Back in 2006, Lewis Cocks started a grassroots initiative, the Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative, to build artificial towers for Chimney Swifts in Manitoba. A declining and threatened species, the Chimney Swift had spent a century breeding in chimneys, which were usually attached to buildings. The Kyles in Texas took the chimney idea and designed and built artificial free-standing towers, which were being replicated in other US states. Build it and they will come was therefore the mantra in Manitoba, funding was secured and several towers were built following the successful tower plans published in the Kyles book ‘Chimney Swift Towers: New Habit for America’s Mysterious Birds. Unfortunately, and with the best will in the world, these towers were never used by Chimney Swifts in Manitoba.
After much thought and head scratching, a new free-standing artificial tower was built by the Province of Manitoba in 2015 as a temporary replacement for the demolished Old Grace Hospital chimney. It stood for a single season and was eventually moved to the Assiniboine Park Zoo in 2018 with support from the province, Assiniboine Park Zoo and Nature Manitoba’s Bluebird Fund founded by Guent Salzmann. This tower had many key differences from the original MCSI towers, not least it is much taller and contains insulation to help stabilise the internal temperature of the tower. We believed that the original towers were unable to provide warm enough temperatures for Chimney Swifts returning to our cooler climate in the spring. We are therefore delighted that the new tower has hosted successful breeding attempts in 2019 and 2020.
A new article published in Nature Saskatchewan’s Blue Jay journal describes the process from the towers beginnings up to the point where we were able to confirm breeding in 2019. The article has been co-written by staff and volunteers from the Province of Manitoba, Assiniboine Park Zoo and MCSI.
The Blue Jay have kindly allowed us to publish the piece and you can now read it for free on the MCSI website .
The Resources and Links page on the MCSI website contains a number of other primary publications from MCSI and our friends at the London Ontario SwiftWatch and we would really encourage anyone interested in learning more about Chimney Swifts to dive in and read some of the excellent information. You can also subscribe to the Blue Jay. Original content this edition includes articles on fisher re-introduction and its impacts in Riding Mountain National Park and the use of prairie potholes by swallows.
As I mentioned last week the Assiniboine Park Zoo staff had a quick peak up their chimney (the nest has fledged) to retrieve their camera and sound-recording devices. They were kind enough to send us some pictures. The first is from a camera mounted within the artificial tower, which captured a photo of a Chimney Swift roosting in the Chimney May 23rd, earlier than the staff previously thought swifts were using the chimney. The next photo was taken during the quick peak and shows a Chimney Swift nest on the wall of the artificial tower. Thank you to Assiniboine Park Zoo staff for sharing these neat photos with us!
Courtesy Assiniboine Park Zoo
On August 10th Gerald watched 367 Main St in Selkirk for five minutes – and it was an action packed five minutes! He saw three entries at 9:16pm, followed by 2 exits at 9:17 and 9:18, with two swifts then entering at 9:19. A lot to take in very fast. Winona monitored the same site on August 11th for an hour during the roosting period. While she didn’t see the crazy action that Gerald did, she did record 6 entries and 5 exits by one swift.
On August 10th Winona watched the St Merchant’s Hotel in Selkirk for just under an hour at roosting time, but saw no activity at the chimney.
On August 11th Gerald watched the St Andrews Lock and Dam Complex chimney site 2018-16.1 for just under 30 minutes during the day. He saw one quick entry and exit at 1:59 and 2:00pm respectively. The next evening during the roosting period he watched the same chimney. Following the same pattern, he saw a quick entry and exit at 8:44pm. This would have him end his monitoring period with zero swifts in the chimney, so there may have been another unseen entry. Tricky swifts!
The other chimney at the St Andrews Lock and Dam Complex (2018-16.2) during the day on August 11th also had a quick entry and exit but at 1:46pm. While in the next evening Gerald saw a bit more action at this chimney with two sets of fast entries and exits (8:46-8:47pm and 8:59-9:00pm) before one swift entered for the night at 9:08pm.
On August 17th Gerald was back at the Lock and Dam Complex during the roosting period. Site 2018-16.1 had a total of four entries and three exits by one Chimney Swift. On the same day and time site 2018-16.2 had one exit and three entries, for at least three birds in this chimney.
On August 13th at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre Infirmary Winona did a 60-minute roosting period monitoring session. She observed two Chimney Swifts using the chimney throughout the monitoring session with four entries and two exits by the swifts.
Also in Selkirk, Nia and Linda watched the large stack at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre. They had an action-packed evening with almost constant action for the first 45 minutes of their monitoring session. There was a mix of swifts doing quick entries and exits, as well as more typical roosting entries. They observed a total of 22 entries and seven exits for 16 Chimney Swifts. Due to the somewhat large number of entries and exits at what is normally a roosting site, I passed the data on to Tim and Barb to determine if any funny business by the swifts was going on! Barb’s suggestions were
“1. fledglings from another site moved over to the big roost;
2. an influx of from-aways (not necessarily juveniles) arrived and attempted to “settle”;
3. the full moon in early August makes swifts as weird as my dog who gets very wound up and perky;
4. swifts thrive on defying following a playbook that makes it possible to understand their behaviour.”
Tim’s vote was for #3 – were-swifts! As well all know, swift only play by the rules on occasion!
