mbchimneyswift@gmail.com – Page 9 – Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative

This Week in Swifts …

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)

Week Seven

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.

What a Scorcher!

Hello and good day! It sure was a hot week for chimney Swift watching. From what I have found out, this extreme heat wave was from a climate phenomenon called a heat dome. It basically comes from the build up of hot air coming from the ocean. That air, like a moving cloud, hovers over the country. You could think of it like a pressure cooker, where the heat waves are trapped under the lid. Despite the hot temperature, I spent most of my weekend outdoors with my family. I hope everyone else had something to distract yourselves from the heat, like some chimney monitoring!

In this week’s blog, we have data from Selkirk, Brandon, Lockport, Lower Fort Garry, St. Jean-Baptiste, Souris and Carman.

We start the blog with Amanda! Amanda has quite a bit of collected data. She was out at the St Jean-Baptiste Parish Church on June 11 for an abbreviated daytime monitoring session. There were no Swifts but other aerial insectivores (Purple Martins and Tree Swallows) were seen. On June 14, Amanda watched the Mount Royal Apartments and the Silver Heights FoodFare chimneys (both can be seen from the same spot) during the roosting period. At the Mount Royal apartments in Winnipeg there were four Swifts flying in the vicinity with four entries and two exits. In the end, two Swifts remained in the chimney. At the Silver Heights Foodfare location, there were a total of 6 entries between the two Swifts, with two using the chimney for the night. Skipping to the morning of June 23^rd at Lower Fort Garry, we had one exit at a chimney and no entries after 90 minutes. Two Swifts were accounted for in the air.

Amanda was out near Souris and Melita last week doing early morning grassland bird surveys, and so checked out some of our southwestern Chimney Swift sites with 20 minute daytime monitoring sessions. First up is Souris. On June 25, there was one entry at a private residence on 5^th Ave West and one entry at the Chocolate Shop Restaurant. There were no entries at the Rock Shop, Lagasse Art Studio and the Whistling Donkey Pub that day. On the 26^th, still in Souris, Amanda checked out the Kowalchuk’s Funeral Home and the Chocolate Shop Restaurant again. They both had no entries during those monitoring sessions, but the Whistling Donkey had one quick and quiet exit that was spotted as she walked back to her car. Souris has a fairly large swift population, with the chimneys (that we know of) clustered in an area around First St and Crescent Ave, so there were almost continually a couple of swifts overhead.

Next is early evening monitoring in Melita on June 30, each site again watched for about 20 minutes each. Amanda monitored at the Melita Legion where there was one entry and one to three Swifts flying overhead. The Agriculture building on Main St had was one entry as well. No entries at the hospital chimney but there was another quick and quiet exit. This site was tricky due to the abundance of Purple Martins! There were Martin houses put up next to the hospital and it was clear that it is an excellent spot for a variety of insectivorous birds. Next was Antler River Museum, with only sightings in the air. From our past data, the Museum appear to usually be a roost site (as opposed to a nest site), so it is not too surprising that no one entered during the daytime monitoring period. Unfortunately waking up at 4:00am for grassland bird surveys is not conducive to staying up after sunset for Chimney Swift work!

Despite the cows being excellent Chimney Swift monitors, no swifts were seen in this tiny chimney.

On June 12, we had Marlene and Ward watch the Arundel apartments. In the evening, there were two entries. One at 9:37, and then another ten minutes later. At its 2^nd chimney, it had one entry at 9:35.

Now we go over to the Selkirk Mental Health Hospital center, with its many chimneys! Starting with Tim on June 18^th, the infirmary tower had an exit, followed by an entry and another exit within 15 minutes. Perhaps nesting is occurring! The tower attached to the infirmary had no entries, but the large tower chimney had one entry and exit within two minutes. A total of seven Swifts were flying over the whole building.

We then hear from Robert for the night of June 23^rd, our final MCSI night. Two entries at the infirmary tower, zero Swifts from the tower attached to the infirmary, but a max of eight Swifts could be seen overhead.

On June 27, Nia and Linda watched the yellow brick chimney during the night. No Swifts entered the chimney, but there were two at the Stack tower that went in at the same time. One to five Swifts were overhead.

Gerald, Winona, and Robert also all watched the sites on the 27^th. First, over at the west chimney there were no entries. At the east chimney, no entries. The infirmary attached tower had one entry at 9:58 pm, and the infirmary chimney itself had two separate entries. Around four Swifts could be seen flying overhead the Hospital center.

Ray and Sybil over at 367 Main St. Selkirk, had three entries on the night of June 27^th. If I remember correctly, there were eight last week! I wonder where they went.

Gerald staked out the Merchant’s Hotel on the night of the 29^th. There was one entry at 9:45 pm, and the swift stayed in the chimney for the rest of the monitoring period. Gerald also went to Lower Fort Garry in the afternoon and evening. The afternoon had two entries and one exit. The evening had one entry at 8:42. On the night of the 30^th, together with Tim, they watched the site in Lockport by the Lock and Dam Maintenance compound. The south chimney had three entries, and the north chimney had one.

Backing up to June 22, we have Ron watching the St. Norbert RC Church for the evening. Three entries were made, all at different times. With an exit for each entry, except the last one.

On the morning of June 26, there was Ariel, who watched over at Kaljeb Logistics. There was one Swift entry at 1:49. There was a total of three flying overhead.

