Last week you probably read Barb’s excellent blog, and didn’t miss my update! If you didn’t read last week’s blog check it out as Barb walks us through the Chimney Swift behaviour during incubation, hatching, brooded young and non-brooded young stages, as well as the timing Chimney Swifts need to follow this year to successfully fledge their young.
First we will start with our reports from outside of Winnipeg (Souris, Melita, Lyleton, Pierson, Stonewall, Lower Fort Garry, Brandon, La Broquerie, Selkirk, Southport and Dauphin.
I was off in southwestern Manitoba doing grassland bird surveys (wearing my other hat as the Manitoba IBA program coordinator), but also checking out southwestern Manitoba for Chimney Swifts! On June 27th my first stop was back in Souris to see if I could find evidence of birds using the Lagasse and Chocolate Shop chimneys in town, as previously Ariel and I saw activity around these chimneys, but no confirmed use. My first stop was the Lagasse chimney for an afternoon monitoring session. I only had to hang out for five minutes before a swift scooted out the back of the chimney. About 30 minutes later a swift entered the chimney again and stayed in the chimney for the rest of the session.
The next stop was just a few buildings down at the Chocolate Shop. I wasn’t sure if I would see much as a big thunderstorm was passing just south of the town, and we know that swifts often take cover during poor weather. Despite a brief rainstorm, the swifts didn’t seem phased with up to seven zipping around during the monitoring session. They often flew quite low to the chimney. 25 minutes into the session a Chimney Swift slipped out of the back of the chimney again (why is it never the front of the chimney where I have a nice view?). I did not see any swifts enter the chimney again, but did see two swifts approach the chimney like they were either attempting to enter, or like they were looking down inside the chimney.
Katharine Schulz was also in Souris on June 17th. She watched the Whistling Donkey Pub in Melita from 11:55 AM to 12:40 PM. She had three swifts go down the chimney at 12:14 PM and then three to four swifts exit 10-20 minutes later. Last year we though that this chimney might either both a roosting and nesting chimney and/or have a “helper” swift. It looks that either of those scenarios might be the case again this year. Without a monitor nearby to watch the swifts more frequently, we are left with our educated guesses based on behaviour to determine what is happening here.
On June 28th I did a blitz of chimneys in the town of Melita. I started out in the late afternoon for a 30-minute watch of the Legion Hall chimney. About 15 minutes into my watch, I had one swift drop down into the chimney completely silently. 10 minutes later the swift exited the chimney just as quietly. Quite sneaky!
Next, I walked across town to the Melita Hospital. Here I was treated to the extra confusion of up to four Purple Martins also flying around the site. Luckily, they have a different sounding call, and a different body shape from the Chimney Swifts. Most of the activity around the site was the Purple Martins at first. 35 minutes into the session I had three swifts, then four swifts, and then two swifts circle low around the chimney from the west and then head off again. Two minutes later I had one swift go down the chimney, with a second swift “escorting” the first to the chimney edge before flying off. 10 minutes later the swift exited the chimney and I ended my session.
After a break for supper and some relaxation I headed back out for an evening monitoring session at the Antler River Museum. In the past this site has sometimes been a roost site and sometimes a nest site, so I thought evening monitoring could capture either site use. From 9:03 – 9:40 PM I only saw one swift high in the air, but at 9:41 PM one swift exited out the back of the chimney. After that I saw 1-2 swifts high in the air for the remainder of the evening until both went down the chimney (10-20 minutes after sunset). Seems like they may be nesting here this year based on behaviour.
I also spent some time in both Lyleton and Pierson on June 29th to watch for Chimney Swifts. Both towns have a “candidate chimney” – a chimney that looks promising for swifts. Two years we spotted swifts in both towns as well, but all was quiet this year.
Tim Poole stopped by Stonewall on June 27th to grab a coffee after completing a morning breeding bird survey. Just a minute after he arrived one swift dove down the chimney (after a couple of tries) while a second swift hung around the area. Six minutes later the second swift entered the chimney as well, with both swifts exiting at the same time 20 minutes later.
Gerald Machnee watched the Fur Loft chimney at Lower Fort Garry in the evenings on June 1st, 9th, 16th and 30th. On June 1st two swifts were spotted flying south and one Chimney Swift was seen flying on June 30th, but other than that only swallows were spotted. This chimney successfully fledged young last year, but does not appear to be in use this year.
Gerald was also watching the chimney on the building next to the bell tower at Lower Fort Garry. This chimney has been used by swifts once in the past, but not for the last three years. Gerald watched this chimney on the evenings of June 1st, 4th, 9th and 30th. On June 1st two swifts were noted flying south (same two as from the Fur Loft monitoring session), on June 4th one swift entered the chimney at 9:45 PM, and on June 30th a swift was in the air but not in the chimney. Similar to the Fur Loft, there were no other sightings.
Karla Guyn and Jim Devries were at Lower Fort Garry for an event on June 25th, and had the definition of an incidental sighting when two swifts entered west chimney on the Men’s House. If you remember from two weeks ago, the swifts are using a new chimney at the Fort this year. Karla and Jim saw two swifts fly over the area for the next hour. The following video was captured by Karla and Jim at Lower Fort Garry.
