Many groups have erected artificial chimney structures as a focus for public awareness about chimney swifts and as potential habitat for swifts.
Based on the success of artificial towers in other locations, notably the southern United States, the MCSI set out to develop a tower design more appropriate to a northern climate.
In 2008, the MCSI erected towers in Starbuck, St. Adolphe, Portage la Prairie, and Winnipeg. More recently, towers were established at the Carman Elementary School and at the Old Grace Housing Cooperative and Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg.
As an attempt at habitat restoration, a number of 12-foot (3.66 m) free-standing chimneys were constructed between 2008 and 2013. These chimneys were based on the design suggested by the Kyles in their book Chimney Swift Towers: New habitat for America’s mysterious birds. Unfortunately, there has been no evidence of Chimney Swifts using these structures here in Manitoba. MCSI believes that the primary reasons that the original towers failed to attract swifts were a lack of internal temperature stability (especially in May when the birds begin to select nesting habitat) and the short tower height.
An opportunity to construct a larger tower was part of the re-development of the old Grace Hospital site in Winnipeg. The new artificial chimney was designed with a number of added elements lacking in the original plans such as additional height and insulation. Due to delays in construction, the tower was not erected until late July 2015, and Chimney Swifts were not observed using the tower ahead of fall migration. Subsequently, the structure was taken down and a new artificial chimney was incorporated into the new Old Grace Housing Co-operative building.
Following the removal of the tower from the Old Grace Hospital site, the Province of Manitoba and MCSI developed a partnership with the Assiniboine Park Conservancy to provide a permanent home for the tower on Assiniboine Park Zoo grounds. The tower was reconstructed in Spring 2018 before the expected date when Chimney Swifts return to Manitoba. Monitoring of the new site started in 2018 (and some swifts were indeed seen near the site), but in 2019 two swifts were seen leaving the tower in the afternoon. An inspection of the interior of the tower in September 2019 revealed that three, possibly four eggs hatched inside the tower. This is the first documented instance of Chimney Swifts using and attempting to breed in an artificial chimney in western Canada.
Four similar towers were erected at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre in 2021. In that summer, all towers were occupied successfully by Chimney Swifts and a breeding record for the latest known fledging date in Manitoba, ~September 5-9, was established in one of the towers.
To learn more about the development of the Assiniboine Park structure, please see the article The First Use Of Purpose-Built Artificial Chimney Swift Habitat In Manitoba, Blue Jay, Fall 2020.
For more information about successful artificial structures, please contact Tim Poole, (Species at Risk Biologist, Habitat and Endangered Species Section, Wildlife, Fisheries and Resource Enforcement Branch, Agriculture and Resource Development) at 204-945-5439 or timothy.poole@gov.mb.ca
The original structures:
Click here for a pdf version of the plan for the original Chimney Swift Nesting Structure (2018). (Note: This is NOT the plan for the current Assiniboine Park or Selkirk structures.)
Some references about artificial habitat:
Chimney Swift Towers: New Habitat for America’s Mysterious Birds by Paul D. Kyle and Georgean Z. Kyle
The First Use Of Purpose-Built Artificial Chimney Swift Habitat In Manitoba by Nicole Firlotte, Timothy Poole, et al. From Blue Jay for Fall 2020.
Guidelines for Creating Chimney Swift Nesting or Roosting Chimneys in Manitoba (pdf, revised April 2016) From the MCSI steering committee.
For more information:
Our project coordinator may be contacted at mbchimneyswift@gmail.com or by phoning the Nature Manitoba office at 204 943-9029