Parks Canada and the Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative were delighted last week to announce that a brood of swifts at the Lower Fort Garry Historic Site successfully fledged from the chimney having fallen twice from their nest into the fireplace. The story was originally posted on the Parks Canada Winnipeg Facebook page For those who do access to the Facebook account, here is the text of the post:
‘The threatened Chimney Swift has nested at Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site once again! Parks Canada staff recently discovered two swift family nests, including one fallen nest with four baby chicks found in a chimney hearth of the historic Fur Loft building. The bird’s nest of twigs glued to the side of the chimney had collapsed and the chicks were at risk of not being fed by their parents. But with the quick response of Parks Canada staff and Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative volunteers, the chicks were placed in an artificial nest back inside the chimney where their parents continued to feed them. The chicks from both nests have now successfully fledged and are currently improving their flying skills before they embark on their upcoming migration to South America! The Chimney Swift originally nested in old growth tree trunks and caves, but with the arrival of European settlers and the clearing of forests, these clever little birds transitioned to nesting in chimneys – which is how they got their name. Chimney Swift populations have been declining for the past 50 years, and with the removal of older chimneys, their nesting habitat is disappearing. They are currently listed as a threatened species and are protected by Species at Risk Act in Canada. If you want to help this bird population thrive – don’t cap your chimneys and clean them only in fall to early spring to avoid interfering with any potential nests!’
We love a story on this blog, and we are just not programmed to leave things there! We thought that you, our volunteers and supporters, would appreciate a few more details.
On August 9th, MCSI received a phone call from Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at around 4pm. Staff at Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site had discovered Chimney Swift chicks in a fireplace in the fur loft. This was the same chimney where a brood of swifts had fallen in 2017, culminating in them being raised in (another) rehab, and released in London, Ontario, by volunteers from SwiftCare Ontario. The nest had fallen off the wall of the chimney, and the swifts were now extremely vulnerable. This left us with a decision to make, rehab or return? We would always prefer the latter, and operation ‘save those swifts’ was implemented. A call was made to Stephanie at the Fort, and she agreed to wait for someone to cone from Winnipeg, with the intention of returning the swifts to the chimney. Christian Artuso took on the challenge, taking with him an artificial nest built by Rob Stewart. Arriving at the site, Christian and Stephanie managed to place the chicks, which were around 12 days old, back into the chimney in the artificial nest. Phase one was a success, we had swifts in the chimney, and now to phase two – would the parents return?
The Selkirk Birdwatchers Club are an extremely committed group, and it was no surprise that they rose to the challenge of watching the chimney. Gerald took the first, critical, watch that evening. Everyone waited in trepidation. Would the parents return, or would we have to face failure? Needless to say, mum and dad were back on site that evening, and everyone let out a huge sigh of relief. Frank and Jacquie drove up from Winnipeg the following morning for a daytime check – and it looked good, the parents continued their feeding ritual. After this, one of the most committed group of watchers MCSI has ever seen kicked in. This was primarily led by Nia and Linda, with help from Gerald and Linda, friend of Linda. The dedication of these volunteers was incredible.
During this episode, another pair of swifts continued to feed their brood in a second chimney. On August 10th, this nest fledged. On August 13th, something odd happened. While watching the chimney with the rescued chicks, Linda and Nia counted more swifts entering the chimney. A total of 7 entries would tally with the parent swifts, plus two parents and three fledglings from the second chimney. This behaviour is not unknown for Chimney Swifts, and indeed it was even seen this summer, as fledglings from the Club Amical in St Adolphe roosted in Brodeurs Brothers a few buildings along, rather than the natal chimney.
This would not have mattered, except for a call that came in the following morning from Parks Canada. Disaster! The chicks were back in the bottom of the fireplace. It is likely that the clumsy fledglings from the other nest knocked the chicks back out of the nest. Still, they were alive, and Christian was back on the road from Winnipeg, this time armed with a wicker basket. Staff from Parks Canada helped Christian place the chicks in the basket, and then insert them back into the chimney in a box, padding the sides to make sure it was sealed. This would ensure that no one would fall into the fireplace again this year.
Again, it was a question of waiting, and again our volunteers really stepped up to the plate. It was around the 21st that Nia and Linda reported fledglings make their baby flights above the chimney. Success! What’s more, success which came about three or four days ahead of our scheduled fledging date. Trust these birds to manage to pull off a successful breeding attempt in record time! Gerald, Nia and Linda continued to monitor, and continued to see swifts on site into September. Christian then returned to retrieve his basket, and check to make sure all our swifts had fledged, and no one was left inside the chimney. He pulled the box back out. It was empty apart from the basket – everyone had fledged!