At Lower Fort Garry, after myself and Gerald had a bit of a mystery watch on August 11th, on August 16th the swifts use of the chimney – or lack thereof, showed a new piece of the puzzle. During both the daytime and evening monitoring sessions Gerald saw nary a swift. So it is possible that when Gerald and I were watching on August 11th, the swifts may have already started fledging. On August 15th staff at Lower Fort Garry could hear chirping inside the chimney and noted that the chirping seemed “older” (from older birds) this year, compared to past years when nesting in this chimney has failed. Time will tell, once we are able to take a look in the chimney (after the swifts have left) to determine if the Chimney Swifts had a successful outcome here this year!
In Dauphin, the chimneys are still active. Ken writes “The roost chimney and Old Scott’s Hardware chimney have a busy feeding schedule with 5 in/out cycles in 30 minutes while the Watson Arts chimney has a slower paced feeding (2-3 per 30 minutes). The roost chimney is still getting double digit numbers for the over night while the two nest chimneys only have the resident couples. The two nest chimneys retire for the night shortly after sunset while the roost still has birds coming in almost till dark. It might be a while yet for ‘the rest of the story’!”
Yesterday, the Dauphin group of monitors convened to watch the chimneys once again. Ken and Jan went to watch the Old Scott’s Hardware chimney and saw what they thought was only one bird feeding. Pat and Marilyn watched the Watson Arts Centre chimney with two birds feeding. There was rain in the evening, which disrupted the swifts, and likely disrupted their insect prey as well.
In Brandon Margaret and Amelia are still watching the Orange Block chimney and patiently waiting to see if they see some fledglings! On August 16th during the roosting monitoring period a constant stream of entries and exits by two swifts were observed. There were a total of 8 entries and 6 exits before the two swifts entered the chimney for the night.
On August 17th Frank and Jacquie watched the Transcona Collegiate chimney during the roosting period. Unfortunately, no Chimney Swifts were sighted, instead a large group of crows nearby provided the evening’s entertainment. (The highlight may have been the spilling of my Timmies coffee and falling off the chair thanks to our energetic rescue dog! FJM)
On August 17th Barb in St Adolphe saw no swifts during her noon hour watch for 60 minutes. For other aerial insectivores she did spy a few purple martins during her daytime watch (but considerably fewer in numbers than during peak season), and a steady stream of low-flying nighthawks the same evening around 7:30. As Barb says “It doesn’t seem like 3 months ago we started the “at home” bird watch. Tonight seems like a season closer bookend.” Luckily, we still have swifts in other areas of Manitoba!
We have confirmed nesting at Assiniboine Park Zoo’s artificial chimney/ tower in 2020. Laura and Ashleigh (Zoo Staff) had a quick peek up the chimney this week, and saw eggshell fragments on the ground, and a nest higher up on the wall. They also retrieved a trail camera that caught an image of a nesting swift on May 23rd, 2020.
On August 5th in Portage la Prairie, Gord watched the Trinity Church (south chimney) during the roosting hour. He had one exit at 8:50pm followed closely by one entry (8:52pm), with the second swift entering the chimney at 9:24pm.
Also on August 5th, Frank and Jacquie visited the Providence College in Otterburne to watch the two chimneys for a roosting session. Frank writes “For the first hour of our visit, we saw no swifts in the area whatsoever. Only the skinny chimney (site 552) was used this evening, and we had a procession of nine single entries after sunset. No exits took place.”
On August 4th Blair visited 340 Provancher Blvd in the evening (he had previously visited during the day and seen no swifts). There were also no swifts roosting in this chimney in the evening. On august 5th he visited 188 St Mary’s during the day for an hour, and came back later in the evening. Unfortunately, most of the activity at this chimney during both time periods was Rock Pigeons, although he did see five swifts overhead during the day and one swift in the evening that circled around to check out the chimney, but did not enter. At 690 St Joseph on August 6th during the roosting hour Blair again had a non-Chimney Swift visitor to the chimney (a crow). However, this time after three swifts flew over, he observed two entering the chimney for the night.
On August 7th Gerald watched the yellow brick chimney at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre for 15 minutes in the afternoon. He caught one entry and one exit, while seeing three swifts flying above. On the same day, he also watched the St Andrew’s Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound chimneys. Site 2018-16.1 had two swifts enter during the roosting period watch, while site 2018-16.2 had no activity (possibly abandoned? Gerald has said he will go out again to watch further).
Garry did a monitoring session last week at the 722 Watt St chimney on the evening of August 6th. He was Hoping for fledglings, but instead observed the typical fast entry/exit pattern of adults feeding nestlings. However, as he was out for a morning walk on August 9th Garry caught site of two moulting adult swifts, and two juvenile swifts (no moulting), along with 3 other swifts feeding less than 200m from the chimney on Watt St that he watches. It always pays to have your eyes on the sky!
Margaret and Millie in Brandon continued to watch the Orange Block chimney on August 9th, in hopes of seeing signs of fledglings. It was not to be this week – with behavior of the swifts still suggesting that they are feeding nestlings – but the feeding rate suggests the young are getting plenty of food to get them on their way.
