News and posts

Hello, and happy Friday! 

I hope you are all enjoying the official start of summer. It’s an important week! Yesterday was the summer solstice. Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day, and tonight is a full moon. The June full moon is often referred to as the Strawberry Moon because of its pink/reddish tones – a beautiful sight indeed, and I am looking forward to seeing it rise! 

Thanks to everyone who got out on Wednesday, June 19 to participate in our monitoring blitz! Based on the reports I’ve received so far, at least 25 chimneys were monitored, with the help of at least 37 monitors!

In this week’s blog, we will share results from the blitz as well as the other monitoring that’s gone on in the past few weeks. A lot has happened!  A lot has happened! We’ve crossed 5 more sites off our priority list, and we’ve also discovered a new site.Keep reading for details.  

St. Adolphe

Let’s start with Barb’s latest report from St. Adolphe. Barb’s reports are always fascinating because of her deep knowledge of swifts and their nesting dynamics. I always learn a lot reading her analyses of what she sees while monitoring – I have included some of her comments in this recap. On June 17, Barb visited the Club Amical from 11:15am to 12:20pm, and saw 1 entry into the SE chimney. On June 18, she returned to Club Amical from 12:20pm to 1:35pm, and saw 1 entry into the SE chimney at 12:54. The NE chimney had no activity for most of the session, but finally Barb saw 1 entry at 1:24pm, and 1 exit at 1:30pm. Barb’s recap of these few visits so far: “Bottom line = I went from gloomy guarded optimism in the blink of an eye…the 6-ish minute duration-in interval at the NE Club could reflect a mid-stage indicator of incubation…[progressive] steps to confirm incubation = 50% attendance; duration-in interval <10 min; then observation of a classic incubation exchange = entry followed by an exit within 1-2 minutes.”

On June 19, Barb watched the Club Amical again from 10:55am to 11:55am. At the NE chimney, she saw 1 entry at 11:11am, and 1 entry at 11:13am, followed by 2 exits at 11:25am. At the SE chimney, there was 1 exit at 11:48am, so that swift was in the chimney for at least 53 minutes before exiting. Once again, here are Barb’s thoughts on what she saw this week: “All in all, the swifts are not tight on eggs, but nest building-egg laying and early days incubation are being reflected in the activity pattern. The activity patterns vary day to day and are all likely to be bogged down a bit with the poor feeding conditions. I’m not needing a heat dome, but some slightly warmer and steadier temp’s would go a long way to support the swifts!” 

Selkirk/Lower Fort Garry/Lockport

Now over to the Selkirk Mental Health Centre. On June 12, Aynsley swung by the Selkirk Mental Health Centre for a quick morning observation session. During the 20 minutes she was there, she saw 2 entries into the infirmary chimney, and 1 exit from T03. That evening, the Selkirk Birdwatchers Club did their weekly monitoring. Gerald watched the infirmary chimney and saw 1 entry at 8:42pm, 1 exit at 8:54pm, 2 entries at 9:34pm, and another entry at 10:09pm. That’s 3 swifts in the chimney. He also watched T03 and saw 1 entry at 8:46pm, 2 entries at 9:23pm, 2 exits around 9:32pm, and 2 entries at 9:54pm (3 swifts in chimney). Fred and Nettie watched T01 and saw lots of activity – 1 exit at 7:55pm, and then 6 entries between 9:10pm and 10:10pm. They note that there was another possibly entry at 9:59pm, but they aren’t sure. So that’s a total of 6 swifts confirmed in the chimney, maybe 7! Linda watched T04 and saw 5 entries into the chimney between 9:22pm and 10:06pm. Lots of swifts at the SMHC! Recap of June 12 at end of roosting hour: 3 swifts in infirmary chimney, 3 swifts in T03, 6 swifts in T01, 5 swifts in T04 (yellow brick chimney and T02 were not monitored). 

Kevin and Evan did an hour of daytime monitoring at SMHC on June 17. At T04, Kevin saw 1 entry at 2:14pm, and 1 exit at 2:24pm. He saw no activity at the yellow brick chimney. At T01, Evan saw 1 exit at 2:05pm, and 1 entry at 2:11pm. At T03, he saw 1 entry at 2:31pm, 1 exit at 2:39pm, and 1 entry at 2:47pm. That evening, Patti and Dennis watched T02 and saw 1 entry at 9:37pm. 

On June 20, Nia and Linda watched the yellow brick chimney and T04. At the yellow brick chimney, they saw 1 entry at 9:14pm, and 1 exit at 9:35pm. At T04, they saw 1 exit at 9:09pm, 1 exit at 9:27pm, 1 entry at 9:37pm, 1 entry at 9:49pm, and 1 entry at 10:02pm. That’s 3 swifts confirmed in the chimney. 

As for the other sites in Selkirk, Gerald watched 367 Main St on June 18 and saw 1 entry. Fred and Nettie watched the Merchant’s Hotel in Selkirk on June 19 and saw 2 entries at 9:03pm, 2 exits at 9:24pm, 1 entry at 9:38pm and 1 entry at 9:57pm, for 2 swifts total. 

In Lockport, Gerald monitored St Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound on June 10. He saw 2 entries into the north chimney. 

Now over to Lower Fort Garry. Gerald watched the chimneys at Lower Fort Garry on June 14. He saw 3 swifts enter the Men’s House and 2 swifts enter the Fur Loft during the roosting hour. He also had another interesting sighting – At 9:48pm, 2 swifts began making repeated dives at a chimney on the west side of the Museum building. The diving ended at 10:03pm, and he did not see any swifts actually enter the chimney. 

Brandon

On June 1, Louanne watched the Orange Block building and saw no swifts at all. On June 5, Louanne, Glennis and Sandy saw 1 entry at 9:20pm, 1 entry at 9:34pm, 1 exit at 9:34pm, 1 entry at 9:42pm, 2 exits at 9:45pm. After this set of exits, they did not see the swifts again. On June 12, Louanne, Gwyn, Sandy, Glennis, Gillian and Carson watched the site again and did not see any swifts at all, though they mention that there were a few raindrops throughout, and a storm was rolling in. On June 19, Louanne, Sandy, Glennis, and Gwyn again did no see any swifts at all. This is strange given that this chimney has consistently had swifts for several years now. Louanne mentioned that a building in the vicinity of the Orange Block building burnt down last year – we don’t know if this would have impacted the swift chimneys. Louanne also mentioned that swifts had been heard in other parts of downtown Brandon, so they are still around, but where they are nesting and/or roosting remains a mystery.  

St Francois Xavier

Michele watched the Church in St Francois Xavier on June 12 around 1 pm. During the 30 minutes she was there, she did see a swift circle the chimney a couple times and then fly away, but otherwise there was no activity. 

Eriksdale

Brent and Shirley watched the chimney at the former church inEriksdale on June 13 and saw no swifts. 

Saint-Jean-Baptiste

As part of our blitz, Luc watched the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church on June 19 and saw 5 swifts enter the chimney between 9:44pm and 9:55pm. 

Morden

Ron visited the Pembina Hills Art Centre in Morden on the evening of June 18, and the morning of June 19. While he saw 4 swifts flying “tantalizingly close to the chimney”, he did not see any entries. Marvin and Evelyn returned to this site later during the roosting hour of June 19 and at last, the swifts finally cooperated! 2 swifts entered around 9:39pm, followed by another 2 swifts around 9:56pm for a total of 4 swifts confirmed inside the chimney. Woohoo!

A whole bunch of other towns visited by Ron!

Ron has been busy this week monitoring sites around the province. On June 17, he monitored St. Hyacinthe Parish in La Salle (which is a priority site) and saw an exit at 6:24am. Confirmed! That same morning, he also saw 1 exit and 1 entry at a private residence in St Francois Xavier, and 1 exit from the church at 5:26am. Ron also stopped in Carman but did not see any swifts. 

On June 20, Ron visited Dominion City and saw 1 swift exit at private residence. He then went to Emerson, and while he saw some suitable chimneys, he did not see any swifts. In Miami, same thing – nice chimneys, but no swifts. 

Ron also checked out the Bethesda Hospital in Steinbach. Frank had checked out this site on June 17 and though he saw a lot of construction, he did not see any swifts. Ron had more luck – hesaw 1 exit at 10:36am, and 1 entry a minute later at 10:37pm. He then saw another exit at 10:45am, and 1 entry at 10:48pm. These do seem like classic incubation exchanges, so it seems that nesting is underway despite the heavy construction! 

Winnipeg

We’ve got a new site in Winnipeg. On June 11, while on a walk, Cain noticed 2 entries into a private residence on Ruby St, in Wolseley. It is always exciting to get to add a site to the database!  