Frank and Jacquie visited Carman Memorial Hall for the evening of the 30^th. While unfortunately there was no Timmies on offer in Carmen they were able to make do (and even saw some swifts)! There was an entry and exit, within 20 minutes of each other. And then, four Swifts made entries right after 10 pm. Frank and Jacquie expect that there is at least one other site being used by Swifts in Carman. We have historical records of some residential chimneys being used in past years, so perhaps one of these sites is where the extra swifts are spending their time.

At Kaljeb Logistics on the 30^th, there were five entries during the daytime. Two Swifts entered at 10:20, then both left at 10:24. Again at 10:55, they entered and exited again at 11:12. After working in pairs, one Swift went solo, entering the Chimney and exiting again. The other Swift did not come back for the rest of the monitoring period.

Over in Lower Fort Garry, I was finally able to meet a fellow Swift watcher! I had the pleasure of meeting Leah on the 2^nd of July. Leah had stayed an extra hour after I left. This gives us a solid three hours worth of a single observation period. Starting with my info from 8:10, a Swift exited the false chimney and soon returned within four minutes. At 8:41, a Swift exited the chimney and came back at 9:56. Leah caught a Swift making an entry at 10:54 and departing soon at 10:56. However, it could be possible that we missed some entries, since the bench was quite close to the Fur Loft chimney. I only ever watched Chimneys from a far distance, so it was very neat to see the entries and exits up close!

I also checked out a site in the morning of July 5. Over at the Eugene apartments, I thought I made out two entries. It was hard to tell, since the chimney is in the middle of the apartment building, but I saw the Swifts spreading their wings out and glide, like how they usually enter chimneys, so I am confident in the entries! Between one to six Swifts could be seen circling around the area.

In Brandon, we have Glennis, Gwynn and Gillian, who watched the Orange Block building chimney on July 4, in the morning. There were two entries in one of the chimneys for sure. There was another pair, but they have yet to pinpoint its chimney.

Thank you for joining me and reading this week’s blog. I will hear from you all next week!

Vicky

Week Five report

Hello and good week to everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your summer and taking are of yourself. This week’s blog covers the last MCSI night, and to everyone who consistently sent in data for the MCSI nights, thank you for all your good work!

Back to the Swifts, we have some interesting entries coming from Selkirk, Brandon, St Francois-Xavier, La Salle, and Lockport!

Let us start off with David! David watched the Mennonite church’s chimney back on May 26 for the first MCSI night, where no Swifts were apparent. On the June 2^nd for the 2^nd MCSI night, there was one entry at 8:31 pm. Lastly on June 9^th, for the 3^rd MCSI night, no swifts were in view. This site has little activity, but at least we can confirm that its being used.

Sophia went over to watch the big roost at the 424 River apartment site on the 14^th in the evening. Starting from 9:35 pm, Swifts made entries throughout the period, with 9:56 pm being their peak entry time. A total of 111 were accounted for.

keep watching — Keep watching the skies !

For a MCSI night, Mike and Michele watched the St. Francois-Xavier RC church on the 16^th. There were three entries, but only one remaining in the chimney by the end. On the 5^th MCSI night, there were four entries that night. However, it seems like only one pair used it as a roost, while the other pair flew elsewhere for the night. Through the night, there was some exciting views as well. They had an American Kestrel perched on its favorite spot and a fox trotting into the cemetery. What a good night indeed.

We have Barb, Rob and Qilliaq (the Swift questing pup) watching the Catholic church over at La Salle. On the 21^st, The three started the stake out at 7:08 pm. On a nice grassy expanse away from traffic, and a friendly neighbourhood, the night was quite peaceful. There was a total of four entries in the chimney. There was distinctively one pair moving in and out together, while a single swift was going in and out at opposite times than the pair. It may be a possible helper Swift.

Gerald went to check out the Lower Fort Garry site for the evening of the 22^nd. There were two entries in total, with one remaining for the monitoring period. Many barn swallows were noted as well.

Jon went out to the apartments on Balmoral in Winnipeg on the night of the 23^rd for MCSI. In a nice grassy spot, the view of the chimney was perfect to catch two Swifts entering the chimney. Jon noted some Swifts flying low behind 39 Balmoral, which would be 37 Balmoral. Perhaps 37 Balmoral’s chimney is being used as well. Only time will tell!

Another on MCSI night, we have Lynnea who watched a new location she discovered with some perfect swift chimneys on McBeth St in Winnipeg, however no Swifts were around either.

Ron went over to the Marion Fire Hall again for MCSI night. There were two entries in total for the night. One at 9:02 and 9:27 pm. They both entered quietly and swiftly. Seems like there was activity noted over at 847 Marion St.

Gordon, watched for swifts over at the old Women’s Jail in Portage la Prairie on MCSI night. He had a single entry at 9:07 pm. There were a few flying above, but they did not roost there for the night.

For MCSI night at Selkirk, we have Tim over at the new artificial tower. There were two entries in the chimney. Before we head on to Gerald’s summary, Tim let us know that it has been a strange night at the other locations. Here is what Gerald reports: Over at the yellow brick chimney, there was an entry, however soon left and was not found coming back. Over at the West chimney, there were two Swift entries, and in the east chimney and infirmary attached tower, no Swifts. Besides the Mental Health center, over at big stack replacement, there was one permanent entry. At the Merchants hotel, there was one permanent entry, and finally the apartment on Main St, had two Swifts come on in.