Frank and Jacquie spent the evening of August 10th watching the chimneys at the St Joachim Church in La Broquerie. Earlier in the evening there were some entries and exits in the large chimney, but once 9:00pm hit, there were exclusively entries for a total of 13 swifts in the large chimney and two swifts in the smaller chimney at the end of the monitoring period.
Last week (August 5th) in Dauphin, Ken and Co. saw around 50 swifts enter into the area’s roosting chimney for the night – noticeably more than the local summertime cohort of birds. On August 10th Ken writes “Well, the “visiting kin-folk” to the Dauphin roost have now headed south. We’ve had a really strong wind the last few days and I figured it would have been advantageous for the swifts to start their southerly journey and it appears that I was correct.” There were still around 19 birds using the chimney, including swifts that persevered past some pesky chimney roosting pigeons to be able to enter and exit.
On August 11, I joined Gerald at Lower Fort Garry to watch the active chimney there for a roosting session. We were trying to determine if the nestlings had fledged yet. However, at the end of the night only two swifts went down the chimney – likely the adult swifts, as earlier in the evening they were doing characteristic feeding entries and exits.
Paul watched the Chimney Swifts at a chimney in Darlingford on August 11th and saw one entry and exit from the building’s chimney. This is our first observation this year at this location and as Paul said “it is nice to know it is still being used”!
Yesterday Barb watched the St Adolphe Church chimney. She observed no entries or exits, but did see four swifts (likely family) feeding overhead. She said “The fledglings (2) have been out of the chimney since Aug. 2-3. They have now got flying under control and are strong enough to be on the wing for a full daytime shift. Once daytime activity in the area stops, it will be time to change to roosting hour sessions to see how migration plays out…we only have a short stretch now to enjoy our swifts!”
Blair watched the chimneys at 690 St. Joseph and 261 Youville St. He watched St. Joseph on August 12th and had two swifts enter the chimney during the evening monitoring period. In previous weeks the Youville St. chimney had two swifts entering the chimney and had the entry/exits timing indicative of feeding nestlings, however, this time (August 10th) Blair saw four swifts going down the chimney at the end of the night – indicating that the chimney may have two fledglings using it as well!
We are definitely moving towards the end of the period where we get to enjoy our Chimney Swift neighbours, however, it is very exciting to see and hear about the young swifts start to fledge!
We will start off this week where we left off last week, with Tim’s sighting in the Transcona neighbourhood! Swifts have been reported over the nearby Transcona Biosphere Reserve in the past, but we did not know where they were roosting. Tim saw several appropriate chimneys on Transcona Collegiate and John Gunn School (nearby to each other), and an entry last week in the Transcona Collegiate Chimney. On July 31st Frank and Jacquie went to investigate Transcona Collegiate during roosting hour. All was quiet in the Transcona Collegiate chimney at first, however from 8:15-8:30 three swifts exited the chimney. After that there were periodic entries and exits by the swifts. Frank and Jacquie noted “Chimney Swifts did not linger near the school. Quick entries from height; quick exits to the north”. About 500m north of Transcona Collegiate is the Transcona Biosphere Reserve and several retention ponds. About 3 km to the north is the Harbourview Park Recreation Complex and Kilcona Park, which also have water and natural spaces. Perhaps these swifts “commute” between their food source and chosen chimney? If any volunteers are in Transcona and would like to monitor a chimney, this one is likely to be interesting!
Tim’s hunch also led to him monitoring a pair of chimneys on July 30th at the Riverwood Church Community Firehall in Winnipeg. One swift dropped down into the east chimney. He mentioned “The low trajectory and direct drop into the chimney demonstrates a familiarity with this site, suggesting long-term use by this swift”. Tim suggested that the west chimney is probably too close to the east chimney (about 3m apart) to host a separate set of Chimney Swifts.
Our Selkirk Volunteers have also been busy. On July 28th Robert and Donna watched the Selkirk Mental Health Centre Infirmary for an hour during the roosting period. They saw many entries and exits during this period.
Nia and Linda watched the Yellow Brick Chimney at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre on July 30th. Their monitoring period started off with a swift exiting the chimney. Only one swift was seen, although it entered and exited several times over the evening monitoring period, before staying in the chimney about 10 minutes after sunset. The same evening Nia and Linda also monitored the Large Stack at the Mental Health Centre. Over approximately an hour they saw a total of 19 entries and two exits, counting a total of 17 Chimney Swifts.
Winona also monitored the Large Stack at the Mental Health Centre on August 2nd during the roosting period. She counted 24 swifts entering the chimney in that timeframe.
Gerald monitored the two St Andrews Lock and Dam maintenance compound chimney on July 31st. Both chimney 2018-16.1 and chimney 2018-16.2 had two swifts each roosting for the night. Monitoring by Gerald of the chimney at 367 Main St, Selkirk led to an entry and exit seen at that chimney during the 20 minutes of observation in the morning of August 3rd.
Gerald also continues to monitor the chimneys at Lower Fort Garry. On the evening of July 28th, the chimney 2017-14 only yielded its normal barn swallow visitors, while chimney 2017-16 had two entries (one at 8:50pm and one at 9:10pm) before one exit at 9:14pm, with the last activity for the night at 9:36pm (another entry). Two Chimneys Swifts were seen at this location.