On June 13, Frank visited the Arundel Apartments (780 and 790 Elizabeth Rd), which are both priority sites. He did not see any activity at all for almost the entire session, until 1 single entry into the chimney at 790 Elizabeth Rd at 9:29pm. Sneaky! Blair then visited this site on June 15 to focus on 780 Elizabeth Rd, but he also did not see any swifts around this chimney. On June 19 (blitz night), Blair returned to monitor 790 Elizabeth Rd and had much more luck – he saw 1 entry at 8:34pm, 1 exit at 8:43pm, 1 exit at 8:59pm, 1 entry at 9:31pm, and 1 final entry at 9:32pm (total of 2 swifts confirmed in the chimney).

Blair has also monitored many other sites in the past few weeks.On June 1, Blair watched Nelson McIntyre Collegiate (188 St Mary’s Rd) and saw 2 entries at 9:17pm.  On June 8, he checked out Riverside Billiards (531 St Mary’s Rd) which is on our priority site list. He saw 1 entry at 9:05pm, 1 exit at 9:19pm, 1 entry at 9:34pm, and 1 entry at 9:36pm. Woohoo, another site crossed off our list! On June 11, Blair watched 865 Tache Ave, and saw no activity. On June 13, he watched the apartment building at 1310 Archibald St, and saw 1 exit at 9:11pm, and 1 entry at 9:20pm followed by 1 entry at 9:23pm. On June 17, he watched the Marion Hotel (393 Marion St) and saw 2 in the air, but no entries/exits. 

Donna has also been busy checking out priority sites. On June 14, she watched 465A Lanark St and on June 17, she watched 465D Lanark St. Unfortunately on both evenings, she did not see any swifts. On the night of the blitz, Frank covered this site and other than one low flying swift seen to the north of the chimney at 8:21pm and a possible chittering swift heard around 9:30pm, there was no swift activity.

For the blitz, Donna watched St Paul Apostle Parish, and saw 1 entry at 9:34pm. 

Jeff watched 803 Erin St, which is one of our priority sites. He saw 1 entry at 9:12pm, 1 entry at 9:37pm, and 1 entry at 9:59pm, for a total of 3 entries into the chimney! One more priorityconfirmed. 

Cam checked out 1025 Grant Ave during the daytime and though there was a helicopter flying near, he did not see any swifts. 

Jo and Betsy watched the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower during the roosting hour. They briefly heard a couple of swifts when they arrived at 9:10pm, but they did not hear them again and they did not see any entries or exits, which is a little bit strange and unexpected. 

Marilyn and Pam monitored the Nordale School and they did not see any swifts. 

I briefly checked out the Clarence Court Apartments in South Osborne area late afternoon, and though I did see one swift fly near the chimney, I did not catch any entries or exits. Later that evening, Liam and I checked out the Kings Theatre chimney on Portage Ave. We saw 2 swifts enter 9:40pm. After that point, there were still 4 swifts in the sky above us. We suspect a few of these swifts may have entered the Marner Apartments but we did not have a good view of this chimney.  

Aynsley watched the McBeth House. This site has three chimneys, and the middle chimney is on the priority site list this year. Though Aynsley did not see any entries or exits into the middle chimney, she did see 1 entry into the back chimney around 9:57pm. 

Updated Priority Site List (June 20): 

Community	Neighbourhood	Address	Site	Observer
Eriksdale	–	16 Railway Ave	St John’s Anglican Church and former Eriksdale Museum
La Salle	–	27 Beaudry St	Ste Hyacinthe Church	Ron B.
Morden	–	352 Stephen St	Pembina Hills Art Centre	Marvin & Evelyn K.
Swan River	–	518 Main St	Commercial building
The Pas	–	380 Hazelwood Ave	VIA Rail Station
Wasagaming	–	106 Buffalo Dr	Dragonfly Delights Tea Room
Winnipeg	City Centre	100 Adelaide St	Immigrant Centre Building
Winnipeg	City Centre	172 Edmonton	Ladywood Apartments
Winnipeg	City Centre	222 York Ave	Brink’s Canada
Winnipeg	City Centre	91 Albert St	The Old Market Autonomous Zone
Winnipeg	Fort Garry	1022 Pembina Hwy	Cambridge Hotel
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	118 Scott St	Apartment
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	141 River Ave	Ludlow Court Apartments
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	245 Bell Ave	Children’s Education Funds Inc
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	260 Wentworth Ave	Lady Wentworth Apartments
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	272 Cockburn St	King George Court
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	280 River Ave	Moxam Court
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	411 Stradbrook Ave	Lancaster Apartment
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	526 Walker Ave	Clarence Court
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	834 Grosvenor Ave	Eugene Apartments
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	444 River Ave	Augustine United Church
Winnipeg	North Kildonan	1400 Rothesay St	Chief Peguis Junior High School	Meredith S.
Winnipeg	North Kildonan	25 Valhalla Dr	Valhalla Gardens
Winnipeg	North Kildonan	415 Edison Ave	L&B Towers
Winnipeg	River Heights	1025 Grant Ave	Grant Arms Apartments
Winnipeg	River Heights	465A Lanark St	Lanark Gardens
Winnipeg	River Heights	465D Lanark St	Lanark Gardens
Winnipeg	River Heights	555 Lanark St	Lanark Tower	Cam T.
Winnipeg	River Heights	394 Academy Rd	Uptown Lofts
Winnipeg	St Boniface	780 Elizabeth Rd	Arundel Apartments
Winnipeg	St Boniface	790 Elizabeth Rd	Arundel Apartments	Frank M.
Winnipeg	St Boniface	99 Birchdale Ave	Nordale School
Winnipeg	St Vital	531 St Mary’s Rd	Riverside Billiards	Blair R.
Winnipeg	St James	2285 Portage Ave	Foodfare
Winnipeg	St James	2400 Portage Ave	St Paul The Apostle Parish	Donna M., Eugenia G.
Winnipeg	St James	2415 Portage Ave	Essex House (broken pest cage)
Winnipeg	West Broadway	198 Furby St	Harvard Apartments
Winnipeg	West Broadway	39 Balmoral St	Apartment
Winnipeg	West End	318 Home St	Mennonite Church
Winnipeg	West End	803 Erin Street	Elan Designs and Upholstery	Jeff H.
Winnipeg	West Kildonan	31 McBeth St	McBeth House (A) middle chimney

That’s all for this week. Thanks for being here!

-Marissa

Hello!

It’s hard to believe it’s already mid-June. Many swift pairs will now be building their cup-shaped nests, which they make by gathering twigs and gluing them together using their sticky saliva. At this point in the season, there are many different monitoring options. You can keep monitoring your usual site(s), or you can check out sites that are on our priority list (more details on this below). If swifts are using a chimney to nest, they will be entering/exiting the chimney during the daytime. So, both daytime and roosting hour monitoring sessions are valuable. Monitoring a site once or twice can give a good snapshot into what is going on at that site, while monitoring the same site on a regular basis can give more detailed information on how that nesting attempt is going.

I really love this quote from Barb, which I shared on the blog last year as well: “Along the way your monitoring sessions will add puzzle pieces to the overall picture. Infrequent, short sessions gather puzzle pieces with snippets of information; these are very good for verification of site use. Frequent, lengthy sessions harvest more robust puzzle pieces that have more information in them; these are necessary for identifying stages of nesting.”

We are holding a monitoring blitz on Wednesday, June 19^th. The goal for this evening is to monitor as many sites as possible. If you are free to participate, please let me know which site you will monitor or if you want to be matched with a site for the evening (please email mbchimneyswift@gmail.com).

Priority Site List for 2024

Every year, we have a list of “priority sites” (sites that are a high priority to monitor). These are sites where we haven’t confirmed use by swifts in several years. In many cases, these sites simply haven’t been monitored in a while. The main purpose of this monitoring is to investigate whether any swifts are currently using these chimneys. This information is valuable because it shows that these sites continue to provide important roosting or nesting habitat for Chimney Swifts (a species at risk) which in turn helps provincial and federal government agencies to protect these sites.

We’re looking for help from volunteers to tackle this priority site list. Here’s how you can get involved: Take a look at the list, pick a site or two that you would like to check out, go take a look to see if there any swifts using this chimney and let us know what you see! If possible, take a photo of the chimney so we have an update on its condition. Once we get a report from someone saying they’ve observed an entry/exit at a site, we will cross that site off our list. Like a scavenger hunt of sorts. Like last year, we will post an updated list on the blog every week so that volunteers can see which sites have been “checked off”, and which sites haven’t been confirmed yet.