Joanne Tuckwell was back at Lower Fort Garry to watch the west chimney on the Men’s House on June 27th for a 90 minute morning session. She had pretty constant action with up to three swifts in the air and three sets of entries/exits in the chimney. After finishing at the Men’s House Joanne moved over to watch the Fur Loft chimney and the chimney near the bell tower. She had no activity there, but could still see swifts in the air nearer to the Men’s House chimney.
Gerald was back at the Men’s House chimney again on June 30th for the evening and had two entries at 8:47 PM, and one more swift that was last seen at 9:25 PM, which did not enter a chimney that Gerald could see.
Joanne was back at the Men’s House chimney again on the morning of July 5th. She had three sets of entries and exits in an 80-minute period. Going off of the amount of time spent in the chimney, as well as the time between entries and exits seems like there could be young in the chimney!
On June 29th Louanne Reid, Glennis Lewis and Gwyn Richards watched the north chimney on the Orange Block building. Previously one swift has been going down this chimney, with a second swift in the area (but not using the chimney). However, this time the second swift did go down the chimney! Last year this site was a pretty textbook nesting site, but this year we are not able to tell from behaviour what is happening here yet.
On June 30th Frank and Jacquie Machovec took a jaunt down to the St Joachim Church in La Broquerie to visit the site they monitored during the NRMP nights in the spring. They had no action in the small chimney for the evening. The larger chimney had one swift exit at 8:58 PM and go back down the chimney again one minute later. Two other chimney swifts were seen in the air at 9:24 PM, which is a bit of a head scratcher as there are no other known chimneys in the area. Something to watch for!
Next we have a big update for the month of June for our sites in Selkirk. We will start at 367 Main St. Winona Hook did three evening monitoring session there on June 8th, June 16th and June 28th seeing two entries each time. Winona also did two monitoring sessions at the St Merchants Hotel on June 22nd and June 30th, where she also had a pair of entries both times.
Now we will move over to the various Selkirk Mental Health Centre Chimneys. The Yellow Brick chimney was watched on June 6th, 13th, 22nd and 28th with quite a few different observations by Winona, Nia Massey and Linda Adie. In the first monitoring session there were two swifts using the chimney, which switched to three swifts on June 13th. No swifts entered the chimney on June 22nd, while one swift entered on June 28th to go down for the night. Tim Poole watched the Yellow Brick chimney during the morning of June 30th and had no chimney use. There were two entries recorded again on July 5th, still looking like the swifts were only using the chimney for roosting at night.
Variable observations were also seen by Winona, Linda and Nia for the Stack Replacement Tower. The first evening monitoring period on June 6th had two entries, followed by no entries on June 13th, two entries again on June 22nd, one entry in the evening of June 28th. Tim monitored the Stack Replacement Tower on the morning of June 30th and had one entry and one exit. Linda and Nia were back on the evening of July 5th and observed two entries again for the night.
The Infirmary chimney had quite a bit of activity happening during the morning of June 27th when Robert and Donna Hempler were monitoring. There were three sets of entries and exits during the half hour, behaviour that may be indicative of nest building or egg laying. Three days later Aynsley also watched the site for 30 minutes in the morning but saw no entries or exits. As incubation exchanges tend to happen once an hour, there may have been a swift incubating inside the chimney, but more monitoring is needed to catch an incubation exchange confirm if this is the case. Robert and Donna had two entries for the night on July 5th as well.
The East Tower was monitored on June 28th by Winona, where she saw one entry at 9:20 PM. Two days later Aynsley was back at the east tower during the day and saw one entry at 10:10 AM and an entry almost an hour later. Perhaps the swifts are working towards nesting here as well? However, to mix it up there was no use of the chimney recorded by Gerald on the evening of July 5th. Similar to the Infirmary chimney, more monitoring is needed before making conclusions.
The West Tower at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre was monitored on the morning of June 30th by Tim Poole. A maximum of six swifts were seen overhead, but Tim noted that none of the swifts appeared interested by the tower. Contrary to what Tim observed, on the evening of July 5th Robert and Donna had a quick turn around entry and exit at 9:00 PM, followed by one swift down the chimney for the night at 9:45 PM.
I’d be incline to say based on behaviour that the Yellow Brick chimney and the Towers are being used periodically as roosting chimneys – swifts playing their version of musical chairs! However, there have been sightings of daytime entries and exits in several towers. Strictly roosting swifts don’t tend to use the towers during the day in good weather, so that does point to possible nesting attempts being underway. More monitoring is needed before conclusions can be drawn.
Gord Oglivie checked out the chimney on the Mynarski building in Southport on June 29th. Last year two swifts were seen at this site, but Gord had no luck spotting them this year.
Last but not least, we have an update from Dauphin from the evening of June 29th. Pat Start monitored the Hong Kong chimney with the observation, “…one [swift] down, second one down, one out, final one returns to go down. This would be about the third check with thee same rotation, so likely on eggs”. Ken Wainwright watched the roost chimney and had 8 entries with no exits. It sounds like the Dauphin crew are keeping their fingers crossed for Chimney Swift behaviour in the next week or so that might indicate feeding of brooded young.