Matt had an incidental observation of Chimney Swifts in the air, that turned into swifts entering the chimney at the St Norbert Behavioral Health Center on the morning of July 27th. First, he saw six swifts circling up high, and about an hour and a half later (after a brief walk) he came back to see eight swifts in the air, two of which subsequently went down the chimney and stayed there until he left the area.
David monitored the chimney at Lucky’s Chinese Restaurant in Morden on July 31st in the afternoon. As he arrived, he immediately saw two swifts exiting the chimney. Within 30 minutes of watching the chimney he saw two sets of fast entries and exits – behaviour that is likely feeding of nestlings.
In Brandon, Amelia and Margaret continue to see many entries and exits during their monitoring periods. On August 2nd from 8:44pm to 9:50pm there were five entries and four exits for two Chimney Swifts that ended the monitoring period in the chimney.
Blair had a busy few days late last week as he visited three sites for us in Winnipeg. On July 28th he was at 690 St Joseph for a day time and a roosting hour monitoring period. Lots of activity was seen during the day with quick entries and exits happening periodically (indicative of nesting), and a total of four to five swifts seen in the air. That same evening the pattern of quick entries and exits continued, and a total of seven swifts were seen in the air at one time, while two swifts went down the chimney for the night. On July 28th he also visited 340 Provancher for a daytime monitoring session, and noted one Chimney Swift flying over the building, but no swifts using the chimney. On July 29th he held a daytime monitoring session at 261 Youville St and once again caught entries and exits with quick turn around times (indicative of nesting). He also saw a total of three swifts in the air, although only one swift was ever in the chimney at a time.
And as per Barb’s message last week (“keep your feathers crossed for successful launching”) in St Adolphe – it appears that we have had successful lift-off (fledging) at the Church site. This past Sunday Lewis was at Church monitoring the chimney, when he saw three birds leave the chimney – one more bird than entered the chimney in the first place. We assume this was a juvenile leaving the nest. Yesterday Barb continued to watch and had these observations “Today, Aug. 4… One entry was notable with wing-flapping all the way down; hmmm, a juvenile? There were entries with a first arrival, circling, and second loop for alignment. Hmmm, more tantalizing suggestions. Then on my way to the RM, a swift blew out of the chimney and came south overhead low. A JUVENILE”. And during a second observation period at the same site “After a rest, the two birds came out 2 seconds apart and 1 body length – the trailing bird was wing flapping mightily. A juvenile I.D. based on wing margins! The lead swift came out on a trajectory where I couldn’t check the wings, so this is one or two fledglings. There were a few glorious moments when an exiting swift came overhead. JUVENILE wings confirmed.” To sum up Church, Barb says “So I think that there was one fledgling airborne on Sunday and at least one, maybe two, who fledged yesterday (Day 30 and Day 31 respectively). The early fledger seems to be doing independent flight training and yesterday’s fledging(s) is/are still on the wing with an escort.”
The wing margins that Barb was talking about are a good indicator to tell apart juvenile and adult Chimney Swifts, especially as the juveniles become proficient fliers within days of leaving the chimney. Adult swifts are in moult, and thus will have gaps in the wings because of missing feathers, and a difference in colour can be seen between the old, worn feathers and the fresh feathers. However, juvenile swifts will not be in moult, and will have a full complement of feathers of uniform colour along the margins of their wings.
As the summer speeds by, we are (or are going into) the period of Chimney Swift nestlings start to fledge (leave their nesting chimneys). The fledging date depends on the date when the nests were built and eggs were laid, and happens approximately 28-30 days after hatching. Some nests in Manitoba have fledged already, and others still have active feeding of the young. We are definitely appreciating the swifts here while we have them.
This past week I received a parcel of Chimney Swift data sheets from our Dauphin Chimney Swift monitoring crew. This is a neat opportunity to follow the roosting and early breeding season activities of Chimney Swifts through in one blog post!
Ken and Jan Wainright monitored the main roost chimney from May 10th to June 24th, 2020. There were no swifts sighted during the first two watches (May 10th and May 14th). On May 15th four Chimney Swifts were seen in the air several times, and went down the chimney about 20 minutes after sunset. May 20th was a similar story, this time with five swifts entering the chimney near the end of the monitoring period. May 27th had the highest number of swifts seen at this site. There were 26 swifts in the chimney at the end of the night with at least 30 swifts counted flying overhead over the course of the monitoring period. Ken commented that it was hard to count the number of swifts flying overhead, as the flying groups would mix and mingle – we are glad he did his best to keep track! The number of swifts from May 30th to June 24th kept fairly steady with between 14-17 swifts using the chimney.
Jan Wainright also monitored the chimney on the old Scott’s Hardware building in Dauphin from June 3rd to June 24th. For the first monitoring session she recorded two swifts entering the chimney for the night, with another four swifts flying by. On June 10th she had one swift go down the chimney but ended her monitoring session with lightening and rain. On June 17th there were once again two swifts recorded going into the chimney, and another four swifts flying around. During the final monitoring session, she finished the night watching three Chimney Swifts using this chimney with another four seen flying in the air.