This monitoring can be done at any time of day, for any length of time. Because we are only looking to confirm the presence of swifts in the chimney, the exact timing and duration is not as important as for official roost or nest monitoring. So if you happen to be near a priority site and have 20 minutes to spare to watch a chimney, that is great! That may be enough time to catch an entry or an exit.

You can use the datasheet as for all other monitoring (found here). As always, please make sure to fill out all the fields including the start and end time, the date, the site address, and any entries/exits. 

We are working on a site guide for each swift site, which will include information such as where the chimney is located on the building, some photos, and suggestions of where to stand for the best monitoring vantage point. We have finished these guides for most of the priority sites – please send us an email if you would like this information for a specific site.

Three of our 2024 sites have already been “checked off” our list! Donna and Eugenia saw 2 swifts enter St Paul the Apostle Parish (2400 Portage Ave) on June 1. Cam watched Lanark Tower (555 Lanark St) during the daytime on June 5 saw 1 entry and 1 exit. Meredith watched Chief Peguis Junior High School on June 3 and saw 2 swifts using the chimney during the roosting hour. Woohoo!

Here’s our current list:

Community	Neighbourhood	Address	Site	Observer
Eriksdale	–	16 Railway Ave	St John’s Anglican Church and former Eriksdale Museum
La Salle	–	27 Beaudry St	Ste Hyacinthe Church
Morden	–	352 Stephen St	Pembina Hills Art Centre
Swan River	–	518 Main St	Commercial building
The Pas	–	380 Hazelwood Ave	VIA Rail Station
Wasagaming	–	106 Buffalo Dr	Dragonfly Delights Tea Room
Winnipeg	City Centre	100 Adelaide St	Immigrant Centre Building
Winnipeg	City Centre	222 York Ave	Brink’s Canada
Winnipeg	City Centre	91 Albert St	The Old Market Autonomous Zone
Winnipeg	Fort Garry	1022 Pembina Hwy	Cambridge Hotel
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	118 Scott St	Apartment
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	141 River Ave	Ludlow Court Apartments
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	245 Bell Ave	Children’s Education Funds Inc
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	260 Wentworth Ave	Lady Wentworth Apartments
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	272 Cockburn St	King George Court
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	280 River Ave	Moxam Court
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	411 Stradbrook Ave	Lancaster Apartment
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	526 Walker Ave	Clarence Court
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	834 Grosvenor Ave	Eugene Apartments
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	444 River Ave	Augustine United Church
Winnipeg	North Kildonan	1400 Rothesay St	Chief Peguis Junior High School	Meredith S.
Winnipeg	North Kildonan	25 Valhalla Dr	Valhalla Gardens
Winnipeg	North Kildonan	415 Edison Ave	L&B Towers
Winnipeg	River Heights	1025 Grant Ave	Grant Arms Apartments
Winnipeg	River Heights	465A Lanark St	Lanark Gardens
Winnipeg	River Heights	465D Lanark St	Lanark Gardens
Winnipeg	River Heights	555 Lanark St	Lanark Tower	Cam T.
Winnipeg	River Heights	394 Academy Rd	Uptown Lofts
Winnipeg	St Boniface	780 Elizabeth Rd	Arundel Apartments
Winnipeg	St Boniface	790 Elizabeth Rd	Arundel Apartments
Winnipeg	St Boniface	99 Birchdale Ave	Nordale School
Winnipeg	St Vital	531 St Mary’s Rd	Riverside Billiards
Winnipeg	St James	2285 Portage Ave	Foodfare
Winnipeg	St James	2400 Portage Ave	St Paul The Apostle Parish	Donna M., Eugenia G.
Winnipeg	St James	2415 Portage Ave	Essex House, pest cage
Winnipeg	West Broadway	198 Furby St	Harvard Apartments
Winnipeg	West Broadway	39 Balmoral St	Apartment
Winnipeg	West End	318 Home St	Mennonite Church
Winnipeg	West End	803 Erin Street	Elan Designs and Upholstery
Winnipeg	West Kildonan	31 McBeth St	McBeth House (A) middle chimney

Please let me know if you have any questions, or if you would like some guidance about when and where to monitor.

We will catch up on monitoring updates next week.

Thanks!

-Marissa

NRMP Nights 3 & 4 (and more)

Hello!

The beginning of this monitoring season has been an eventful one, and the past week is no different. In this week’s blog post, we will recap the results from nights 3 and 4 of the National Chimney Swift Roost Survey Protocol (aka NRMP). It was a bit of a mixed bag again this week – some unexpectedly high counts, some unexpectedly low counts, some ‘back to normal’ counts.

Before we dive in, I just want to remind everyone that though the four scheduled NRMP nights are over, there are plenty more opportunities to monitor! We have another scheduled monitoring night on Wednesday, June 19. The goal of this monitoring blitz is to encourage as many volunteers are possible to get out monitoring either at your usual site or a priority site that we can assign you. We also encourage you to continue to monitor your site(s) if you are interested and available! As mentioned previously, whether you monitor once more or on a regular basis throughout the summer, this data is helpful and gives us a snapshot into what is going on at that site (such as if there is a breeding attempt and if yes, which stage that breeding attempt is at).

I will be posting the priority site list for monitoring on the blog next week. Thanks to everyone who has already monitored a priority site this year! If you’d like to be matched with a priority site, please send me an email (mbchimneyswift@gmail.com).  

Monitoring Results – NRMP Nights 3 & 4

On May 30, Blaire watched the St Norbert Behavioural Health Foundation and had quite the exciting night! Though she only saw 2 swifts enter the chimney (which isn’t anything out of the ordinary), she counted up to 18 swifts at once flying over the Lemay forest. The group of swifts stayed over the forest the whole evening until they disappeared around 9:30pm. This is the most swifts she has ever seen in this area! The results were very different on June 3 – Blaire saw zero swifts at all in the area. Strange!

In St Francois Xavier, Michele and Mike watched the church and on May 30 they saw 4 swifts foraging in the sky. They saw 1 entry at 9:22pm and 1 exit at 9:24pm, followed by 2 final entries at 9:24pm. The other 2 swifts headed south. On June 3, they saw multiple entry/exits by a single swift between 8:45pm and 9:10pm, and 2 final entries at 9:12pm (total of 2 swifts).

Frank monitored the St Joachim Church in La Broquerie and on May 30, he didn’t see any entries into the large chimney but did see 2 entries into the small chimney. On June 3, there was a lot more activity – Frank saw a total of 4 swifts enter the large chimney and 6 swifts enter the small chimney!

Gordon, Jana and Elliot monitored in Portage la Prairie. On May 30, they watched the three chimneys at the National Indigenous Residential School Museum of Canada. They observed 2 swifts enter the north chimney and 5 swifts enter the middle chimney. They didn’t see any swifts enter or exit the south chimney. On June 3, they watched the United Church and saw 6 entries into the south chimney and 1 entry into the north chimney.

Brett watched the Providence College chimneys in Otterburne. On May 30, he saw at least 12 swifts foraging at the start of the monitoring session. He saw 2 entries into the “large” chimney, 3 entries into the “skinny” chimney, and 1 entry into the “bell tower” chimney. At 10 pm, he could still hear swifts flying around in the dark.  On June 3, he saw 5 entries into the “large” chimney, 1 entry into the “skinny” chimney, and 2 entries into the “bell tower” chimney. Interesting how the number of swifts roosting in each of these side-by-side chimneys seem to change each night!

Luc watched the St Jean Baptiste Church on June 3 and saw 13 entries and 2 exits, for a total of 11 swifts in the chimney.

In Dauphin on May 30, the Hong Kong Café had 2 entries, and while there were up to 11 swifts flying around the Watson Art Centre, there were no entries or exits seen. The main roost (site #600) had 17 entries on May 30, and 13 entries on June 3. These counts are much more ‘normal’ for this site compared to last week’s high counts.

In Carman, Rhonda reported 4 swifts flying over the Memorial Hall for over 2 hours on June 3. 

In St Adolphe, Barb’s mission on June 3 was to check out nest activity and confirm occupancy at all five sites. She saw some swift action at both the Brodeur Bros and Main St chimneys. She also saw up to 9 swifts in the sky (which is the highest count in St. Adolphe this season), foraging as well as some brief trio flights and several “V” displays between flying pairs. Barb’s mission was successful – there seem to be breeding attempts underway at all 5 St Adolphe nest sites.

