Wow, can you believe it’s August already? Time continues to fly-on by, as do the swifts… Based on the different reports we’ve received, many sites have already fledged while some are still feeding young. Read on to see what the swifts (and the swift monitors) have been up to around the province lately. As usual, we’ve also got an updated priority site list (which continues to get shorter, thanks to you incredible folks)!
Winnipeg
Let’s start with a priority list update. Both Carla and Amanda checked out the Essex House (2415 Portage Ave) this week, which is on our priority site list. Unfortunately, no swift activity to report. Katharine visited Grant Wilton Apartments (1055 Grant Ave) on July 31 and did not see any swifts use the chimney. However, Aynsley monitored this site on August 1st and saw 1 swift exit! Goes to show that just because swifts did not use a chimney on a given night, doesn’t mean that they are not using that chimney. Aynsley then moved to Milan Apartments (890 McMillan Ave) and saw 2 swifts using that chimney as well. On August 3rd, a few of us did a last-minute ‘blitz’ of a few priority sites during the roosting hour. I (Marissa) watched the apartment building at 105 Clarke St and saw 3 swifts enter at 9:22pm. Jon started at 222 York Ave but wasn’t seeing any swifts in the area so chose to move to the Ukrainian National Federation (935 Main St), where he observed 2 entry/exit cycles at 9:12pm and 9:14pm, followed by 2 entries at 9:20pm and 9:22pm. Amanda watched Eugene Apartments (834 Grosvenor Ave) and while she did see up to 22 swifts flying together in the area, she did not see any swifts enter/exit the chimney. Aynsley began watching Lancaster Apartments (411 Stradbrook Ave) and later moved to 245 Bell Ave, and unfortunately did not see any activity at either site.
Two new swift sites have been discovered in Winnipeg! Tim Poole found 2 swifts entering the chimney at St. George School (151 George St) on July 25th. While in the area, he also noticed some swifts near another candidate chimney at Fernwood Apartments (314 St Anne’s Rd). Frank visited Fernwood Apartments to further investigate on July 31, and saw 14 entries and 2 exits, with up to 12 swifts in the chimney at once! Always exciting to add sites to our database.
On August 2nd, Tim, Aynsley, Marissa, Veronica and Cam were visiting different chimneys in Osborne Village and saw 1 swift exit the chimney at 375 Stradbrook Ave.
Blair has been busy in the St. Boniface and East Kildonan areas. Visits to 847 Marion St on July 25th, 188 Nelson McIntyre Collegiate (188 St Mary’s Rd) on July 26th, the No. 9 Fire Paramedic Station (864 Marion St) on July 29th, and the Riverwood Church Community Firehall (325 Talbot Ave) on July 30th all resulted in no swift activity observed. Some sites did have activity, however. On July 27th during the roosting hour, Blair visited Kaljieb Electrics (690 St Joseph St) and saw lots of activity, including 10 entries and 5 exits and a maximum of 5 swifts confirmed in the chimney at once. Blair mentioned it looked like a family of 5 swifts, with 3 fledglings. On July 28th during the roosting hour at Springs Christian Academy (261 Youville St), Blair observed 3 entry/exit cycles followed by 2 entries at 9:27pm for a maximum of 2 swifts in the chimney at once. On August 1st during the roosting hour, Blair visited Niakwa Park Plaza (1310 Archibald St) and saw 1 entry/exit cycle at 8:55 pm, followed by another entry at 9:03pm for a total of 1 swift observed in the chimney.
Ariel visited the Assiniboine School (175 Winston Rd) on June 27th, and saw 2 swifts enter the chimney which is a known roost site. On July 18, she visited River Manor Apartments (424 River Ave), another one of our roost sites, and observed 90 swifts enter the chimney during the roosting hour.
On July 28th, Garry visited his usual site at 722 Watt St for a roosting hour monitoring session. There was lots of activity! Throughout the 61 minutes that he was there, there were 5 entries and 3 exits, with 3 swifts confirmed to be in the chimney at once.