Our last Dauphin site monitored is the Watson Arts Centre, watched by Marilyn and Pat. They started on May 27th and watched until June 24th. The first night of monitoring Marilyn and Pat didn’t see any birds entering the chimney but did see seven fly over the chimney multiple times. Starting on June 3rd, they had swifts in the chimney each monitoring night, but the number varied. June 3rd had two swifts in the chimney (and four others seen in the air), June 10th had one swift in the chimney (three other swifts seen in the air), June 17th had three swifts in the chimney (and six other swifts seen in the air), June 22 had only one swift in the chimney (and one other swift seen in the air), and June 24th had one swift in the chimney at the end of the monitoring period (and two swifts seen in the air).
Our summer assistant Alyssa was in Melita this past week and spent some time watching sites there that myself and other volunteers did not get to yet in 2020. Both sites (the hospital and agriculture building) were watched during the day. At the agriculture building nine swifts were seen flying overhead, and one bird was going in and out of the chimney in a pattern that suggests it was feeding nestlings. At the hospital two swifts were seen, also entering and exiting the chimney in a pattern that suggested they were feeding nestlings. There was also a purple martin house on the hospital grounds, giving Alyssa a group of purple martins to watch when the Chimney Swifts were not around. When you add these two monitoring sites to the others we have watched in 2020, all known Chimney Swift sites in Melita were occupied for either nesting or roosting this year (one unknown exception is a private residence that was not watched).
I did a quick daytime monitoring session at the Maryland FoodFare chimney on July 17th and did an evening roost monitoring on July 23rd. This site hosted Chimney Swifts in 2016 and 2017 but was not watched in 2018 or 2019. Unfortunately, there were no sights or sounds of swifts in the area.
Lynnea and Adam watched the chimney at Nelson McIntyre Collegiate on July 24th and saw one Chimney Swift go down for the night just before sunset at 9:17pm.
Rudolf monitored the Northdale Shopping Mall on July 22nd for roost monitoring. He saw up to 12 birds flying around the area. He had one quick entry-and-exit at 9:12pm, and another entry at 9:27pm (the bird stayed in the chimney for the rest of the monitoring period).
Margaret and Millie continue to watch the Orange Block chimney in Brandon. On June 22nd they watched during the roosting hour and observed a feeding rate (sets of quick entries and exits) of three times per hour. They also monitored for 15 minutes during the day on July 23rd, and saw two entries and exits, which would work out to feeding eight times per hour if they continued at that rate over the course of the hour.
In Selkirk Winona was watching the Merchants Hotel for roost monitoring on July 20th. She also observed two quick entries and exits before the swifts headed down the chimney for the final time at 9:37pm and 9:45pm.
At the Lower Fort Garry southwest building Gerald continued to see only barn swallows out and about on July 22nd. The same night the southeast building had some activity with one Chimney Swift entering the chimney just after sunset, and staying there for the remainder of the monitoring period.
On July 23rd Gerald monitored the chimneys at the Selkirk Lock and Dam maintenance compound. One chimney had a quick entry and exit at 9:15pm and 9:16pm respectively before a swift headed in the chimney for the remainder of the monitoring period at 9:31pm. The other chimney in the complex had one swift enter at 9:00pm and another at 9:20pm, both staying in the chimney for the rest of the monitoring period.
It’s true !
Frank and Jacquie monitored three chimneys at Providence College in Otterburne on July 22nd. The first chimney (site 550) had one exit from the chimney at 8:37, and no subsequent entry. The next chimney (site 551) had four swifts in the chimney at the end of the monitoring session. The last chimney (site 552) had up to four swifts in the chimney at one time, but ended the monitoring session with two swifts in the chimney.
We also have a new volunteer, Christie, in Tuxedo. She is also a Chimney Swift landlord, with swifts nesting in her chimney. The young birds raised in her chimney have already left the nest, although they continue to feed overhead.
From Barb in St Adolphe this week we have “The NE Club Amical and Church birds are doing a mighty job of feeding their youngsters. At both sites Friday/Saturday, the feeding rates were 6 X/hour = back to rates seen in the good old days…yesterday, the morning was cooler and winds were up but the feeding rates were still very good at 4X/hour. A helper is onsite at the NE Club… There are a ton of mosquitoes locally – the first abundant year of bugs in about 3 years… Of interest is the congregation of adults in St A – they gather in a typical group of 5 but up to 9-10 and fly together low over the active sites, doing the old peer ‘n’ veer routine a la follow the leader. Lots of racing around town together too. Projected fledging dates are July 31-August 2 for the Church and August 5-7 for the NE Club. Keep your feathers crossed for successful launching!”
Also, a quick last-minute addition from Tim who saw Chimney Swifts at a new site in a new part of Winnipeg for MCSI activities. This morning he saw an entry and exit from Transcona Collegiate (in Transcona)!
Over in St Adolphe Barb, Rob and Ryan have been battling the mosquitoes in order to monitor the swifts. Rob and Ryan made some cosmetic repairs to update the artificial Chimney Swift tower (not in use by the swifts this year) – a big thank you to both. The two Club Amical chimneys occupied by swifts have young that hatched July 9th and both show high (3 times/ hour) feeding rates. The nestlings at the St Adolphe Church hatched July 4th, and also have high feeding rates (up to 5 times/ hour). The chimney in use on Main St in St Adolphe is providing a bit of mystery this year, as Barb mentioned, “Some days it’s 80 minutes between visits and Friday it was one nice fast exchange per hour. Not sure if there are only 1 or 2 juveniles being fed at a low rate or if I totally misinterpreted the start of incubation. THE MYSTERY continues.” I think we have all been able to agree at one point or another that Chimney Swifts can be a big mystery sometimes!