In Selkirk, Gerald monitored the apartment at 367 Main St on May 30 and saw 2 entries. At the Selkirk Mental Health Centre on May 30, Evan monitored T01 on May 30 and saw 14 swifts flying overhead around 9:30pm. Up to 4 swifts were confirmed in T01 at once, with 3 swifts in the chimney at the end of the roosting hour. Robert saw 2 entries into the infirmary chimney. Patti and Dennis monitored T02 on May 30 and saw 3 entries. On May 30, Nia and Linda saw 3 entries and 1 exit at the yellow brick chimney, for a total of up to 3 swifts using the chimney but only 2 swifts in the chimney at the end of the session. They saw 3 entries into T04. On June 3, Nia and Linda saw 1 entry at the yellow brick chimney and 4 entries into T04.

On June 3, Fred and Nettie monitored the St Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound and saw 2 entries into the north chimney, and no entries into the south chimney.

On June 3, Gerald monitored both sites at Lower Fort Garry. There were 3 entries into the Fur Loft. At the Men’s House, there were 2 entries at 9:30pm, and then 1 exit followed by 1 entry at 9:34pm, and an exit at 9:35pm.

In Winnipeg, on May 30, Rudolf saw at least 11 swifts in the airspace around the Northdale Shopping Center. At 9:10pm. He saw 2 swifts enter the Curtis Hotel and at 9:37pm, he saw 2 swifts enter the chimney at 1010 Brazier. Glenn and Sandie watched the Old Grace Hospital and though they could hear and see swifts overhead, they did not see any entries or exits. Kevin and Kylie watched Niakwa Manor and saw 1 entry. Nicole watched the Fleetwood Apartments and observed 4 entries. Jennifer and Marc watched 690 St Joseph St and saw 3 entries between 9:34pm and 9:42pm.

On May 30, Breanne, Aynsley, Dennis and I were at 424 River Ave and saw about 108 birds enter the chimney, in two big waves. Aynsley and Dennis were monitoring 424 River again on June 3 and counted about 145 swifts entering the chimney.

I was able to get a video of the swifts entering on May 30, which you can see here: https://youtu.be/9EbVimGgTuc Here’s a challenge… if you are able to count the swifts entering the chimney, I’d love to hear your count! Even with the video, it’s a bit hard to get an exact count.

On May 30, Blair watched the Fernwood Apartments and saw 4 entries (2 at 9:13pm, 1 at 9:25pm, and 1 at 9:28pm). Kevin watched this site on June 3 and saw 2 entries around 9:09pm.

Linda watched the Moorgate Apartments and on May 30, she saw a total of 4 swifts enter the chimney between 9:32pm and 9:48pm. On June 3, she had higher numbers than usual – she observed 15 entries and 3 exits, with 13 swifts in the chimney at once! At the end of the session, there were still 4 swifts in the air. Linda returned to this site the following night (June 4) to check it out again and had a total of 6 swifts enter the chimney for the night. Lots of variation from night to night!

Ron watched the Assiniboine School and saw 1 entry at 9:19pm followed by 1 exit at 9:23pm, and then 2 final entries around sunset for a total of 2 swifts in the chimney.  Beth and Wolfgang watched this site on June 3 and also saw 2 swifts enter the chimney.

Jo and Betsy watched the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower and on May 30, they saw 1 exit at 9:17pm, 1 entry at 9:27pm, and 2 final entries around 9:47pm for a total of 3 swifts in the chimney. On June 3, Jo and Betsy saw 7 swifts enter the chimney! The highest count yet for this site this year.

On June 3, Jennifer and Marc watched St Mary’s United Church and did not see any swifts.  Blair watched 340 Provencher Blvd and saw 1 swift enter around 9:20pm. Meredith and Krzysztof monitored the Chief Peguis School, which is one of our priority sites, and saw 1 entry at 9:03pm, 1 exit at 9:14pm, 1 entry at 9:17pm, and another entry at 9:18pm, for a total of 2 swifts in the chimney. Woohoo, another priority site confirmed!

Donna monitored St Paul The Apostle Church (2400 Portage Ave) and saw 1 entry. Donna had monitored this priority site a few days prior with Eugenia on June 1. They had seen 2 swifts enter at 9:23pm. Thanks to Donna and Eugenia for confirming this priority site!

During the day on June 3, Evan and Kevin monitored the Cambridge Hotel but did not see any swifts in the area.

Other Monitoring Results

On May 29, Breanne monitored the Maryland Foodfare chimney during the roosting hour and saw 2 entries. She monitored this site again on June 5, and once again saw 2 entries.

Jon monitored one of our priority sites, 91 Albert St, on May 28 and saw no entries or exits. He checked out another priority site, 100 Adelaide St, on June 4 and also saw no entries or exits.

On May 28, Blair monitored Spring Christian Academy at 261 Youville and saw 3 entries around 9:35pm. On June 4, he monitored 864 Marion St and saw 5 entries and 1 exit between 9:01pm and 9:07pm, for a total of 4 swifts in the chimney. On June 5, he monitored 847 Marion St and saw 3 entries. On June 6, he monitored 325 Talbot Ave and saw 1 entry at 9:51pm.

On June 4, Garry monitored 722 Watt St and saw 3 swifts enter between 9:20-9:56pm.

Gwen saw 1 swift enter the Curtis Hotel on June 4, and 4 swifts enter 139 Market Ave on June 5.

On June 5, Cam monitored 555 Lanark St (a priority site) during the daytime and saw one entry at 6:44pm, and an exit at 6:51pm. One more priority site confirmed.

Jen reported an incidental sighting of swifts in the sky around 300 Assiniboine Ave. In the past, swifts have used a few of the chimneys at 303 Assiniboine Ave (Newcastle Apts) and also at 348 Assiniboine (Redboine Apts) so I wonder if swifts are using one or both of these sites again this year.

We will finish off the monitoring updates with some exciting news from Canadian Mennonite University – we have confirmed a new site! On May 26, John watched the large chimney and saw 2 swifts enter. On May 28, Graham watched this chimney and also saw 2 entries. We have suspected this may be a site for a few years now but did not have confirmation until now. Great news!

It’s really great to see so many people involved in monitoring this year. Thank you to each and everyone of you! That’s all our updates for now. Stay tuned for next week’s blog which will dive into our priority site list.

Thanks!

-Marissa

Recap – A Memorable Night 2 of NRMP

Hello!

It’s been quite the exciting week in the swift world!

On Sunday May 26, volunteers around the province went out for Night 2 of the National Chimney Swift Roost Survey dates. Unlike May 22 which was cold, rainy, and not very swift-friendly, Sunday evening was beautiful and presented excellent foraging conditions for the swifts, many of which stayed out past their curfews and tested the patience of the monitors. We received a variety of very interesting stories and reports, which we will share with you all in this blog! Keep reading for some record-breaking roost numbers, some unlikely chimney choices, and even a little poetry. Before we dive into the recap, quick reminder that Night 3 of the National Chimney Swift Roost Survey is this evening, May 30. It’s a little bit stormy in Winnipeg at the moment, but it’s supposed to clear up by this evening (fingers crossed).

NRMP Night 2

We will start in the Lockport/Selkirk/St Andrews region. Fred and Nettie watched both chimneys at the St Andrews Lock and Dam. They saw 1 entry into the south chimney, and 2 entries into the north chimney. In Selkirk. Evan watched the Merchant’s Hotel and saw 2 entries at 9:10pm.

Gerald watched the Lower Fort Garry sites and got to see a sky full of birds! At times, there were a dozen or so swifts in the sky, and about 50 Common Nighthawks. Gerald mentioned this is the most swifts he’s ever seen in the Lower Fort Garry area. At the Men’s House chimney, lots of action: 2 entries around 8:55pm followed by 2 exits about 15 minutes later, 2 entries around 9:31pm, 1 exit at 9:38pm, 1 entry at 9:39pm, 1 exit at 9:40pm, 1 entry at 9:40pm, 1 entry at 9:49pm, 1 exit at 9:51pm, 1 entry at 9:52pm, and a final entry at 9:55pm. That’s a lot to keep track of – in the end, there were 4 swifts in the chimney. Things were calmer over at the Fur Loft, with 2 entries at 9:31pm.

The excitement continued at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre (SMCH). Aynsley was monitoring T01. All of a sudden, towards the end of the roosting hour, she noticed over 50 swifts move into the area and immediately start trying to enter a chimney on the west side of the Infirmary (but not the chimney the swifts usually use on this same building). Many swifts successfully dove into the chimney, while others seemed to have trouble getting in and tried a few times. This event was quite remarkable for a few reasons – the total number of swifts seen was much higher than usual in Selkirk, and we’ve never seen swifts use this particular chimney before. In fact, because this chimney is quite short on the inside, we had considered it unsuitable (and is likely why the swifts were having a hard time all fitting inside). One thing is for sure – we will never be fully able to predict what the swifts will do or where they will go.