What is a better way to start the monitoring period, than with a cup of timmies? That is what Frank and Jacquie did as they staked out the Transcona collegiate chimney on MCSI night. Starting from 8:30 pm, there was no Swift activity until 9:14, then with two entries. They seemed to have arrived from the North side and was not foraging around the area of the chimney.

For the MCSI night, we have Jo and Betsy at the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower. Starting at 8:40 pm, three Swifts were flying above the chimney. One Swifts made the first entry at 9:15 pm. The last two entered at 9:43 pm. There was also the occasional existence of the Pileated Woodpecker being heard and seen going into its roost, which it has made by tunneling into the side of the Chimney Swift tower.

We have news from Luc over at Saint-Jean-Baptiste church for the MCSI night. Starting at 9:10, we had some entries and exits that ended around 10:11 pm. This made a total of 2 Swifts that stayed in the chimney. There was quite a bit of flying around during the whole monitoring period.

Blaire staked out the Behavioural Health Foundation in St. Nobert for MCSI night. There was one entry at 9:34 pm, and four flying around all evening.

Hands clapping — Thanks to our volunteers

Blair decided to check out the location at 865 Tache Ave on the 24^th, since as there have been around eight Swifts flying above the area recently. There was no entry at the site on closer inspection though. On the same night at 340 Provencher, there was not any activity from the Swifts either.

On the 24^th, Glennis in Brandon watched the Orange Block building chimney for the evening. There were two entries late in the evening at 9:54. One other Swift was flying with the other pair as well, but it did not enter.

Over in Lockport on the 24^th, we have Gerald and Tim checking out the lock and dam compound north and south chimney in the evening. Two Swifts entered the north chimney about 40 minutes apart. Another two entered the south chimney right after the last entry from the north chimney. The two pairs would remain in their respective chimneys for the rest of the monitoring period.

Barbara and Phil had an adventure at the Wasagaming Information Centre on the 25^th. They decided to watch its chimney for the evening. Barbara noted that the building was recently re-shingled, however we have confirmation from park staff that it was done outside the Chimney Swift season, so it should not have impacted the swifts at all. Although there were no Swifts, it was pleasant to sit around a bed of flowers with the strong scent of lilacs, having robins and Juncos serenading them throughout the evening. As they said in their email, “It sure is different from standing in the back lane of Osborne Village!”

At the Assiniboine Park zoo tower, on the 27^th, Barb and Rob watched the tower on the Friday morning. They caught three Swifts flying about, but no entry. They noticed that the hole being used by the woodpecker has become substantial and worrying. It would probably be best to break this cycle of damage, so that this does not happen again next year through some repair work in the bird “off” season. While we would like to support all birds – having the inside of the tower open to the elements (when it was not supposed to be) could impact the structural integrity of the tower through issues such as water damage, etc. Like Barb says, “Swifts should be given housing priority!” We didn’t realize when the tower was installed that we would have an extra “tenant”!

Vicky

Week Four

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.

Crows lined up on Trinity Church at dusk. Photo by Vicky Tang.

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

ST ADOLPHE NEST SITE UPDATE

June 21^st. Summer Solstice. The longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. In ancient Asia, Summer Solstice was the time to celebrate the Earth and “yin” forces. Summer Solstice continues to be a significant Heritage Day for Indigenous cultures.

Summer Solstice is associated with change, nature, and new beginnings. For breeding Chimney Swifts, the time around this solstice is the beginning of a new stage of nesting – incubation.

Chimney Swifts have moved through the early stages of nesting. In the arrival stage, spring migrants used sites for nighttime roosting only. Then, breeding pairs of adult swifts began daytime activities inside chimneys and nest building was underway. Both parents would grab small diameter twigs from dead branch ends and fly them into their nest sites. The twigs were attached to the rough interior wall, using the swift’s sticky saliva, to form a small cup-shaped structure. Here are some basic timelines for the nest building to egg laying stages of nesting:

A nest under construction is ready to hold an egg after 7 days.
Egg laying may then start and a new egg is laid every second day. The nest continues to be built around laid eggs – it is a tricky process!
Clutch size is 2–7 eggs. There is no way of predicting how many precious eggs will be laid; energy reserves of the female, weather, and foraging potential etc. may all affect the clutch size, and therefore, the onset of incubation.
Incubation begins with the second to last egg laid and lasts 18-21 days. Additional twigs are added to the nest during this phase.

Our dedicated monitors are nearing the last Wednesday MCSI spring monitoring night and have finished the NRMP evening counts. If your swifts have been arriving in pairs, as Gerald aptly describes in “Noah” fashion, it is likely the chimney is being used as a nest site. For those of you who are captivated by this Chimney Swift activity and are lured by what will follow, there are ways to track nest site developments…we welcome your ongoing participation in chimney-side monitoring beyond the end of our spring roost monitoring!

Continued monitoring, ideally with maximum 3-to-4-day intervals – including daytime sessions as you can manage – will help reveal the swift’s progress. As monitors, we record the times of entry and exit events at the chimney. It is simple data to collect but it informs many complex things. Importantly, the sequence and frequency of entry and exit events at a nest site reflects the various stages of nesting.

Two intervals are useful to calculate:

1. The time between an entry and an exit. This interval can be either a length of time a single swift spends in the chimney = duration-in OR a turnaround time for partner exchanges when mates take turns with duties inside the chimney.

2. The time between an exit and an entry. This interval is the time between-visits to the nest site.

Sequential entries and exits can be used to estimate the maximum number of swifts in the chimney at one time.

Also, look at the sequence of events to determine if any swifts were present at the start of your observation period and/or if any swifts remain inside at the end of viewing.