Dauphin
On August 2nd, Ken and the rest of the Dauphin crew did a site-wide roosting hour monitoring session, covering all known Dauphin chimneys. They found that each chimney was still in use with up to 2 birds at each site and around 10 at the roost chimney. Ken once again mentioned the noticeable lack of insects around Dauphin, which rings true in Winnipeg as well.
Brandon
On July 26th, Sandy, Glennis and Louanne monitored the Orange Block. They observed 1 exit at 8:42pm, followed by 4 entry/exit cycles between 8:57 pm and 9:17 pm, followed by 2 entries at 9:31pm. On August 2nd at this same chimney, they observed 6 entry/exits cycles by 1 swift between 8:25pm and 9:19pm, followed by 2 swifts entering around 9:19pm, followed by 2 swifts exiting around 9:22pm, and finally 2 swifts entering for the evening at 9:33pm. While this site had limited activity earlier in the year, it does appear that feeding is happening.
St. Adolphe
Barb and Rob remain very busy keeping an eye on things in St. Adolphe. On July 21st, there was no use of both chimneys at Club Amical and low activity at the Daycare. The Church however, was a lot busier – the young which would have been at least 22 days of age at this point according to Barb, were fed ten times during the hour and a helper was present. Barb monitored again on July 23rd, briefly enduring a downpour. There was no activity again at the Daycare, but once the rain stopped, 3 swifts exited the chimney (one of them is helper). 1 swift entered/exit 23 minutes later, and then 2 swifts entered/exited later a few minutes later. Over at Main St, Barb saw a quick entry/exit feeding visit.
On July 30th, Rob and Barb did a roosting hour watch at the Church, and counted 8 swifts entering the chimney for the night. Barb noticed some variety in how the different swifts were entering the chimney. She writes: “A few minutes after sunset a single bird arrived; low, really batlike wing flapping and it raised itself up to the elevation of the rim and plopped in. Then another swift arrived with the same style. We think those were fledglings. As the dark descended smaller groups of 4-6 swifts came whipping in and around the chimney – totally masked at times by flying close to the black roof. Ugh. That was hard to count. We had a couple of birds that repeated tight circling low to the rim before dropping in. We also had 3 absolutely bullet-like confident approaches at higher altitudes and fast entries. They resembled entries I’ve seen all summer long by the attending adults. With the three entry styles involved, we feel that there are fledglings (2 for sure, likely 3), three adults = parents/helper, and some “roosters” involved.” A great reminder that taking note of how swifts approach and enter the chimney can give us some information on their age and experience!
On July 31st, Barb returned to the Main St site for a daytime visit, and noticed that the young had fledged. After another visit the next day, Barb reported that ‘the Main St fledglings were flying low over their natal site but no entries/exits were seen’. She went back on August 2nd and once again did not see entries/exits. Great to know the fledglings at both the Main St and Church sites are out in the world!
Lockport
On August 2nd at the St Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound in Lockport, Fred, Nettie and Doug observed 1 entry at 8:45pm, 1 exit at 8:50pm, and another entry at 9:10pm all in the south chimney. There was no swift activity in the north chimney.
Lower Fort Garry
Gerald visited Lower Fort Garry on August 1st for a roosting hour check. At the Men’s House, he observed 7 entry/exit cycles, followed by 2 entries at 9:07pm and 2 exits at 9:11pm, followed by 2 final entries. At the Fur Loft, he observed 3 entry/exit cycles, followed by 2 final entries. It seems that feeding is still happening at both chimneys.
