Feeding rates usually go up in the non-brooded stage as the nestlings need more food and both parents are free to forage now that they are not consistently needed at the nest.

While nearby to Barb, Rob had no entries or exits at the west artificial tower. He had 2-3 Swifts flying over the field just west of the tower and had one instance of a Swift flying over the tower, but no daytime activity associated with the tower itself. The west tower is the tallest of the replacement towers build as mitigation when the majority of the Selkirk Mental Health Centre chimneys needed to come down (for safety reasons). It was built to provide a tall tower for roosting, but could also be used for nesting. However, there was no sign of nesting (i.e. no daytime Swift activity) on July 15^th.

The tower near to the old powerhouse stack that Vicky was watching, and the yellow brick chimney that I was watching were near to each other. During our monitoring period, neither of us saw any entries or exits, but periodically had 2-3 swifts flying overhead. There was a good-sized flock of pigeons that seemed to be trying their best to be distracting though! After all of our monitoring sessions had concluded and we were debriefing, I saw an entry into the powerhouse stack replacement tower – just by chance! The Swift was still in their as far as we know when we left. Unfortunately, we had not been watching that tower closely at that point.

Tim at the east artificial Chimney Swift tower had a similar experience to Vicky and myself during the monitoring period, with Chimney Swifts periodically flying over, but no entries or exits.

Thank you to everyone who is providing our riveting chimney swift updates and stay tuned for more!

• Amanda

Note: Scroll down for an updated version of last week’s report. (FJM)

Middle of Summer Swift-watching

Salutations dear volunteers! I hope you have been keeping count, because it is now our 7^th week as Swift-seeking opportunists in Manitoba. As we fast approach the middle of summer, the season for Swift feeding and meteor showers arrives. I recommend trying to catch the meteor shower that will start to be visible on the 17^th. May the lucky few make a wish upon a star to see Swifts properly nesting in their chimneys. With Swifts being more active in the daytime (if they are nesting), that means there will be more action to look forward too! Let us move right along into the data!

This week, we have news from Winnipeg, Dauphin, Selkirk, Lockport, Brandon and Erickson!

First, we have Breanne who has watched the Foodfare Chimney on Maryland. Starting from June 9, the 3^rd MCSI night, she confirmed two Swifts in the chimney. There were also many other guests, such as pigeons, gulls and eight nighthawks! For the 4^th MCSI on the 16^th, it was again a single pair that entered the chimney. For the last MCSI night on the 23^rd, it was again a pair that entered. All entries were made after 9 pm.

I think this is the first time I have gotten data from Erickson, Manitoba! I have Marissa to thank. Marissa originally saw swifts in the sky while walking around Erikson, but saw no obvious chimney that they were using. So, she picked a candidate chimney to watch on the night of June 22^nd. The chimney is situated on 49 Main St. Unfortunately, no swifts were seen flying overhead or using the chimney. We do not have any confirmed chimney use in Erikson, despite occasional Chimney Swift reports over the years. MCSI does have a list of possible candidate chimneys though, so if you are ever in the area with no evening plans, send us an email and we can send you some Chimney Swift monitoring options!

On June 26 back in Winnipeg, Barb and Rob observed the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower in the morning. There were no entries or exits at the chimney, however, three were seen in the air west of the tower. I wonder if the hole made by the Pileated Woodpecker is influencing the Swifts, it is a new situation for our program (and likely the Swifts) to be in!

Now we hear from the Selkirk gang! Let us start at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre. On the 27^th, Linda and Winona watched the yellow-brick chimney. There were two entries at 9:55 PM, and nothing more. About one to six Swifts were always flying above. The stack tower (which replaced the large pumphouse stack chimney) also had two entries at 9:54 PM. Jumping to July 7, we have Gerald, who watched multiple chimneys. One entry each was observed in the infirmary building chimney and in the attached new Chimney Swift tower also on the infirmary building. Both entries were made close together, around 9:52 PM. The west and east free-standing Chimney Swift towers had no entries.

Continuing through Selkirk (still on July 7), we have 367 Main St. Ray and Sybil watched for the night and caught two entries. Winona was over at the Merchants Hotel during daytime on July 8th, and had a Swift coming in and out over the monitoring period. On average, the Swift went out for 20 minutes before coming back and switching with its mate. The switching occurred within a minute of the other coming back. This time interval and switching is an indicator of hatched eggs in the chimney!