During the late nest building-egg laying stage, pairs of Chimney Swifts are seen together less often. The chimney is occupied, or attended by a swift, for a greater proportion of time. So, entries and exits tend to shift to single bird events and they occur less frequently. If you are in an area with a high concentration of nest sites, lower group sizes of swifts are seen in the air. Monitoring now and through the incubation stage becomes very challenging. Okay, it gets downright boring sometimes!

Pinning down the start of incubation is very, very difficult. What follows is a Rule of Thumb for determining the onset of incubation at a nest site, established by a pair of breeding Chimney Swifts, usually ~2-3 weeks after nest building started (note: this is variable!). Three signs of incubation, in increasing order of certainty, are:

Good. Attendance >50%. For a standard 60-minute daytime session, a swift is present in the chimney over half the time. A swift is continuing to work on the nest construction, plus laying an egg and/or starting incubation. Both parents can be out of the chimney at the same time.
Better. Interval between entry-exit <10 minutes. An incoming bird is likely switching up with the partner which goes out to feed. Both partners may be out of chimney at the same time but one tends to return soon.
Best. Classic incubation exchange = an entry followed by an exit 30 seconds to ~2 minutes later. These exchanges usually occur once an hour. Swifts at this stage are “tight” on eggs and the partners are changing up to share incubating duties between foraging bouts. Both parents may leave the nest site (eggs are unattended) but one usually returns shortly to resume incubation duties. Typically, this happens more as the roosting hour approaches – the parents are getting a last feed, and possibly a drink, before roosting.

Monitoring in St Adolphe has continued since the inaugural year of MCSI activity in the spring of 2007. So, 2021 represents the 15^th consecutive year of following the breeding success of swifts using 5 chimneys located in 4 historical buildings along Main St.

This year, swifts arrived in low numbers in mid-May and primarily fed for two weeks. By the end of May, all 5 nest sites were claimed by a breeding pair and nest building finally got underway in earnest on May 31^st – about a week later than normal. The cold spring weather was likely a deterrent for the birds to start nest building; instead, they fed and rebuilt energy reserves lost during migration.

Fortunately, swifts at all 5 nest sites were underway with nest building by June 3^rd – 4^th = the last known starting date of nest building to be followed by a successful breeding outcome.

Incubation was first noted for swifts at Brodeur Bros./Daycare and the Church on June 17^th; SE and NE Club Amical on June 18^th, and finally at Main St on June 19^th. Here are some recent monitoring data which indicate incubation is underway…note the variable activity patterns seen at the 5 nest sites!

Attendance >50%:

Brodeur Bros./Daycare; Thurs. June 17^th; 10:50 to 11:50 AM.

11:04:10 1 Entry

11:17:47 2 Exits; 1 swift in at start of observation period.

11:41:57 1 Entry

Church; Thurs. June 17^th; 12:05 to 1:05 PM.

12:34:34 Entry

1:05 End of session with 1 swift in.

SE and NE Club Amical; Fri., June 18^th; 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

11:04:08 Entry – SE; with 1 other swift that flies on; 2 swifts close together on approach.

11:11:39 Entry – NE; alone.

11:39:42 Entry – SE; arrives alone; 2 swifts in.

11:44:23 Exit – NE; alone.

11:46:20 Exit – SE.

11:46:22 Exit – SE; joins above bird and both swifts leave vicinity together; 0 swifts in.

Interval between entry-exit < 10 minutes: Main St; Sat., June 19^th; 10:48 to 11:48 AM.

11:13:24 Entry; 1 swift had been feeding locally since the start of observations.

11:23:07 Exit; no further swift sightings seen by the end of the observation period.

Classic incubation exchange: none seen yet, but the time shortly after Summer Solstice will be the period to watch for this sure sign of incubation.

Questions? Keep in touch as we are always happy to help interpret nest site data. Good luck on tracking your breeding Chimney Swifts!

–Barb Stewart

Week 3

Join Vicky again, for another recap of this past week of Chimney Swift monitoring…

We are now almost at the halfway checkpoint for the Chimney Swift monitoring season. Swift activity has been picking up, as we have a pile of papers from everyone on this week’s findings! With this week over, the NRMP nights are now completed, good work everyone! Our own chimney swift monitoring program, the MCSI nights, continue. We had sightings in Brandon, Otterburne, Selkirk, Dauphin, St. Francois-Xavier, Portage La Prairie, La Broquerie, and Lockport.

Back on May 30^th, Tim Verbiwski and Gerald Machnee made their way to St Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound where both chimneys were observed. At the south chimney, four entries were noted, and in the north, there was two.

Bonnie Chartier, Tim and Sandy all went out on June 7^th to check out the St Andrews Lock and Dam as well. At both chimneys there were two entries and a few flying around throughout the monitoring period.

On June 11th, Gerald made his way to St Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound. Both chimneys also each had two entries. There was a clear illustration how Swifts enter the chimneys when rain is imminent, as both pairs entered their respective chimneys just before it started to rain.

We have quite a bit of information from Tim and our volunteer monitors from the Selkirk Birders Club. On the morning of June 3rd at Selkirk Mental Health Centre, the three new towers were observed. The only swift entry was in the tower attached to the infirmary building. The other towers had one to three flying above. In the evening, at the same sites, none had any signs of entry but there was still the occasional four to six swifts flying around. Moving on to the June 7^th NRMP night, at the same three sites, there was a perfect double entry in each chimney! All during roosting time.