Photo by Aynsley Woods: The chimney circled in yellow on the west side of the infirmary, where all the swifts were trying to enter on May 26. The tower on the left is T01. 

In addition to catching this very strange and unprecedented event, Aynsley also saw 2 entries into T01 and a possible entry into T03. Robert watched the Infirmary chimney (the one usually used by swifts) and saw 1 entry. Patti and Dennis watched T02, and saw 2 entries at 9:37pm, 1 entry at 9:48pm, 1 exit at 9:49pm and 1 entry at 9:53pm for a total of 3 swifts confirmed in the chimney. Linda and Nia saw 4 entries into T04, and 2 entries into the yellow brick chimney.

Gerald (armed with his video camera) returned to the SMHC on May 27 to see if the swifts would repeat their strange behaviour from the night before. Would the swifts use the chimney on the west side of the infirmary again, or was that a one-time thing? No swifts attempted to enter this chimney. Instead, he did see more activity at T01. Between 9:27pm and 10:03pm, there was a series of entries and exits that resulted in 11 swifts confirmed in the chimney for the night. He also saw 2 entries into the infirmary chimney, and no entries/exits at T03.

It was also quite the unprecedented night in Dauphin. Ken and Jan watched the Malcolm Block building. On the first NRMP night, they saw zero swift activity. This time, around sunset, they saw a “whole bunch” of swifts flying in the sky, and at 9:50pm there was a mass entry of an estimated 80+ swifts into the chimney! Ken describes the sight as a “black rope, a string of swifts so close together we couldn’t count them!”  Wow. Ken and Jan returned to this site to do another count on May 28 to see if this would happen again. The swifts stayed out late – between 10:10pm-10:17pm, they counted 67 swifts entering the chimney. Less than on May 26, but still a very high count!

Portage la Prairie was also no exception to the ‘lots of swifts’ trend. Gordon, Jana and Elliot watched the 3 chimneys at the National Indigenous Residential School Museum of Canada (formerly the Rufus Prince Building). 12 swifts entered the north chimney, 10 swifts entered the middle chimney, and 6 swifts entered the south chimney. That’s a total of 28 swifts! Much higher than what Gordon and Jana counted on May 22 at the same time (1 entry at the north chimney, 1 entry followed by 1 exit at the middle chimney, and 3 entries at the south chimney for a total of 4 swifts).

Over in Brandon, Louanne watched the Orange Block and saw 2 entries into the north chimney (site 900.1) at 9:42pm. There was no activity at the south chimney. Louanne and Glennis monitored this site again on May 29 and once again saw 2 entries.

Michele and Mike watched the St Francois Xavier RC Church and throughout the session, there were 3 swifts foraging with a pair of Common Nighthawks. They saw 1 entry at 8:24pm, 1 exit at 8:27pm, 1 entry at 8:34pm, 1 exit at 8:37pm, and then 2 entries at 9:21pm. They did not see the third swift entering the chimney.

Luc watched the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church and between 9:20pm and 9:33pm, there were 9 entries. Luc returned to monitor this site on May 27 and May 29 and on both these nights, 8 swifts entered the chimney.

Frank watched the church in La Broquerie. He first saw 6 swifts flying around 7:40pm, but then did not see them again for half an hour. There were 3 swifts that entered the small chimney (at 8:56pm, 9:18pm, and 9:22pm). As for the large chimney, 1 entered at 9:23pm followed by 2 entries at 9:25pm. By the end of the session, there were 3 swifts in each chimney.

Ron watched the 3 chimneys at Providence College in Otterburne. At the ‘large chimney’ (site 551), there were lots of ins and outs. It started with 1 entry at 8:46pm, followed by 1 exit at 8:50pm, 2 entries at 9:07pm, 1 entry at 9:24pm, 2 exits at 9:27pm, and 2 entries at 9:29pm (3 swifts total using this chimney). At the ‘skinny chimney’ (site 552), there were 2 entries (9:23pm and 9:35pm). At the chimney near the bell tower (site 550), there was 1 entry at 9:35pm. Ron saw up to 8 swifts in the air at once, meaning that 2 of those swifts were still unaccounted for at the end of the night.

Blaire watched the Behavioural Health Foundation building in St Norbert. She notes that at 8:55pm, there seemed to be 3 swifts in the area. At 9:16pm, she saw 2 entries into the chimney.

Barb did some daytime monitoring in St Adolphe. She noted a maximum of about 4 swifts in the area around Club Amical, and 6 or 7 swifts in the area around the church. The swifts were mainly feeding, low to medium-low in the sky and they did not make any approaches to the chimneys. Barb’s main take-away from this monitoring session was that the number of swifts in the area is the same as before the stretch of nasty weather, meaning that they made it through the tough conditions! Great news.  

Over in Winnipeg, Tim watched 424 River Ave. For most of the session, there wasn’t much going on at the chimney. They eventually all decided to rush into the chimney all at once, of course – Tim estimated 195 swifts (likely an underestimation) entered under 30 seconds. That’s a lot of swifts!

Nicole watched the Fleetwood Apartments, and between 9:23pm and 9:47pm, she saw 6 entries. She also saw another possible entry at 9:54pm. That’s 6 birds, at least! Nicole mentions that she’s never counted more than 3 swifts there previously.

Jo and Betsy watched the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower and saw 5 entries between 9:31pm and 9:47pm.

Beth watched the Assiniboine School and saw 1 entry at 9:29pm, and 2 entries at 9:40pm.

Debby and Nicola watched the Old Grace Housing Co-op and though they saw 5-6 swifts flying around in the air, there were no entries or exits into the chimney.

Blair watched 690 St Joseph St, and saw 2 entries at 9:47pm. He notes seeing 5 swifts overall in the air during the session.

I (Marissa) watched the Nordale School (99 Birchdale Ave) which is one of our priority sites this year. My hopes were up as I was seeing up to 11 swifts flying overhead throughout the first 30 minutes of monitoring. The swifts were foraging with at least 6 Common Nighthawks. However, I last saw this group of swifts around 9:20pm and did not see them again.

All in all, what a great night of swift monitoring! Exciting to see such high numbers at several roost sites around the province. A possible explanation for these high numbers is that during last week’s stretch of cold weather, swifts that would normally roost in smaller groups came together to roost together as a way of staying warm. It will be interesting to compare what we saw on Sunday with what folks see tonight. 

Other results

There are some other Chimney Swift reports from the past week to share. On May 22, Kevin and Evan monitored during the roosting hour in Melita. Kevin watched 139 Main St and though he saw 6 swifts in the sky, he did not see any entries into the chimney. Evan watched the Antler River Historical Society and saw 2 entries at 9:15pm. On May 25, Gwen was in Melita and also saw 2 swifts enter the Antler River Historical Society. 

On May 23, Evan and Kevin monitored Kowalchuk’s Funeral Home and 47 Fourth Ave West in Souris during the roosting hour. They did not see any activity, likely due to rainy weather.

On May 25, Kevin monitored Fernwood Apartments (Winnipeg) during the roost hour and saw 2 entries.

Finally, yesterday evening on May 29, I (Marissa) led a monitoring workshop for the Manitoba Metis Federation. Our group of 11 folks watched the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower. It was a gorgeous night, and the swifts spent most of the evening foraging high above while being quite vocal. We saw a total of 4 entries into the tower. The first two entries were around 9:42pm, followed by another 2 entries at 9:57pm.

That’s all for now!

I leave you with these funny and relevant words written by Barb, inspired by all the recent unpredictable swift happenings:

“There’s a group of crazy good folks
Who count Chimney Swifts – ’tis no joke
Watching birds as they fly
To know where, when and WHY?
Means therapy may be invoked!”
— Barb Stewart

Happy Monitoring!

-Marissa

Happy Friday!

I hope you are staying warm and dry. The weather continues to keep us guessing… Over here in Winnipeg, there’s been a lot of rain (which has occasionally turned into hail). I received a photo from someone in Brandon today of their yard covered in snow! So yep, it’s been pretty all over the place. It can be difficult to predict the impact of weather like this on swift behaviour and thus, the monitoring. Will the swifts all enter their chimneys very early, or will they try to make up for lost feeding time earlier in the day and stay out late? Hard to know!

Wednesday May 22 was the first night of the National Chimney Swift Roost Survey Protocol (a 4-night national monitoring effort which focuses on monitoring roost sites). It sounds like across the province, there was an unpredictable mix of rainy/cloudy/windy/hail/etc.