Glennis and Louanne went downtown to the Orange Block building’s chimneys in Brandon. For the night of the 30^th, we had one exit at the beginning, and two entries at the end in the north chimney. Jumping to July 8, we had three Swifts seen coming into the north chimney by Louanne, but unfortunately no entries in the west chimney by Glennis.

Gerald went out to Lower Fort Garry on the 5^th of July in the evening. Unfortunately, no Swifts were seen. It may have been because of the chilly weather in the evening. Amanda made a trip to Lower Fort Garry on June 9th in the morning. There was no activity in the brick chimney on the red-roofed building, but over on the limestone chimney on the southeast building there were two sets of entries/ exits about an hour apart. Gerald was back there on the evening of the 9^th, there was one entry and exit in the evening on the southeast building chimney though! Both sightings seemed like incubation exchanges. Really hoping this nest is a success!

Back to the 8^th, Gerald and Tim V. went to Lockport to check on the Lock and Dam Maintenance compound. The north chimney had one entry, followed by an exit soon after. While, over in the south chimney, there were two entries around 9:17 PM.

On July 7, Lynnea tried watching the Church at 939 Main St in Winnipeg. No Swifts were entering or exiting the chimney that evening, but there were a few fly overs! 

In Winnipeg, on July 6, we got a general sighting of two Swifts flying overhead by a private residence on Ruttan Bay in the Fort Garry neighbourhood. We have “bwmoons” (taken from email) to thank for the info. This is nearby to several known Chimney Swift Chimneys on Pembina Highway, but it is also near residential chimneys that swifts could be using. If you are ever in the neighbourhood, keep an eye out!

Frank and Jacquie watched the Springs Christian Academy at 261 Youville St in Winnipeg on July 7 for the evening. There were no sightings of Swifts. However, Blair decided to check out the site a 261 Youville on the 9th in the daytime. There were, for sure, exchanges going on according to the data. Evidence that this chimney is likely a nesting chimney. Not sure where the swifts went when Frank and Jacquie were monitoring… perhaps the swifts prefer Starbucks over Timmies and so took off!

Over in Dauphin, we hear from Ken. The following observations were all made on July 7. Over at Scott’s Hardware, there was a pair cycling in and out, likely nesting! The Watson’s Art Centre did not have any Swifts, it seems. The roosting chimney was busy, as pairs went down to roost for the night. There may have been 10 in total in the roosting chimney. In conclusion, one nesting chimney over in Dauphin.

Garry watched the Pro-Tac Roofing building chimney in Winnipeg on July 9 for the morning. There was a total of two entries and a display of nesting behaviour. That is another likely nest in the bag!

The 424 River Ave roost site in Winnipeg is still going strong! This week, the visible chimney was watched by Ryon and Hazel on July 9 in the evening. The first entry was at 9:44 PM, but by around 10 PM 111 Swifts were counted still using the roost.

Amanda had told me that she saw Swifts by St Andrews River Heights Church in Winnipeg earlier in the spring while getting her car repaired, so I decided to check it out on the 12^th. Unfortunately, there was absolutely nothing in sight or anything to hear. The church’s chimney also looked capped up close. It started to rain halfway through the hour, so I decided to call it quits, and walk back home. That is when I saw six Swifts flying above me, about 8 blocks east of the Church. I tried to follow them, thinking they would return to their chimneys, but it seems like the rain did not bother them, as they continued to fly in circles. I returned the next day and could not find them anymore.

That is all for this week’s blog. I am excited to discover more nesting sites next week! Keep them coming everyone! Until then, have a good week!

• Vicky
• (updated July 21)

P.S. There’s an updated dashboard placard to identify you as a dedicated swift-watching volunteer on our website. Find it here if you’re so inclined.

A quick note from Amanda before we enter into last week’s recap from Vicky: June 23^rd marks our last MCSI night for the spring roosting season. A big thank you to everyone who helped monitor chimneys this year. However – if the chimney you monitor still has swifts and you would like to continue watching them, we always welcome monitoring data throughout the breeding season. Once swifts get busy feeding their young (see Barb’s post on June 21^st) observations can take place during the day and/or evening. Monitoring records during the breeding season help us to determine if a site is being used to nest, and if the Chimney Swifts were able to successfully raise this year’s crop of youngsters. Let me know if you have any questions about monitoring during the nesting season!