Back on May 30^th, Robert Hempler watched the two chimneys at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre Infirmary for NRMP night. While the infirmary chimney had one Swift enter, the tower chimney had none. A couple of Swifts could be seen flying above with one Nighthawk mixed in the crowd. Forward to June 7^th, this time Robert went out with Donna to find two Swifts making an entrance in the infirmary chimney, while there were no entries in the attached tower chimney. More than six Swifts could be seen flying above though, I wonder where they went.

Nia and Linda monitored the Selkirk Mental Health Centre yellow brick chimney on the 30th of May for a NRMP night. No entries were noted, but about five Swifts could be seen flying around. They came back to the same chimney for June 3rd (NRMP night) where they saw two Swifts come in quite late to roost for the night. This time there was a max of eight Swifts flying around. The last NRMP night, there were two entries and five to six Swifts flying around.

Tim monitored both the small and large tower chimneys at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre on June 1^st, where he observed no entries or exits, but kept note of the growing curiosity the Swifts had in these chimneys. It seems like the curiosity got the better of them, as Tim later wrote in an email the strange happenings on the night of the 10^th at the various Mental Health Centre chimneys, “There was definitely a shift last night (June 10th) in swift activity at the Selkirk Mental Health centre. Robert Hempler watched the old infirmary chimney on June 7th for the final NRMP night. In his report, the swifts were mainly behind him, towards the yellow brick chimney and the short tower (2021-T2). Last night (the 10th), the swifts were very active over the large tower (2021-T1) making numerous passes in that direction. In total, eight birds were counted in the air, but there was usually only six or seven accounted for. It was clear something was up when at 8:43 a pair of swifts circled over the top of the tower several times. Over the next few minutes the entire flock appeared to descend over the tower, swirling and chasing around the area. A pair were flying low over the entrance of the tower at 8:52 when one suddenly lunged towards the entrance and pulled away. At this point pandemonium appeared to break out, three swifts were spinning the top and suddenly a fourth appeared, either from within the tower itself, or coming low from behind. It was clear though by this point that the swifts had finally found this tower and finally were taking a very close interest. Regular visits to the tower was followed at 9:22 by a sudden drop into the brick chimney on the old infirmary. This site was being monitored by Robert again. Yet still there were two, three or four birds visiting the top of the tower. At 9:31, three swifts were over the entrance. At last two swifts took the lunge and entered the tower for the night. The drop did not feel too clumsy, suggestive that this was not the first time these swifts had used the tower. The third swift circled the tower several times over the following 10 minutes, at one stage sweeping between it and the old infirmary chimney. This is likely the same swift which turned in for the night at 9:45 in the infirmary, to make it two for that site.”

As I read this email, I could not help but feel like I was reading an action novel!

On the other side of the Selkirk campus on June 10th, Linda and Nia had a late entry/exit at the yellow brick chimney before two roosted for the night. Gerald also recorded an entry/exit at the short tower (2021-T2) but this was earlier in the evening. There was only one swift counted in this chimney, but maybe that early entry/exit was some sort of exchange? In town, Winona recorded two exits early on at the Merchant’s and two came in to roost. The current roost of choice in Selkirk is in the Main Street apartment. Here there were 9 swifts counted by Ray and Sybil.

Tim also noted that the fourth new tower is going up at Selkirk Mental Health Centre. While this new tower is likely too late for swifts to use it during the 2021 nesting season, we know from past observations that once they fledge, young swifts will fly around and check out/ roost in other nearby chimneys. Or perhaps some non-breeding pairs from this year will discover the tower and come back next year to nest. All of the artificial Chimney Swift Towers going up at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre are to mitigate the impact of removing some existing swifts roost and nest sites, which had to be removed due to safety reasons.

Backing up a bit, Ray and Sybil went out on the 30th of May for NRMP at 367 Main Street, Selkirk. They saw no Swifts, and all they could say that night, was that it was cold. Better luck on the 3rd of June, they got nine entries in total this time, but still a very cold night. Finally, a warm night on the 7th, they had a total of nine entries in the chimney again, all at relatively different times, except for the last four that went in as pairs.

Winona monitored the Merchants Hotel in Selkirk on May 30th for NRMP night to see two Swifts making an entrance, eight minutes apart from each other. They entered the chimney directly without flying around. On June 3rd, two entries were observed again in almost the same way as on May 30th but starting at 8:50 this time. On the 7th, there were no Chimney Swift entries at all, but a few flying by periodically. Winona specially notes that it may have been due to possible wasps in chimneys during the time, but was not entirely certain.

Gerald has also been periodically watching southeast chimney on the Fur Loft building at Lower Fort Garry. On the June 2nd for the 2nd MCSI night, there was no view of Swifts nearby, but some Barn swallows did fly by. On June 13^th, Gerald headed back to Lower Fort Garry in the evening. There was little activity, but there was an exciting entry of a couple Swifts entering the chimney! You may not have known, but this chimney is plastered in the inside, making nest building difficult for Swifts. Early this spring MCSI, Tim Poole (from the province) and Parks Canada staff tried to solve that problem by installing a false chimney wall – similar to what is found inside the artificial chimney towers, so it is good news to know Swifts are still using it. We are having our other summer student, Ariel check out the southeast building soon as well! Hopefully, we can see if there is some nesting action from the Swifts soon.

Back on May 30^th, Breanne, finally caught some Swift action at Maryland Foodfare in Winnipeg. Two Swifts entered the chimney at 9:23 in the evening and 40 were seen in the air! Breanne noted a few pigeons, sparrows, and gulls scattered on different rooftops too.