Next up in Brandon Margaret and Millie also had a bit of a mystery this week with one swift leaving the chimney of the Orange Block chimney, just as they arrived for the start of roost monitoring. Just after sunset they had another entry.
In Selkirk Nia and Linda monitored the Selkirk Mental Health Centre large stack and the yellow brick chimney. For the large stack they ended the night with 4 swifts in the Chimney on July 16th, and for the yellow brick chimney there were two entries a few minutes before sunset.
Winona was watching the Selkirk Mental Health Centre infirmary chimney and also had two entries, and earlier in the evening had seen up to 7 Chimney Swifts flying around.
Over at Lower Fort Garry, the southwest building continues to have no swift activity, however Gerald continues to see consistent Barn Swallow activity. Barn Swallows are aerial insectivores, the same as swifts, and face many of the same population declines, threats and challenges.
The southeast building at Lower Fort Garry continues to be a bit of a mystery. Two weeks ago, Gerald’s evening monitoring session showed 3 swifts at the chimney. At one point 2 swifts were in the chimney and when the 3rd flew in the two others “flew out over the edge, like they were kicked out”. When I was there for a day time monitoring session after Gerald’s observations I had two swifts enter and exit several times but they did not show the entry/exit patterns I would expect for incubation or feeding young in the nest. During last week’s evening monitoring session Gerald observed a fast turn around entry and exit (indicative of nestling feeding behavior), with only one swift entering the chimney near sunset. Was the mate already in the chimney brooding nestlings? Was the 3rd swift also already in the chimney? Hopefully we eventually find out for certain.
Gerald also monitored the St Andrew’s Lock and Dam complex where both chimneys had one entry each, just a few minutes after sunset.
On July 12th Garry watched the chimney on Watt St in Winnipeg. These swifts have been much more cooperative, with the consistently fast turn around time indicative of feeding young. Turn around times for entries and exits range from 15-30 seconds and happened about 4 times/ hour.
Blair visited Assiniboine School to watch the remaining roosting swifts return for the night on July 9th. He used a great technique of recording swifts entering the chimney “I recorded a video of the event that captured 56 entries, so I am quite pleased I did the recording.”
Tim continues to be a Chimney Swift magnet with this experience from the week before last, “This morning I had to wait for my windshield to be fixed at a business on Marion. With an hour to spare following my morning Timmies trip (no doubt inspired by Frank), I took up a spot in the shade outside the glass repair place. There were two chimneys in view on the St Boniface Industrial Estate, both first confirmed as active swift sites by Lynnea Parker in 2019. The further of the two, Eurocraft Office Furnishings was vacated by a swift around 9am. As I was standing in the shop paying for the repairs, I noticed a second swift enter the closer chimney on Number 9 Winnipeg Fire Station. I tried to watch for an exit but may have missed it in the circumstances. I hung around for another 30 minutes to allow the windshield to dry but saw no more swifts. The one exiting bird seemed to head south towards the Seine and an area of grassy habitat.”
He also provided me several gems in the comments of his monitoring sheets including “Single swift dropping into the building. BUT THERE’S NO CHIMNEY!!!” on Grosvenor Ave and “Chimney Swift left through cage seeking its independence” at an apartment building on Grant Ave. After emails with the owners of the apartment building with swifts but no chimney, it turns out that this building has a brick-lined ventilation shaft that runs the vertical length of the building, and we thought that was likely where the swifts were going. As Tim’s report had been incidental, I did a full roost monitoring session there a couple of days later, and did get one swift going down the shaft. Unfortunately, the sight lines at this building are not great, so if there was a second swift about, I didn’t see or hear it around.
Frank and Jacquie continued to monitor the two chimneys on the church in La Broquerie with the observation “There was a lot of activity using both chimneys. CHSW were quite vocal, and they covered a large circle around the church at varying heights. A very busy night, indeed!”. They ended the night’s monitoring session with a total of 8 swifts in the large chimney and 10 swifts in the small chimney.
Meanwhile, the Chimney Swifts continue to use the artificial chimney at Assiniboine Park Zoo. Zoo staff continue to watch the chimney, with Laura reporting day time use of the chimney on July 15th. Once again, the fast turnaround time indicative of feeding young was seen with swifts entering and exiting within one minute.
As always, a big thank you goes out to our Chimney Swift Volunteers! If you happen have any filled-in monitoring sheets hanging around at home still from earlier in the season, it is never to late to send them to mbchimneyswift@gmail.com.
A happy belated Canada Day to all of you! I hope everyone is recovering from our recent spree of severe weather. All of our best wishes here at MCSI to our volunteers who were impacted, especially in southwestern Manitoba. While our spring monitoring finished last week, we now are entering the time when Chimney Swifts are working on incubation and starting to feed nestlings! We encourage you to continue monitoring during this period, as knowing which sites are used to nest (as opposed to just roost) is important. As well, data collected during this period helps to inform us on timing of different nest stages in Manitoba, and if we are lucky, how many young fledge from a nest. Monitoring during this period can be done both during the day, or in the evening, as once the young hatch they need to be fed throughout the day.
