Swift Bulletin: Cuddle Puddles and Conservation-Minded Construction
Are you looking for some reading material to keep you entertained this week? We’ve got you covered!
Let’s start over on the East Coast: ‘You’ve heard of chimney swifts, but what about “barn” swifts?’ Written by Rielle Hoeg (Aerial Insectivore Outreach and Data Specialist at Birds Canada), this article published on June 16th details an interesting discovery made last summer in a barn in Nova Scotia. Last summer, some residents discovered swifts using their barn as a roost. They had previously seen swifts using their barn to nest, but never as a roost. In fact, this was the first record of swifts using a barn as a roost site. At one point, they counted a whopping 94 swifts nestled together in what is referred to as a ‘cuddle puddle’! Wait, it gets better… they even managed to take a great photo of said barn ‘cuddle puddle’. The photo can be found in the article. I highly recommend giving it a read! Nothing like some warm and cuddly swift news to start your July off right. Here’s the link to the article: https://www.birdscanada.org/youve-heard-of-chimney-swifts-but-what-about-barn-swifts?utm_content=2023+June+Enews
Now for some local Manitoba content, relevant to all locations where swifts are found. Tim Poole, Barb Stewart and Rob Stewart have co-written an article on the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances on Chimney Swifts. Their work, which assesses these impacts through the review of five case studies in St. Adolphe, has been published in the latest version of the Canadian Field-Naturalist (136(4): 364-373). Overall, they found that demolition and construction activities did not appear to alter the behaviour of nesting Chimney Swifts when this work was being conducted on adjacent or nearby buildings/lots. However, Chimney Swift behaviour and nesting success was negatively affected by loud interior noises due to renovations and rooftop activities on buildings containing nest sites. If you would like to read their article, including what they recommend as best conservation practices for construction and maintenance projects that occur near Chimney Swifts, you can find it at bit.ly/43bGnZA
The ‘barn swifts’ article, as well as a wealth of other interesting swift content, can be found on the ‘Resources and Links’ page of our website.
Stay tuned for a monitoring update in next week’s blog!
–Marissa