As of June 7, “The swifts have come and gone” Ken Wainwright writes, as the Swifts in Dauphin leave the roost site and start heading to the nesting chimneys. For the last NRMP night, two chimneys were monitored to have three Swifts each, with a 3^rd chimney occupied by a single pair. This gives a grand total of eight Swifts in the vicinity. It was noted that most of the Swifts were more active after sunset rather than in the day.

On June 8, Tami Reynolds and Mike Karakas watched the Assiniboine Park Zoo Tower. They saw three Swifts flying around and eventually three entries into the chimney, all within five-minute intervals.

Swift on nest — Chimney Swift in Nest courtesy South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

For the 3^rd MCSI night on the 9^th, we had Jo and Betsy watching the Assiniboine park chimney. One Swift made an entry at 8:53, and another two at 9:34. A few more Chimney Swifts were seen flying around as well. If you head out to watch the Swifts at the Zoo Tower, you will notice a hole on the side of the chimney. From Jo and Betsy’s observation that hole is being used by Pileated Woodpecker (who they saw enter in the evening). We are not entirely sure what the Pileated Woodpecker is using the hole for (nesting or roosting), but the woodpecker and the Chimney Swifts appear to be co-existing peacefully. Three nighthawks were seen that evening as well!

A Zoo staff member, Kirstyn, came out during the day of the 10th to watch the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower. There were two separate entries and one exit. To make the day a little more troublesome, someone was driving their lawn mower around the chimney for 17 minutes. And ironically, 17 Swifts were seen flying in the air.

Back at the River Manor Apartments (424 River Ave) for the 3^rd MCSI night, Barbara and Phil Barnett watched its west chimney. They counted 193 Swifts entries! I have not seen the chimney myself, but I cannot imagine how full it is now. They started flocking in around 9:00pm in batches of 1-4, until 9:40, where many would enter at a time. They described it as an “Extraordinary experience and mesmerizing to watch.”

Jon watched the River Manor Apartments east chimney (“invisible chimney”) on the 3^rd MCSI night where there were no entries. Although non-stop chittering could be heard, it all stopped around 9:50 (likely when all the Swifts had entered the west chimney on the same building).

Luc Blanchette watched the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church for the 3^rd MCSI night. There were two entries in the chimney, with only one Swift in the chimney at a time. Another Swift was about to go in, but it veered off at the last second! Luc stayed a little later to see if the Swift would try again, but to no avail, as it did not enter in the end.

In Brandon, Glennis Lewis monitored the Orange Block’s small chimney on June 3^rd. No action was seen, but later on June 9^th, one Swift entered the chimney at 10:01, another two entered at 10:04 and two more at 10:07.

Back in Winnipeg on the 7^th of June, Blair watched the Franco Manitoba Cultural Centre, with no Swifts in sight. On the 9^th, Blair went out to 188 St. Mary’s Rd to come up empty again. Fortunately, Blair’s most recent outing to 188 St. Mary’s on the 13^th came into fruit where two Swifts were sighted making an entry and two more flying in the air!

Beth first went out on June 7^th with Jake and Anna to Assiniboine School for NRMP night. They had two separate entries during the monitoring period and a few Swifts flying around throughout the time period. A high of seven Swifts were seen flying at one time at 9:34. On the 9^th, for MCSI night, Beth went back alone to watch the Swifts. Another two entries in total that night, and once again, timely appearances of Swifts flying throughout the whole period.

At Chief Peguis Junior High, Lynnea kept watch on June 7^th for the evening. The chimney had one Swift come in at 9:20 and another at 9:40. The rest of the monitoring period was quiet.

On June 7, Carl and Debby monitored the Old Grace Housing Coop where two Swifts were seen flying above the centre of the courtyard, but none making their way in or near the chimney.

Ron Bazin, who had watched all three chimneys in Otterburne for the last three NRMP nights, also monitored them for the last NRMP night on June 7^th. There were two entries at the chimney near the bell tower, two entries in the large chimney, and four entries in the small chimney. Despite being the smallest chimney, it gets the most action out of the three. Besides the entries, there were eight to ten Swifts flying overhead upon arrival. Noting a definite V-flight by at least two. After that night, Ron makes his way to observe St. Nobert RC Church on the 8^th, where a total of four entries into the chimney. Then on the 10^th, Ron watched the Fire Hall on Marion, where two entries were observed.

For the 4^th NRMP night, we had Amanda check out the Moorgate apartments on Portage. There was a total of four Swift entries and many flying around throughout the monitoring period. Most flew continuously overhead of the chimney.

On June 9^th, for MCSI night, Pam watched the St. Mary’s Road United church for the evening and did not see any Swifts.

For the 4^th NRMP night, Frank and Jacquie went out to La Broquerie to St Joachim Church to observe in the evening. The large chimney had three entries and the small chimney had five entries. That makes for eight in total that were seen that night. The pair also made way to Transcona Collegiate on the 9^th for MCSI night where two Swifts made entries.

I had gone out on the 10th to the Maple apartments with my parents to share the wonderful joy of watching Swifts. There were many times that the Swifts would dive in but pull back right at the last second. It felt like watching a soccer player about to score a goal, only to miss. I had a max of 15 flying at once in the air and two pairs going into the chimney just after sunset at 9:36 pm.