As well Tim Poole caught swifts entering a new site in Dauphin – at the St Paul’s Anglican Church. In Tim’s words, “I went for a walk towards the roost [roosting chimney] and spotted three swifts in the air. Heading back around 9:30, two swifts oared over my head towards the church. Running back, I just about had enough time to watch the first swift circle the adjacent building and then circle over the chimney and drop in. Around 30 seconds later the second now dropped in”.
Next, we take a quick trip as the Chimney Swift flies over into Winnipeg.
First we have Breanne Reinfort’s last two official MCSI evening monitoring sessions at Maryland Foodfare. She monitored the chimney despite moderate wind and occasional rain showers to come up with one swift down the chimney relatively early (8:49 PM, sunset at 9:39 PM), likely due to the weather. Three other swifts were seen in the air, but did not go down the chimney. Breanne had better weather on the evening of June 22nd. She had one exit at 8:39 PM as she was setting up for her session. This was followed by a swift down the chimney at 9:00 PM and another at 9:38 PM, and two other swifts seen in the air. The earlier exit suggests that nest building/ egg laying may have been taking place at this site.
Blair Reid got skunked (no swifts) during his evening monitoring session on June 22nd at 865 Tache Avenue, and his daytime monitoring session on June 25th at 690 St Joseph.
Gary Franzmann and Marj Kendall were out at 1295 Pembina Highway on June 22nd. They had a brief period of action at 9:51 PM when a Chimney Swift flew by three times in as many minutes, but ultimately flew off to roost elsewhere for the night.
Aynsley Woods was been busy hitting up several Chimney Swift sites at the end of June. On the morning of June 21st Aynsley and Alyson Jessett watched Chief Peguis Junior High. A maximum of two swifts were seen at the site multiple times, each time flying quite low. However, no entries or exits were seen.
They also watched the Radmon House Apartments with no swifts seen. However, Aynsley was back at Radmon House on June 24th at 1:32 PM where two swifts entered the chimney just a couple minutes after her session started, and then subsequently left the chimney 5-10 minutes later.
On June 21st Aynsley watched the Curtis Hotel for a daytime session, but had zero swifts. She was back on June 24th during the day and this time captured a swift exiting from the chimney and entering again 13 minutes later, with three swifts seen in the air. This session and her session at Radmon House are great examples of why doing multiple monitoring sessions at the same spot can be important!
Aynsley then moved over to the Linlee Apartments where a total of two swifts were seen in the air, but no activity was recorded at the chimney (Aynsley went back on June 29th with the same results). Aynsley’s last stop of the day was at LB Towers Apartments, where she saw three swifts in the air, but no activity at the chimney.
From Randy Mooi we have two reports for the Children’s House on Pacific Avenue downtown. The morning of June 23rd there was not a swift to be seen in the sky, despite beautiful weather. On June 28th Randy watched in the morning once again and this time heard one swift.
Gwen Armbuster was back watching the Chimney Swifts at 139 Market Avenue from her patio on June 29th. She noted “When I arrived at 8:00 PM I observed and heard one Chimney Swift flying in huge circles directly overhead. Within a few minutes I observed a pair that flew together in perfect synchronization. After about 20 minutes another pair joined the mix and then another single… When I left at 9:00 PM there was still one pair and one single. I did not observe any swift enter or exit the chimney, as I have in previous weeks”. Sunset on June 29th was at 9:41 PM, so it is possible that none of the swifts had gone down for the evening at the period when Gwen was monitoring this time.
Ron Bazin did a quick stop in at his MCSI night stomping grounds at Archibald Storage in St Boniface on the morning of July 4th. He got a great surprise of a textbook incubation exchange, “Not long after I arrived a Chimney Swift flew straight into the chimney (10:56 am) and within 30-45 seconds a Chimney Swift exited the chimney. Looks like incubation is under way!” Ron was now intrigued and went back for a longer monitoring session during the afternoon of July 5th. This time he saw three sets of entries and exits in his 90 minutes with very quick turn around times – more evidence for incubation! The quick turn arounds would be the individuals switching out who is sitting on the nest.
Myself and Jon Benson monitored the Grant Wilton Apartments on the evening of July 5th. At the same time Jon was interviewing me about Chimney Swifts and the MCSI for his program on the University of Winnipeg’s radio station CKUW-FM (95.9 MHz). We will update everyone once we know when it will come out – probably in August. On the Chimney Swift front, it was pretty quiet. We had one flyby of two swifts from the north, but no action related to our chimney.
On a sadder note, this is my last full week as the Coordinator of the Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative. I will still be around as a part-time Coordinator until the position is filled (so keep sending in those datasheets!), and you will hopefully see my name mentioned as a volunteer after that! I have really enjoyed my time here – largely due to all of you great volunteers and of course, the antics of the Chimney Swifts! Thank you!
- Amanda