The same monitoring reports are used as in the Wednesday monitoring nights and can continue to be sent to mbchimneyswift@gmail.com. Thank you for your continued support in monitoring our swifts.
Now, on to some updates!
From Barb in St Adolphe we have “As of mid-afternoon Friday July 3, the 5 “old faithful” nest sites are active. That is good news after the deluge on Tuesday night through Canada Day morning. Incubation continues at the SE and NE Club Amical sites along with the Church and Main St chimneys. Today is HATCHING day at Brodeur Bros./Daycare site, so we welcome St Adolphe’s newest avian residents!”
Garry spend part of his Canada Day afternoon monitoring Chimney Swifts for us at a site on 722 Watt Street. He observed two daytime entries, with quick entry/ exit turn around times, about an hour apart. This pattern is a strong indicator that Chimney Swifts are likely nesting in this location, as they have in the past.
Margaret and Amelia also spent part of their Canada Day monitoring in Brandon and ended up with two roosting Chimney Swifts at the end of their observation period at the Orange Block building.
Also on July 1st in Selkirk, Nia and Linda watched the chimneys at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre with three Chimney Swifts in the smaller chimney and 10 in the larger chimney. Gerald was out watching the chimneys at the St Andrews Lock and Dam complex and had one bird in the first chimney, and one bird in the other chimney. Previously there had been a second bird in one of the Lock and Dam complex chimneys – Gerald’s hypothesis is that the second bird may have already been in the chimney during the monitoring period incubating eggs. Winona monitored at the Merchant’s Hotel on Eveline St and observed two swifts roosting for the night, with another two swifts that flew off without roosting in the chimney she was watching. On July 2nd Gerald also watched the chimneys at Lower Fort Garry Historical site. One chimney had no entries or exits, while the other had one swift roost for the night (down from the previous two roosting in earlier weeks – perhaps another possible bird on the nest incubating? Hopefully time will tell!).
Nicole was out and about in Osborne Village and remarked “I was in Osbourne Village for a bike ride and there were so many swifts in the air. It was close to 10pm so we swung by the Biltmore and watched the chimney. We saw 3-5 swifts in the air. We had 2 enter the chimney at the Biltmore Apartment at 10:10pm Saturday night, June 27, 2020”.
We also have a new possible site identified by Dominique, in North Kildonan. She sent us “Yesterday and today there were six birds flying very low – at times just above the treetops. At one point I am quite certain I saw a bird drop into a chimney. This house is at XXX Kildonan Dr. The home has a tall brick chimney with no visible insert or other barrier to the swifts getting in there.”
Luc over in St Jean Baptiste was monitoring at the church where three birds had 8 entries and 6 exits in 60 minutes. This is certainly a lot of activity at the chimney!
At the St Francois Xavier Roman Catholic Parish chimney Michelle and Mike had the same numbers to report this week as last week, with three swifts seen, but only two roosting at the Parish.
In Portage la Prairie at the Woman’s Correctional Facility last week, Louise and Gordon also saw three swifts, with only two entering the chimney to roost.
Frank and Jacquie headed out to the Roman Catholic Church in La Broquerie last week and had a very busy time watching the 19 entries and 10 exits made by nine birds in the large chimney, while the smaller chimney hosted one Chimney Swift.
Deborah and Carl monitored the Old Grace Housing Co-op for us last week. Unfortunately, they got skunked (0 swifts), however zero data is important data! It helps to inform us on Chimney Swift movement (within years and between years) and habitat preferences.
Myself and one of our summer students, Nate, were in southwestern Manitoba for two weeks doing early morning grassland bird surveys. This meant we also had evenings free to do some Chimney Swift monitoring as well. I watched the Antler River Historical Society Museum in Melita for an evening monitoring period and had two go down right at the end of the observation time. They made MANY aborted entries before actually going in – to the point where I actually let out a cheer when they did finally enter!
I also watched the Legion in Melita. I arrived just before sunset. One swift was already in the chimney and popped up, and near the end of the monitoring session 2 swifts went down. This time there were a max of 7 swifts in the air. If we assume 2 roost at the Legion, and 2 roost at the Museum that leaves us with 3 bonus swifts. There are 3 other sites we know of from past years – so likely somewhere else is being used.
After fieldwork one day, Nate and I drove out to Pierson and Lyleton to scout out potential chimneys. No swifts were seen in Lyleton, but we saw 3 circling around Pierson. We watched an abandoned blue house for 25 minutes and saw what looked like an aborted entry. There are other appropriate chimney options in Pierson so they may be nesting/roosting elsewhere, but 2 of the 3 were circling low in the area. This is the first time MCSI has observed Chimney Swifts in Pierson, MB.
We have made it to our last week of official Chimney Swift roost monitoring this season. Wednesday the 25th looks good weather-wise so it should be a good final night.
Last Wednesday, on the other hand, proved to be a bit of a challenge for monitoring as many of us dealt with storms in the area, but a few folks were able to get out before the storm hit and see some Chimney Swifts. Gord in Portage saw up to six Chimney Swifts and at least one using the Rufus Prince building chimney, while Ken and the Dauphin team once again saw Chimney Swifts enter chimneys at the Watson Arts Center, Old Scott’s Hardware, and the roosting chimney on Main St.