Dauphin seems to have gotten some of the worst of it – cold and overcast, with rain and hail. Ken, Jan and Pat braved the elements but saw zero swifts. As Ken described, “as a matter of fact, we didn’t see any birds, not even pigeons”. Yikes!

Michele watched the St. Francois Xavier R.C. Church. She saw 1 entry at 9:08pm, 2 entries followed by 1 exit at 9:13pm, another exit at 9:15pm, and finally 2 entries at 9:19pm. Overall, 3 swifts were confirmed in the chimney. 

In Selkirk, Nia and Linda saw 2 entries into the Yellow Brick chimney and 2 entries into T04. Robert watched the Infirmary chimney and did not see any entries. Gerald watched the apartment building at 367 Main St and did not see any swift activity at all. Patti and Dennis watched T02 and saw 1 entry at 9:25pm followed by 1 more entry at 9:35pm.  Aynsley saw 1 entry into T01 and 1 entry into T03.

Frank watched the 2 chimneys at the St Joachim Church in La Broquerie. A group of 3 swifts arrived, 1 of which entered the small chimney at 8:35pm and 2 of which entered the large chimney a few minutes later. A 4^th swift arrived and entered the small chimney at 9:18pm. A 5^th swift arrived at 9:45pm and entered the large chimney. By the end of the session, 3 swifts had entered the large chimney and 2 swifts had entered the small chimney.

Blaire watched the St Norbert Behavioural Health Foundation building in St. Norbert, and saw 2 swifts enter at 8:58pm.

As usual, Barb has been keeping an eye on the chimneys in St. Adolphe. On May 22, she did a morning 75 minute monitoring session at the Club Amical (which has 2 chimneys). She saw up to 6 swifts at once, all busy feeding. 45 minutes into her monitoring session, she saw 1 swift leave the SE Club Amical chimney. Later that evening but before roosting hour, Barb monitored the Church. She saw 2 exits (7:08pm and 7:09pm) which suggests that a pair have claimed this chimney as a nest site for the year.

Over to Winnipeg now. Barb and Phil watched 424 River Ave, which is consistently used by large numbers of swifts. For most of their monitoring session, swifts were circling high and not near the chimney, so they were starting to doubt if the swifts were going to use this chimney as a roost. However, between 9:27pm and 9:39pm, 126 swifts entered the chimney. This roost site is still up and running!

Tim watched the Fernwood Apartments, which is a new roost site that was discovered last fall. A bit surprisingly, he saw no swift activity at all. 

Carl and Joyce watched the chimney at the Old Grace Housing Co-op. While they did see 3 swifts flying in the area, these swifts were last seen around 9:38pm heading straight west and did not enter the chimney.

Beth watched the Assiniboine School, which used to be a roost site used by multiple swifts. While she saw 3 swifts circle over the school yard a few times, they headed north and did not enter the chimney. Beth mentioned that someone else saw a handful of swifts flying around the school on May 21, but they also went north past Portage Avenue.

Linda watched the Moorgate Apartments on Portage Avenue, and saw 2 entries at 9:26pm.

Gwen watched 139 Market Ave. She saw 1 entry at 8:50pm followed by an exit at 8:57pm. At 9:03pm, 2 swifts entered and remained until the end of the monitoring period. Gwen had seen another 7 swifts in the sky but they must be roosting somewhere else.

Jo watched the Assiniboine Park Zoo artificial tower. A group of 3 swifts were flying around but only 2 of them entered the tower, around sunset.

A few other reports from earlier this week:

On May 21, Luc watched the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church. From 9:16pm to 9:35pm, Luc observed 11 entries and 1 exit, for a total of 10 swifts confirmed in the chimney at the end of the session.

I (Marissa) was in southwest MB for a few days this week and checked out some swift sites in Souris. On May 21, I did a roost hour monitoring session at the Hillcrest Museum. There were a group of up to 5 swifts flying in the area, but around 9:20pm a light rain began and the swifts disappeared for the rest of the evening.

On May 21, Gwen noticed 6 swifts in the area over the Curtis Hotel on Henderson Highway. She did not see any entries but hopes to check again from a better vantage point.

Night 2 of the National Chimney Swift Roost Survey Protocol is Sunday, May 26. If you would like to monitor a chimney on this night and want a site to watch, send us an email!

Some reports are still trickling in. Don’t forget to send in your completed datasheets, via email to mbchimneyswift@gmail.com or by mail to 401-63 Albert St, Winnipeg MB, R3B 1G4.

Also, just another quick reminder to both new and returning volunteers to fill out volunteer sign-up form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSccnVO2iqF8pDPz68pBJsEfNHnUung0HZ_dsMalcgg4TDIuzA/viewform

Thank you to all of you who monitored this week, despite the unpredictable and difficult weather.

Have a great weekend!

-Marissa

Wow, what a week it’s been for birdwatching! The warblers have arrived in a big way, which is always exciting. The swift reports are also steadily coming in.

Here are a few quick reminders before we jump into the week’s recap:

• Please fill out the volunteer sign-up form (for new and returning volunteers):  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSccnVO2iqF8pDPz68pBJsEfNHnUung0HZ_dsMalcgg4TDIuzA/viewform
• The datasheet and protocol for 2024 can be found on the Resources and Links page of our website. Quick note – the link in last week’s blog may have accidentally pointed you to the 2023 protocol. Apologies! Please make sure to check out the 2024 protocol.
• If you would like a volunteer lanyard, factsheets to hand out to the public, or any other monitoring resources, please let us know!
• The National Roost Survey dates are May 22, May 26, May 30, and June 3. If you are free to do a roost monitoring session on one or any of these nights, let us know. Otherwise, you can begin monitoring your site whenever works for you!

Volunteer appreciation/season kick-off event recap

On Tuesday, May 14^th we held our first volunteer appreciation/season kick-off event at Assiniboine Park! It was a lovely evening. Thank you to the over 30 people who came out! It’s so nice to put faces to names.

We started off the evening by gathering in the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre’s multi-purpose room. We visited, ate some food, and talked all things swift.

Marissa and Laura kicking off the evening

Joanne Tuckwell (Species Conservation Specialist with Parks Canada, and a member of MCSI’s steering committee) shared a few stories of the Chimney Swifts at Lower Fort Garry. Laura Burns (Conservation Programs Manager with Assiniboine Park Conservancy, and also a member of MCSI’s steering committee) shared some background on the artificial swift tower at Assiniboine Park Zoo, including some cool footage of swifts inside the tower. Curious to see some of this video footage? Check out this video posted by Assiniboine Park on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce6SC9XsS3g

Laura presenting on the zoo tower

Despite the (very) soggy weather throughout the day, the rain let up just in time for us to head outdoors to check out the artificial tower and try and spot some swifts. While we did not see or hear any swifts, it was nice to see the tower and spend some time outside.

Group monitoring visit to the zoo’s artificial tower

We definitely hope to do an event like this again! As always, we’d love to hear what you think and what kinds of events you would be interested in.

A big thank you goes out to Assiniboine Park Conservancy for letting us use the space and for their help throughout the event.

Monitoring recap

On May 13, Katharine found a ‘sky full of swifts’ in Souris – what a nice surprise! All the swift activity inspired Katharine to do an impromptu roost monitoring sessions at the Whistling Donkey Pub. She observed 1 entry at 8:45pm, 1 entry at 9:00 pm, and 1 more entry at 9:06 pm, for a total of 3 entries into the chimney. Overall, she saw a total of about 17 swifts foraging low in the Souris airspace.

On May 15, Ken and Jan monitored the Malcolm Block Building (which is the main roost chimney in Dauphin). They saw a total of 16 swifts flying overhead, with 13 entries into the Malcolm Block chimney. 

As usual, Gerald has been busy looking out for swifts around Selkirk, Lockport and Lower Fort Garry. On May 9, Gerald spotted 5 swifts flying around the Selkirk Mental Health Centre. He managed to catch some action at the T2 tower – 1 entry at 8:52pm, 1 exit at 8:58pm, and 1 entry at 8:59pm.  On May 10, he checked out Lockport and Lower Fort Garry and while he saw a couple of swifts in the sky at both locations, he did not see any entries or exits. Gerald returned to Lower Fort Garry on May 16 and saw two swifts enter the Men’s House followed by another two swifts entering the Fur Loft. Nice!

Also on May 16, Patti, Nia and Linda monitored at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre. Patti saw 2 swifts enter the T2 tower, Nia saw 2 swifts enter the Yellow Brick chimney, and Linda saw 1 swift enter the T4 tower (she mentioned there may also have been one more entry that she missed).