Blaire Barta monitored the Behavioral Health foundation on the 10^th of June during the evening. There was a total of two entries, each at separate times. Blaire noted the day before the 10^th, there were three in the air around the site. So, that leaves one perhaps spirited away.

Mike and Michele Tumber monitored the St. Francois-Xavier RC Church on the 10^th during roosting hours. They observed two entries at 9:31.

On June 11^th, Rudolf watched the Rufus Prince building in Portage La Prairie for a short period and saw 12 Chimney Swifts flying around the west end of Crescent Lake. Making his way back to Winnipeg for June 13^th, he also stopped by Roxy Lanes and saw three Swifts flying with one swift entering the front (red brick) chimney. MCSI partnered with the owners of Roxy Lanes last year to repair that chimney, so we are doubly pleased that it is being used by the Chimney Swifts again this year!

And last, but certainly not least, on June 12^th Nicole Firlotte watched the Fleetwood Apartments in the evening. There were two entries both at 9:48 pm. Nicole also notes earlier in the day, there were three Swifts flying around the neighbourhood. Use of this chimney is also exciting, as it was also repaired under the MCSI program last year as well.

Vicky

Week Two !

The 2^nd week of Chimney swift monitoring – Join one of our summer students, Vicky, for a recap of recent monitoring efforts.

Welcome to the 2^nd week blog on our Chimney swift monitoring efforts! Yesterday, the 7^th of June was World Swift Day. This day was first celebrated in 2019 by 39 countries, where they would introduce and share to the world about swifts. As of 2020, the number of countries that actively created events for swifts increased to 49! I would like to use this chance to thank again, all our volunteers for contributing to the monitoring of swifts in Manitoba. Without volunteers, our database would have nothing to prove the existence of swifts and their dwindling numbers. So, happy belated World Swift Day!

I have been going through all your data entries, and it is exciting to see so many sightings! June 2 was our second MCSI night. As well as our second and third NRMP nights on May 30 and June 3. With it finally warming up, we can expect some swifts in action! We had sightings in Dauphin, Winnipeg, La Broquerie, Portage La Prairie, Carman, St Jean Baptiste, St Francois Xavier, Brandon, Selkirk and Otterburne.

Ron Bazin kept watch over in Otterburne at the Providence College for the first NRMP night with its three chimneys. He saw three swifts fly by on May 26. There were three entries in the big chimney all at separate times, with the first one flying out before the other two swifts entered and remained inside. The 3^rd chimney by the bell tower had swifts flying in and out from 8:20 to 9:00, making a total of twelve entries. Coming back on the 30^thfor the second NRMP night, there were six entries in the small chimney. The large chimney had four swifts all come in around 9:20 to 9:40. There were nine in the air, so one swift seemed to have gone missing. At the bell tower, we had two more entries. During the 3^rd NRMP night, two entered the bell tower chimney, six in the large chimney, and seven in the small chimney. Ron also made his way to St Norbert RC Church on the 1^st, where there were two entries and to the Fire Hall on 864 Marion on the June 3rd where there were six entries.

As a new student, I went out for my first monitoring on June 1st to 161 Stafford St, where I saw 15 swifts fly by! No entries though. They were headed to the west. The next day for the 2nd MCSI night, I headed to the apartments at 555 Lanark St and spotted my first swift entering the chimney! I was surprised by how smooth they entered. One entered at 8:40 while another did not enter until 9:40.

Our other summer student, Ariel Desrochers, monitored her first chimney on May 26^th at the Lothian Block apartments in Wolseley. Unfortunately, no swifts that night. However, she was there on our first watch night to confirm the large number of swifts at our new roost site on 242 River Ave on June 3rd, so all is well!

Blair Reid monitored 261 Youville street on May 30, where Blair caught two swifts making entries in the evening. On June 2^nd, two entries were also observed at 690 St. Joseph, with two more flying about in the air.

Amanda was out to the Assiniboine School on the 31^st of May. Last MCSI night an unusually low number of swifts were observed, this week was not much different, dispite the much nicer weather. She encountered six swifts flying about and one making an entry into the chimney. It seems like this site has lost its popularity with the swifts! Hopefully, they found a nice chimney elsewhere (Maybe they moved to that new chimney at 242 River Avenue we just recently discovered!).

Adam watched the chimney at Assiniboine Park on the 26^th during the day. There were no swifts during his monitoring time. However, on June 2^nd, we had Evelien and Allery watching during the day, and had a single entry.

Jo and Betsy monitored the Assiniboine Park site on June 5 for the evening. They had many sightings of swifts, but two entries in total. One at 8:59 and 9:41. Two swifts were calling almost constantly throughout the monitoring period. If you have seen the Zoo Tower, you know that woodpeckers have also used the tower (by creating holes, unfortunately). Jo and Betsy thought that they might have seen scattered feathers near the hole in the side of the chimney, and possibly an entry into the hole by a Pileated Woodpecker. Due to the angle at which they were watching the chimney, it was hard to tell. They were obviously set up for Chimney Swift monitoring, not expecting to need to monitor for Pileated Woodpecker entries into the chimney. We are going to have to wait for someone to confirm more information!

We had Gordon Ogilvie on the evening of June 2^nd during the 2^nd MCSI night at the Trinity United Church South chimney in Portage La Prairie, where four swifts entered. To add on, there was a special guest, the Common Nighthawk! I have never seen one with my own eyes, but according to allaboutbirds.org, they have this special sound they make when diving towards the ground. With the wind rushing at its wing tips, they make sounds equivalent to a race car! How cool is that.