And now on to Vicky!

Hello all, it has officially become summer as of June 20! With the days growing warmer, I hope everyone remembers to keep hydrated while watching the chimneys. Bringing along a water bottle and a hat would do good. Do not about forget sunscreen and bug repellant too! Just the other day, when I went to watch Swifts after roosting hours, all I could see were insects that took up my whole vision through the headlights of a car.

As nesting began for the Swifts, we entered our 4^th MCSI night last week. We have some exciting news and data from Dauphin, Selkirk, Carman, St Francois-Xavier, Eriksdale and Brandon.

Starting the blog with Anastasia! Back in May 26, Anastasia watched the apartment complex on Valhalla Drive with no luck on Swifts. The same results were observed on all MCSI nights two through four.

We had John watching the L&B towers in North Kildonan for MCSI nights through two through four. On June 2^nd, one entry and two exits were observed. For the 9^th, it began to rain during John’s monitoring time and only one swift was seen flying. June 16 also had no Swifts go into the chimney, but some could be seen flying.

From Gary and Marj, we have some information for the site at St. John’s Ravenscourt. On June 3^rd, there was no visual on Swifts, but they had a mix of gulls, ducks, geese, and crows as visitors to their night. On June 9^th, they had one entry at 9:16 pm. Later on June 16^th the only company they had were once again some gulls, ducks, geese and crows.

Over at 424 River Ave, we had Summer watching on the night of June 7^th. There was a total of 162 entries! Summer made note that most of the foraging conducted, occurred to the west of the apartment. Approximately a week later Jan checked out the 424 River apartment site on the evening of June 15. Peak entry time was at 9:55 pm with 139 Swift entries.

At 424 River Ave, Barbara and Phil watched on June 16th. There was an estimate of 112 entries starting around 9:30 pm, with peak entry around 9:50 to 10:00 pm. Barbara noted that the Swifts were making single entries more than before and observed fewer Swifts flying by in general. It seems like the number of Swifts in 424 River keep slowly dwindling. A similar phenomenon would happen at the old Assiniboine School roost site – with numbers slowly declining throughout the summer. It will be interesting to see how low the swift numbers drop at the new site.

Ron, on the 15^th, checked out the St. Nobert RC Church for the evening. With a bit of flying around when he initially arrived, the Swifts started to make entries at 9:17 pm. In total we had seven entries throughout the night, with most going in as pairs. Later, on the 16^th at the Marion St Fire Hall, there was one entry at 9:04 and 9:30 pm. Two additional Swifts could be seen flying in the direction of the site at 847 Marion St. There was possibly an entry at that site.

At St. Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound, Bonnie and Tim watched for Swifts on the 15^th. Both chimneys on site had a max of seven Swifts flying over. The north chimney had two entries at 9:15 pm, while the south chimney had their first entry at 9:58 pm. In the end, both chimneys each had five Swifts enter.

Gerald was back at the Selkirk Mental Health centre by the infirmary-attached tower on June 15^th. There were zero entries observed and around four to six Swifts could be seen flying above. For the east chimney, there was one entry at 9:35 and 9:39 pm. Next was the west chimney, where no entries were observed. Forward to the 17^th, Gerald made a visit to Lower Fort Garry and had five entries throughout the monitoring period for a total of three swifts using the chimney and one extra swift seen flying. Gerald also had an extra guest writing, “I wrote down the time and looked back at the chimney and there was a Merlin sitting on the chimney and looking down. I made another decision deciding that was not fair, so I walked toward the chimney until it flew away.” Was the Merlin waiting for a Swift to pop out of the chimney perhaps?!

Over in Selkirk at the Selkirk Mental Health Hospital on June 15^th, Robert watched the infirmary chimney. Two Swifts made an entry while six were seen flying in the air.

Winona checked on the Merchants Hotel in Selkirk on the 15^th to see two entries.

Over at the yellow brick chimney at Selkirk Mental Health Centre, we had Nia and Linda on the 15^th. Two Swifts made an entry. Six were seen flying above.

Continuing in Selkirk, at the chimney on Main St, there were eight entries observed by Ray and Sybil the same night.

Pam and Bill watched the St Mary’s Road United Church on June 15^th during the evening and had no Swift sightings.