Looking forward to seeing what the swift activity is like as the National Roost Survey dates kick off next week. As always, please contact us if you have any questions, comments, or would like to be matched with another site.

Wishing you all a lovely long weekend!

-Marissa

The Return of the Chimney Swifts & 2024 Monitoring Information

It’s official, the Chimney Swifts have returned! Three swifts were seen in the River Heights area of Winnipeg on May 6, according to an eBird report. In St Jean Baptiste, Luc reported observations of one swift on May 7 and May 8, and three swifts on May 9 (eBird). On May 8, Barb went on a swift quest in St Adolphe and found a group of 5 Chimney Swifts, feeding low over the town sky. Also on May 8, two swifts were spotted in St Agathe (eBird). On May 9 there was another report of a swift in Winnipeg, this time heard over Assiniboine Park (eBird). Keep reporting those sightings!

Just a reminder thatour volunteer appreciation/season kick-off event is happening next week on Tuesday, May 14at Assiniboine Park! You can find all the details on this exciting event in last week’s blog post. Please RSVP on Eventbrite at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mcsi-volunteer-appreciation-season-kick-off-night-tickets-895479823257 

Alright, time to get into monitoring gear! 

2024 Monitoring Information

You can now find the datasheet and protocol for 2024 on the ‘Resources and Links’ page of our website. The protocol is where you will find full monitoring instructions, including start/end times, duration, safety information, instructions on how to fill out the datasheet, etc. In the protocol, we also go over the differences between roost hour monitoring and daytime nest monitoring, and what type of monitoring is best based on the time of year. 

Here are some key pieces of information:

• New this year, we are asking all volunteers to fill out our Volunteer Sign-up Form.
• Volunteers can choose the schedule and frequency that works for them. Whether you are available to monitor once, twice, or more, the data you collect is valuable.
• The MCSI coordinator can help match you with a site to monitor based on your location, availability, and desired time commitment.
• The National Chimney Swift Roost Survey dates for 2024are May 22, May 26, May 30, and June 3. If you’re free to monitor a roost site on any of these dates, let us know.
• We will be holding a few monitoring ‘blitzes’ throughout the season. The goal of these scheduled blitzes is to monitor as many sites as possible on a given night.
  • Our June monitoring blitz will be on Wednesday, June 19. If you are free to participate, let us know!

Like last year, we have a list of priority sites to monitor. These priority sites are chimneys that are currently protected but haven’t had confirmed use by swifts in a few years. We want to reaffirm these sites as important Chimney Swift habitat, by checking if Chimney Swifts are using these sites to roost and/or nest. We will match volunteers to these sites based on their availability and location. In an upcoming blog post, we will share our full list of priority sites, and do a deep dive on what these priority sites are. 

Please reach out to us if you have any questions, and don’t forget to fill out our volunteer sign-up form (for both new and returning volunteers): MCSI Volunteer Sign-up Form – 2024 (google.com)

Thank you, dear volunteers! We are deeply appreciative of your support and truly couldn’t do this without you.

Happy Swift-ing!

-Marissa

---

Hello!

May has finally arrived. The swifts won’t be far behind… According to eBird, Chimney Swifts were seen in Bismarck, North Dakota on May 1. Do you have a prediction for when the first swift will show up in Manitoba? Let us know…

Upcoming volunteer event

Important news: We would like to invite you to our volunteer appreciation/season kick-off event, happening Tuesday, May 14^th at Assiniboine Park Zoo (54 Zoo Drive). We can’t wait to show our appreciation for all the hard work and dedication our volunteers have put in with some food, door prizes, and the opportunity to visit with each other.

Here are some more details:

At 7 pm, we will get-together in the multi-purpose room of the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre to visit, enjoy some food, and give out some door prizes. We will also have resources to distribute including MCSI volunteer badges and lanyards, and Chimney Swift factsheets in case you would like some to distribute to the public while you are out monitoring.

Around 7:30pm, Laura Burns (APC Conservation Programs Manager) will give a short talk on the artificial swift tower at the zoo including some photos and videos from inside the tower.

At 8 pm, we will move outdoors for some swift watching, including a roost monitoring session at the zoo’s artificial tower for those would like to participate. We will be watching the tower from outside the zoo (near the entrance to the Leo Mol sculpture gardens). There are lots of other great locations nearby as well if anyone wants to do some other swift watching (or general birding).

Because this event is taking place at the zoo after hours, we will need folks to RSVP. There will be volunteers at the Special Events Entrance of the Assiniboine Park Zoo (54 Zoo Drive) to let people in between 6:45 pm – 7:15 pm.

Please RSVP on Eventbrite, at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mcsi-volunteer-appreciation-season-kick-off-night-tickets-895479823257

If you aren’t able to come to the indoor portion but would like to join us afterwards for roost monitoring, you can meet us by the artificial tower near the entrance to the Leo Mol Sculpture Gardens around 8 pm (no Eventbrite registration required for the outdoor monitoring portion, but email RSVP is appreciated).

Other important dates – NRMP

This year, the National Roost Monitoring Protocol (NRMP) dates are May 22, May 26, May 30, and June 3. Next week, we will be sending out the full rundown on the upcoming season (updated protocol and datasheets, priority site info, etc.). In the meantime, please reach out with any questions and let us know if you are interested in monitoring this year by sending an email to mbchimneyswift@gmail.com.

Thanks, and talk soon!

-Marissa

Spring has sprung, and migration is in full swing! According to eBird, Canada’s first Chimney Swift of 2024 was spotted in Toronto on April 9^th. It won’t be long until they’re back in Winnipeg! Stay tuned for updates on the upcoming season.

It’s time to unveil our 2024 Swift Champions! Every year, we celebrate different community members for their contributions to Chimney Swift conservation. This year, we are celebrating three volunteers that have contributed many years of time and energy to Chimney Swift conservation.

Gerald Machnee

Gerald Machnee has been coordinating the Selkirk Birdwatchers Club’s monitoring efforts in Selkirk for several years. The Selkirk Birdwatchers Club received a ‘Swift Champions’ award as a group back in 2017 for all the incredible monitoring that they do, and this year we wanted to recognize Gerald Machnee individually for all the work he does coordinating all the volunteers, gathering everyone’s data, and sending in reports. Thanks to his efforts (and all the volunteers in Selkirk), the new artificial towers at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre (SMHC) have been monitored weekly throughout the breeding season. Gerald also monitors several sites himself and is passionate about public outreach – he loves to hand out MCSI factsheets while monitoring at Lower Fort Garry.

Thanks Gerald!

Katharine Schulz

Katharine Schulz has been volunteering with MCSI for years, and has helped immensely with our Chimney Swift conservation efforts in various ways. We wanted to extend a special thank you to Katharine for painstakingly taking photos of every Chimney Swift site in Souris for our photo database. Katharine had also spotted some Chimney Swifts in Hartney, and suspected there was a site there that hadn’t been discovered yet. With patience and time, she discovered that the Chimney Swifts were using the Hart-Cam Museum, therefore adding a new site to our database!   

Thanks Katharine!

Blair Reid

Blair Reid is a long-time MCSI volunteer. He regularly monitors sites around Saint-Boniface throughout the breeding season, collecting valuable information on which chimneys are being used by swifts for nesting. This year, Blair was a huge help with our goal of confirming the presence of Chimney Swifts at sites in danger of losing their ‘residence’ status (and thus their associated legal protection). Blair was able to confirm Chimney Swifts at 4 sites on our priority list, meaning that those 4 sites are now protected for at least 3 more years! In total, he monitored 11 different sites in 2023.

Thanks Blair!

Thank you to our Swift Champions, and to all our other volunteers who keep this program going! We are very grateful.

-Marissa

Swift Science – Manitoba Research Rundown (Part 2)

Hello, fine folks!

Last week we posted part 1 of our Manitoba Research Rundown two-part series. Part 1 focused on Tim Poole, Barb Stewart, and Rob Stewart’s work on how different types of human disturbance impacts nesting Chimney Swifts in St. Adolphe. If you missed it, here’s the link to Part 1.

As promised, this week we are going to dive into another recent study focused on how other factors like weather impact nesting Chimney Swifts. We’re also going to touch on Manitoba’s journey with artificial towers, and what future research is in the works. Let’s get into it!

“The influence of weather and human disturbance on the reproductive success of Chimney Swifts in St. Adolphe, Manitoba, 2007-2013 and 2014-2022” –Blue Jay 

This study focused on how weather may impact nesting Chimney Swifts. Chimney Swifts are aerial insectivores, meaning that they eat insects while in flight, and rely on the presence of insects to be able to feed their young. Insect availability is affected by weather conditions; therefore, weather can be used as a proxy for prey availability for Chimney Swifts. Similar to the study discussed in last week’s blog post, Barb and Rob used monitoring data for the 5 sites in St. Adolphe. The data was divided in two periods: 2007-2013 and 2014-2022. They had access to local weather data from 2011-2022.

