Presenting MCSI’s new factsheet – “Chimney Swifts: Cities, Forests & Beyond!”
Some exciting news to start off the week… MCSI has a new factsheet! You can access it now on our website:
“Chimney Swifts: Cities, Forests & Beyond!” – English version
“Martinets ramoneurs: Dans les villes, les forêts, et bien plus!” – Version française
This factsheet, which was created with funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Habitat Stewardship Program, highlights the use of forest habitat by Chimney Swifts for roosting and nesting.
When it comes to Chimney Swifts, we spend a lot of time talking about chimneys (for obvious reasons). However, despite their name, Chimney Swifts were here long before the advent of chimneys. In the past, they lived in old growth forests, roosting and nesting in hollow trees. As the number of chimneys increased and the amount of trees and old growth forests decreased, swifts adapted to their changing environment by shifting their habitat use.
While most Chimney Swifts now roost and nest in chimneys, some Chimney Swifts do still nest and roost in trees. However, we know almost nothing about where and how often this occurs. As most of you may know, Chimney Swifts are a Threatened species and one of the big threats affecting this species is habitat loss (both chimneys and trees). Learning more about which trees are being used by swifts is important for guiding habitat protection and other conservation efforts.
That is why we created this factsheet – we want to know more about Chimney Swifts in natural areas in Manitoba. We hope that by spreading the word about Chimney Swifts in forests and asking folks to report any sightings of Chimney Swifts (both in urban and forested areas), we’ll be able to piece together more of the puzzle.
As we mention in the factsheet, there have been some reports of Chimney Swifts near large forested areas in western Manitoba such as Riding Mountain National Park, Dauphin, the Duck Mountains, Porcupine Hills, and The Pas. We suspect that swifts might be using hollow trees in these regions. We are hoping to do some targeted outreach in these areas to raise general awareness of Chimney Swifts and ask folks to keep an eye on the sky. The more people who know about Chimney Swifts and how to identify them, the more likely we are to find out more.
In this factsheet, we also mention several ways in which you can get involved. Here are a few examples (spoiler alert): In addition to reporting your Chimney Swift observations or volunteering as a swift monitor, you can also help by avoiding cutting down trees, preserving wetland areas, and letting us know if you come across any old hollow trees that might be suitable swift habitat (including GPS coordinates and a photo).
To view and/or download the factsheet, please visit the Resources and Links page of our website or click here: https://www.mbchimneyswift.com/Documents/factsheet5.pdf
If you’d like a printed copy, please send us an email (mbchimneyswift@gmail.com) or call us at (204) 943-9029 and we can make arrangements.
Thank you to Luc Blanchette for translating the factsheet into French (https://www.mbchimneyswift.com/Documents/factsheet5_fr.pdf)
– much appreciated!
We’ll be back soon with monitoring updates.
Cheers!
-Marissa