Luc Blanchette managed to see some swift action this week at the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church on the 2^nd MCSI night with as many as seven flying over and two making an entry. On June 3^rd, Luc made his way to Ecole Regionale Saint-Jean-Baptiste, where he got one Chimney Swift entry and a few flying over making calls.

Blaire at St. Nobert Behavioural Health Foundation also had two swifts enter the chimney on the evening of the 2^nd. Glad to have so many of volunteers who braved the chilly weather from two weeks ago seeing swifts recently!

Frank and Jacquie Machovec monitored two sites for us this week. On June 2^nd at Carman Memorial Hall, three swifts flew to the northwest, and a few could be heard to the east from 8:10 to 8:40. At La Broquerie St Joachim Church on June 3^rd for our 3^rd NRMP night, five entries were observed in both the small and large chimney in the evening. There were, however, seven flying around during the whole monitoring period. Where did the other two go? Seems like the mystery continues…

At St. Francois Xavier RC Church, we had Mike and Michele Tumber monitoring the chimneys on the 2^nd MCSI night. They saw three swifts make an entry, while one more went in and right back out for a 2^nd attempt into the chimney, making the total entry of four swifts.

Pam and Bill Lucenkiw had St Mary’s United Church on watch for the 2^nd MCSI night and saw one swift making an entrance into the chimney, with three flying around later.

Glennis Lewis was monitoring the Orange Block Chimney in Brandon at 1203 Princess Ave on June 2^nd for MCSI night and had 1 swift flying from a distance. The same result was observed for the other chimney at the back of the building.

Rudolf kept watch over the Curtis Hotel and the Brazier house apartments in East Kildonan, Winnipeg on June 2^nd. Two entries were observed, each at both locations, and seven could be seen flying from a distance.

Nicole Firlotte went over to the Assiniboine School on June 3^rd for the 3^rd NRMP night. Nicole saw one swift enter a chimney, and other swifts flying to the north, east and west. It would have been perfect if some flew to the south. We would then have all four directions!

Ariel and Devon, and Leah and Donald were our strike team heading out after an emergency call from Amanda at the end of the day on June 3^rd after we had just found out about the new large roost at 424 River Avenue. Leah and Donald watched the east chimney and had two swifts enter for the evening. Ariel and Devon who watched the west chimney on the same night counted 123 swifts! A more recent observation was on the 5^th by Linda Pearn, who saw an estimate of 140 swifts enter the west chimney! They just keep coming.

Sandra Hardy went out to the Old Grace Housing Co-op during the evening of the 3^rd where swifts were nowhere in sight.

Garry Budyk kept watch over Pro-Tac Roofing’s own roof for Chimney swifts and found two entering around 9:25, and one more at 9:33, with no exits. This may be a sign of a helper swift! It is common in some bird species to have the existence of helpers (or visitors). Helpers are young, non-breeding swifts that help a breeding pair with different tasks. However adult swifts, after breeding, have also been found to become helpers with their past young as well.

We have word from Ken and Jan in Dauphin for the 3^rd NRMP night on June 3rd. With their crazy number of swifts last week in Dauphin, site #600 has went from 49+ to at most, ten swifts in the chimney. All three chimneys in Dauphin are occupied now. The swifts are staying out late these nights. Ken and Jan suspect that they may have already begun nest building, but they’ll need day time observations to confirm. They believe that two swifts are using site #600 to nest, while the other eight late comers are just using the chimney for a nightly roost. This is our 4^th mystery I believe, what happened to those 49+ swifts? I like that Ken mentions trees as a possible home. It would be neat to find a swift roosting in hollow. Swifts in trees will be hard to find though!

In Selkirk, we have the Selkirk Birders watching the Selkirk Mental Health Centre and Merchants Hotel on the 3^rd and 4^th of June. At the centre, a staff person stopped to chat with Gerald Machnee, asking what he was doing, and right as he was explaining, a swift flew in the artificial chimney! Its as if the swifts heard him talk about them. In total, three swifts were seen flying around, with that one swift who went inside. The next day, there were two making an entry. The yellow brick chimney had two swifts, and at the Merchant’s Hotel, another two. In another email, Gerald mentioned that Ray and Sybil may have found the disappearing swifts from last week at the apartment on Main St. They made the observation on June 4. The swifts entered just before 10 PM, with seven more coming in, making a total of 9 swifts in the chimney.

That is all for this week folks! I cannot wait to hear more for next week.

– Vicky Tang

New roost found in Winnipeg!

Hello all,

Looking for an exciting Chimney Swift experience? MCSI has been made aware of (and confirmed) a new roost site at 424 River Avenue, just off Osbourne St. Two of our volunteers were able to monitor yesterday night and counted a total of 125 swifts (you read that right 125!) that came in over a course of approximately 30 minutes.

We are looking for volunteers who would like to monitor this site for our remaining NRMP night (June 7th), and Wednesday night monitoring until June 23^rd. We do not necessarily need the same volunteers to monitor all nights, so if you would like to monitor one night, or several, we can work that out. If you are interested, please email mbchimneyswift@gmail.com

Amanda Shave

New roost found in Winnipeg!

Hello all,

Looking for an exciting Chimney Swift experience? MCSI has been made aware of (and confirmed) a new roost site at 424 River Avenue, just off Osborne St. Two of our volunteers were able to monitor yesterday night and counted a total of 125 swifts (you read that right 125!) that came in over a course of approximately 30 minutes.

Amanda Shave