Thursday evening Luc monitored St Jean Baptiste Church and had at least two, but possibly four, Chimney Swifts enter the chimney for the night. Luc did mention he was “wondering if [he] missed the exit of the first two swifts as 4 swifts in the chimney seems high for the breeding season.” Perhaps this Wednesday will provide some clarity if the chimney is being used for nesting or just night roosting. Elsewhere in Lockport, Jackie did not see Chimney Swifts use the chimney in the maintenance compound but did see “two CHSW foraging on the wing [the next] morning” and Gerald saw Chimney Swifts enter the chimneys that evening.
On Thursday I also did my first evening roost survey at Augustine United Church in Winnipeg and saw one Chimney Swift use the chimney as a night roost, although there were two others in the area. Unfortunately, my survey was cut half an hour short when the rain (that was not forecasted!) started to come down too heavy for monitoring. Hopefully the rest of you remained dry.
A very big thank you to everyone that has volunteered and reported Chimney Swift sightings so far this summer. I look forward to reading all your reports from Wednesday!
Week Four of Chimney Monitoring and Introducing our Summer Students
I’d like to introduce our two Assistants for the MCSI and Manitoba IBA programs this summer!
Nathan has graduated from Lakeland College with a diploma in wildlife and fisheries conservation and is working towards his B.Sc. in resource management at the University of Northern British Columbia. He is primarily working on grassland bird programming for the IBA, but you may occasionally see him out doing some chimney monitoring for us.
Alyssa has her B.Sc. from the University of Regina where she spent most summers doing a variety of fieldwork for graduate students. A lot of this work focused on researching bats, but included Western Painted Turtles and Common Nighthawks. She is currently working on her M.Sc. from the University of Winnipeg on bats, however she is also involved in the birding community through her volunteering at Oak Hammock Marsh and Last Mountain Lake Bird Observatories. Alyssa will be very involved with the MCSI program – so stop by and say hi, if you come across her monitoring a chimney!
Week Four
In other news we’ve had some adventurous weather for all of our intrepid MCSI volunteers (and the Chimney Swifts themselves) to handle these past couple days.
Over in Dauphin, Ken and the Dauphin crew were battling some wicked weather near the end of his observation period “We had our doubts that we might not get to watch the chimneys tonight as there were lots of “pop-up” thunderstorms but they held off till the last swifts went down their respective chimneys… Now the wipers are going and lightning flashes are lighting up the west and southern skies so we’re heading home (10:15).” However, they were able to see swifts enter chimneys at the Watson Arts Centre 2018-14, Old Scott’s Hardware 2018-15 and the roosting chimney in Dauphin (MSCI site #600). This crazy night was then followed up by a frost warning yesterday evening, a bit of a roller coaster!
Frank and Jacquie were out at the Providence College in Otterburne this past Wednesday and saw quite the show of swifts. Frank mentioned “The CHSW were generally high and circling toward the river and forest to the SW with none of the usual overflights of the campus library/residence areas. So, 3 in the chimney nearest the Bell Tower (#550), 9 in the central chimney (#551), and 2 in the skinny chimney (#552) for a grand total of 14.”
Blair was watching chimneys on Tache in St Boniface. While he did not see any swifts in enter the chimney he was watching, he did see 20 swifts heading west over the building and the Red River… a new mystery to solve!
Elsewhere, Luc Blanchette monitored the chimney at the St Jean Baptiste Church and had one Chimney Swift entering the chimney for the night, and the same outcome happened at the St Francois Xavier Parish Church for Mike and Michele.
Wow, I can’t believe we are already on our third week of monitoring! This week is a “make it or break it” time for Chimney Swifts in Manitoba! Barb Stewart, who has monitored the Chimney Swifts in St Adolphe, MB in great detail for many years, has determined that if Chimney Swifts have not started nest building by June 4th, they are not likely to have sufficient time to raise young before they must depart on fall migration.
Good news about Chimney Swifts using an artificial chimney! Chimney Swifts were seen entering the Assiniboine Park Zoo Tower by Laura and Paulson at the Assiniboine Park Zoo during the May 27th monitoring evening. This makes the second year in a row that we have had swifts using the artificial chimney. While it has still be too early to determine if Chimney Swifts are using the tower for roosting or nesting, we are excited to see what the season brings.
We are also happy to report that Chimney Swifts have been using the newly renovated St Francois Xavier Roman Catholic Church chimney by volunteer monitors Michelle and Mike. Church members are been informed and are delighted that their temporary tenants have returned.
We would like to thank all of our volunteers doing chimney-side monitoring, stay-at-home monitoring and sending us incidental reports of Chimney Swifts to help us build the picture of nesting and roosting sites in Manitoba this year. So far we have heard from volunteers in almost all areas of Winnipeg, and across southern Manitoba.
Just a reminder that our next monitoring evening is June 3rd, 2020. It looks like it should be warm and clear! We are also happy to hear about any Chimney Swift monitoring that you may do outside our normal MCSI nights by submitting reporting forms or through our incidental sighting form on the website (links on the Resources and Links page.).