Barb and Rob also looked at differences in nest site performance. They ranked the different sites using the following factors: order of first occupancy in the spring, number of breeding attempts, number (%) of successful breeding attempts, number of fledglings produced based on visual or physical evidence, and number of consecutive years with successful breeding. They found that overall, the Church was ranked the highest in both periods while Brodeur Bros was ranked the lowest. 

The Church chimney, the tallest of the nest chimneys in St. Adolphe. Photo by Rob Stewart.

Over the years, there were several nest failures. To see if weather conditions in the days leading up to the nest failure might have contributed to this outcome, they looked at the following parameters:  hourly average air temperatures, hourly average wind speeds, maximum hourly wind speeds, and hourly rainfall.  Based on other published studies, they considered air temperatures under 18.5°C and above 32°C to represent ‘reduced’ prey availability, and air temperatures under 15.5°C and above 34°C to represent ‘severely reduced’ prey availability. They found that of the 24 nest failures they evaluated, 21 were associated to daytime air temperatures under 18.5°C. In general, low temperatures often led to delayed nest building and reduced feeding rates while high temperatures were associated to reduced incubation exchanges and feeding rates.

Strong winds didn’t seem to be an important factor for nest failures. Wildfire smoke did seem to impact behaviour when it was a low-level in the atmosphere, associated to reduced to zero aerial insectivore activity depending on the density of the smoke.  The impact of rain was difficult to assess because of low data. 2022 was a very wet year, with lots of rain and cold temperatures during the month of May. Nest building was delayed, but 4 out of 5 sites still had successful breeding attempts (a record). Barb and Rob speculate that nesting was delayed because of low insect numbers at the start of the season, but the surge in bugs later on in the season because of the wet spring conditions led to lots of food for the swifts towards the end of summer. I certainly remember that summer… the mosquitoes were atrocious! At least the swifts had lots to snack on.

Not all nest failures were linked to weather conditions; a few seemed to be caused by visits by ‘hostile’ non-parent adult swifts. By looking at which nesting attempts succeeded in years where many other nesting attempts failed, Barb and Rob also noticed that using a high-quality nesting site (such as the Church) or the presence of a helper seem to buffer the impacts of bad weather.

There were some differences between the two time periods. Overall, the breeding success rate was 39% from 2007-2013 compared to 44% from 2014-2022. In 2007-2013 compared to 2014-2022, the nest sites tended to be occupied earlier in the season, but the nesting stages all occurred later, and successful nesting sites remained occupied later into the season. At the end of the nesting season, there were often pre-migratory groups of roosting swifts. From 2014-2022, there were none of these pre-migratory groupings. In other words, the swifts have started to leave their nesting sites earlier and without forming pre-migratory groupings. Barb and Rob speculate that this earlier departure is because prey abundance is too low to support the swifts. Thus, they now head south as soon as their breeding cycle wraps up.

Overall, the study found that most nest failures lined up with cold and wet weather, which likely reduced the amount of prey available to the Chimney Swifts. As we looked at in-depth in the previous study, human disturbances such as rooftop repairs also contributed to some nest failures. Other factors that impacted nesting success were the quality of the site, the presence of helpers, interactions with other swifts, and human disturbances.

One interesting observation is that the site with the best performance rank (The Church) is the site with the tallest chimney (14.2m). The site with the worst performance rank (Brodeur Bros), is the site with the shortest chimney (7.0 m). This begs the question… does the height of a chimney or tower impact breeding success? Based on the St. Adolphe sites, it does appear that the taller the chimney, the better for the swifts. To further investigate this question, Barb and Rob have started a study that will look at Chimney Swift nest placement. They want to investigate factors like chimney height, nest height, which wall the nest is placed on, etc. Knowing which habitat characteristics are needed for successful breeding outcomes would help identify the best design and practices for habitat protection and creation.

A worker repairing the Brodeur Bros chimney (before the swift breeding season) in 2023, funded by MCSI. This chimney is the shortest nesting chimney in St. Adolphe. Photo by Rob Stewart.

As you probably know, MCSI is passionate about protecting existing habitat and creating new habitat for Chimney Swifts. We provide funding to repair chimneys used by swifts and conduct a lot of outreach to property owners about Chimney Swifts. Another important component of habitat stewardship for Chimney Swifts in Manitoba has been the use of artificial towers.

A bit of history on artificial towers in Manitoba…

The first artificial swift tower in Manitoba was built in 2008 – its design was based on plans by Paul & Georgean Kyle for towers they built in the southern U.S. Between 2008 and 2013, seven new towers were constructed in Manitoba. Unfortunately, no swifts have been observed using these towers. The probable explanation for this lack of use by swifts is in the design itself – though they worked in warmer climates, they likely were not able to keep the internal temperature stable enough for the swifts in Manitoba’s colder climate. Also, the towers were quite short which can make it easier for heavy rain to reach the inner chimney walls. If you’re curious to learn more, Tim has written a lot about these towers for the MCSI website.

With these issues in mind, a working group got together to design a tower that would be better suited to our northern climate. This new Manitoba-specific tower design, based on detailed schematics drawn by famous Manitoba architect Etienne Gaboury, was taller and was made of wood. This first tower of this kind was completed in 2015 and was initially set up at the site of the Old Grace Hospital.

Timing being everything, this tower was doomed as its original placement was in late July of 2015, well after the spring arrival of breeding swifts… This delay (and a few subsequent delays) likely contributed to the lack of use by swifts at the Old Grace Hospital location. Tim published a paper about the Old Grace Hospital tower and the importance of timing when it comes to building artificial towers – you can find study here or on the ‘Resources and Links’ page of our website.

The tower was moved to the Assiniboine Park Zoo in 2018. Though no swifts were seen entering or exiting the chimney in 2018, a successful breeding attempt was confirmed in 2019. Since then, the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower has supported a successful breeding attempt every year. In 2021, the outer wood siding was replaced with metal cladding after being damaged by a Pileated Woodpecker. In the words of Barb Stewart: “Teachable moment = don’t design your tower like a giant dead tree that sings out to a giant woodpecker looking for a cavity of its own!”

The Assiniboine Park Zoo tower before and after recladding.

In 2021, four artificial towers were constructed at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre, as mitigation for the destruction of three swift chimneys. These towers followed a similar design as the renovated Assiniboine Park Zoo tower and were built with rough sawn cedar on the inside, and steel cladding on the exterior. While the overall design is similar across the four towers, they are different heights, and one is attached to a building while three are freestanding. This variation is an opportunity to let the swifts show us what they prefer for tower characteristics. All four towers were used by swifts that same breeding season, and T4 was used for a successful breeding attempt! In 2022, T1 and T2 hosted successful breeding attempts, T4 hosted a failed breeding attempt, and T3 was used by swifts but not for nesting. In 2023, there was evidence that T1, T2 and T4 all likely hosted successful breeding attempts, while T3 was not used for nesting but was used by swifts.

One of the artificial towers in Selkirk (same overall design as the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower). Photo by Gerald Machnee.

Overall, the artificial towers have turned out to be a huge success in Manitoba. The success of these Selkirk towers confirms that the original Manitoba-specific design works and can be used successfully for habitat mitigation in Manitoba. Once again, this finding highlights the importance of our monitoring data! Because of MCSI’s eyes on the sky, we’ve generated intel that is being used by regulators that work to protect swift habitat, and that aim to create new artificial habitat!

Wrap-up

Welp, that was a lot of information! To sum up this two-part science series, there are a lot of factors that come together when it comes to the fate of breeding Chimney Swifts: climate change and weather patterns, human disturbance, habitat characteristics, adversarial swifts… These factors interact in all kinds of ways, some that we are beginning to understand and some that remain mysteries.

The key to everything we know so far, and to what we hope to discover, is the monitoring. Without monitoring, we don’t know much of anything! This is why MCSI’s monitoring program is such an important part of our program and to swift conservation as a whole. Knowing which sites are being used by swifts, if breeding outcomes are successful, etc., helps protect existing habitat and create new habitat. The more we learn, the more we can act in meaningful ways to conserve this species at risk. So once again, thank you every single one of you who given some of your time to watching the swifts. We couldn’t do it without you!

All this talk about swifts sure is getting me fired up for the upcoming monitoring season. Soon…

For now, I hope you are all enjoying the winter weather. Happy end of February! 

-Marissa