We have information from Rhonda in Carmen that there was a group of seven Swifts flying around on the 15^th. They must be staying at a chimney nearby. Rhonda will try to find out for us soon!

For the 4^th MSCI night, Rudolf had kept an eye out on three places on the 16^th. All three locations could be seen together. At Curtis Gordon Motor Hotel, there were two Swift entries and seven flying. The Linlee apartments and Radmon House apartments had no entries, but seven Swifts could be seen in the air.

We have exciting news from Lynnea on new Chimney sites! Three perfectly good chimneys were seen on the McBeth House in the North Kildonan area in Winnipeg. The house was found on June 16^th and Lynnea watched it for the evening. The chimneys are slightly on the smaller side, but it was sufficiently large and was close to the river, which was quite ideal. The chimneys were nicely divided by front, middle and back. Our first entry was in the middle chimney! The rest of the monitoring period was quiet on the Swift side, but unfortunately loud on the human side with some loud music from cars keeping Lynnea company.

Over at St Francois-Xavier at the RC church, we had Mike and Michele watch over for the last MCSI night. There were three Swift entries in total throughout the night. 

In Eriksdale (northwest of Winnipeg) there was a sighting at the old church on 16 Railway Ave! Tim Poole was traveling for work and saw one late evening entry in the church site at 10:57 pm.

At Assiniboine Park on June 16^th, we had Jo and Betsy watching at the Zoo Tower for the MCSI night. There were two entries around 9:30 pm and sightings of a pileated woodpecker on the chimney again! The two saw a hawk, and three Swifts flying around as well. There was supposed to be two more Swifts entering for the night, but it seems like they have disappeared.

Over in Brandon, we hear from Glennis on the Orange Block building chimney. The night of the 16^th had two entries. One at 9:54 and 10:03 pm.

John had checked out the apartments on Broadway for the June 16^th MCSI night. There were no Swifts in the apartment observed for the night, but six could be seen flying overhead.

Frank and Jacquie went to check out the site at 415 Mulvey Ave E for June 16^th MCSI night. They saw one Swift entry, while the rest of the night was quiet.

Over at the Assiniboine school, Beth watched for MCSI night. There was not an entry until 9:41 pm, however, three Swifts could be seen flying nearby. The entire evening, it seemed like a single pair and a singlet were just flying around.

On Provencher, at the Central Culturel Franco Manitoba, Blair monitored the chimney for the MCSI night. There was no Swift seen above, below or beside the chimney.

We have news from Ken in Dauphin who comments, “All 3 Dauphin chimneys and all observers had the same comment, “Boy, that was a strange night!”. Seems like the Dauphin folk have a story to tell! This was their lowest count number of Swifts following the spring migration for over the last 20 years! Ken specifically writes, “The roost chimney had a group of 6 swifts fly past during the count time, but nothing even looked at the chimney let alone go down for the night during the whole observation time. Nest chimney #2018-14 only observed 2 swifts flying overhead with only one going down early at 9:25. Nest chimney 2018-15 saw a group of 5 swifts flying around with an early bird down at 9:14 followed by a second one at 10:00 pm then nothing. Sunset was just before 10:00, at 9:57, and on a normal night, swifts would go down just at the end of the observation time, but no swifts were seen past 10:00, with at least 3 still unaccounted for.” Ken mentions that the weather was exceedingly hot and windy that night, so perhaps the weather delayed the swift foraging? Hopefully, we hear of their come back soon!

Garry went over to the Pro-Tac roofing chimney for the night of the 17^th. There were two entries, both happening at relatively the same time. No entries were observed after that.

I had gone to the Trinity Baptist Church on the 17^th for the night. I could hear many Swifts fly by but saw six in the air around 9:25 pm. I managed to catch one Swift making an entry, but a few were swooping in, only to bail at the last second. The freaky thing was, at exactly 10 pm, A flock of crows crowded the whole roof of the church. It is kind of nice that they are sociable enough to get together even after flying separately the whole day.

Blaire had gone to the Behavioral Health Foundation at St. Nobert for the 17^th. There were no entries, but there were two flying around very close to the chimney until 9:43 pm. They may have flown up and swooped in from behind the chimney to avoid witnesses.

Luc watched for the night of the 17^th the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church. There were two entries at separate times, and around 2 flying around often during the monitoring period.

— Vicky Tang