Selkirk
On July 27th, Tim, Cam and Veronica did a daytime check of the Selkirk Mental Health Centre (SMHC) sites. At T01, Tim observed 3 entry/exits by 1 swift between 11:28am and 11:52 am. At T02, Tim observed an entry/exit around 11:59am and 2 entries followed by 2 exits between 12:34pm and 12:37pm. At T03, Cam did not see any entry/exits during his hour of monitoring beginning at 11:16am, but did catch 1 exit later on at 1:08pm. Cam also watched T04 and observed 2 entries and 1 exit (with 1 swift in chimney at once). Veronica watched the Yellow Brick chimney and observed 2 swifts entering together, followed by 2 swifts exiting together, followed by an entry/exit by 1 swift. At the Infirmary chimney, Veronica observed 4 entries and 3 exits, within approximately 30 minutes, with up to 2 swifts in the chimney at once.
On July 31, the six SMHC sites were monitored again, this time during the roosting hour by the Selkirk Birdwatchers Club. The Selkirk Birdwatchers Club have been monitoring these sites weekly all summer – impressive! Each site continued to be active. Over at T01, Winona and Gerald 3 entry/exit cycles between 8:14pm and 8:51pm, followed by a final entry at 9:05pm. At T02, Patti and Dennis observed 1 entry at 9:05pm, followed by another entry/exit at 9:07pm. At 9:21pm, 2 swifts entered (though 1 swift took 2 attempts to successfully enter the chimney). At 9:24pm there were another 2 entries, a possible exit at 9:27 pm and a final entry at 9:30pm. A total of 5 swifts (presumably some fledglings included) were confirmed in the chimney at once! At T03, Gerald observed 1 entry at 8:31pm, 1 exit at 8:58pm, and another entry at 9:14pm. Over at T04, Nia and Linda observed 4 entries and 2 exits, with a total of 3 swifts in the chimney. Nia and Linda also watched the Yellow Brick chimney and observed 6 entries and 4 exits, with up to 3 swifts in the chimney at once. Finally, at the Infirmary chimney, Gerald observed 8 entries and 7 exits, with up to 3 swifts in the chimney at once. Busy busy! Also in Selkirk, Winona visited the Merchant’s Hotel (383 Eveline St) on July 30th and observed 2 entries at 9:24pm. On August 1st, Winona monitored the apartment building at 367 Main St and saw 2 entries around 9:07pm
Steinbach
Barb and Rob stopped by Bethesda Hospital in Steinbach on July 26th for a quick scan, and did not see any swifts during the 10 minutes that they were there.
La Broquerie
Frank checked out La Broquerie on July 27th, and noticed that the swifts were behaving differently than in previous years: “During the monitoring period, no CHSW were seen foraging in the vicinity of the church. Usually, there is some (and occasionally lots of) activity around the church before entries into the chimneys”. Frank observed 3 swifts enter the smaller chimney, and 2 swifts enter the larger chimney.
Priority Site List Update
Here’s an updated list of priority sites that still need to be confirmed:
| Settlement | Neighbourhood | Location | Site | Observer |
| Capped. | ||||
| Morden | 352 Stephen St | Pembina Hills Art Centre | ||
| Gerald Machnee | ||||
| The Pas | . | 380 Hazelwood Ave | VIA Rail Station | |
| Wasagaming | 106 Buffalo Dr | |||
| Winnipeg | Daniel McIntyre | 222 York Ave | Brink’s Canada | |
| Winnipeg | Daniel McIntyre | 222 York Ave | Brink’s Canada | |
| Winnipeg | Daniel McIntyre | 803 Erin St | Elan Designs and Upholstery | |
| Tim Poole | ||||
| Winnipeg | Daniel McIntyre | 520 William Ave | Living Gospel Church (west chimney) | |
| Tim Poole | ||||
| Winnipeg | Daniel McIntyre | 100 Adelaide St | Immigrant Centre Building | |
| Tim Poole | ||||
| Winnipeg | Daniel McIntyre | 91 Albert St | The Old Market Autonomous Zone | |
| Tim Poole | ||||
| Blair Reid | ||||
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry | 411 Stradbrook Ave | Lancaster Apartment | |
| Aynsley Woods | ||||
| Marissa Berard | ||||
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry | 272 Cockburn St N | King George Court | |
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry | 118 Scott St | Apartment | |
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry | 280 River Ave | Moxam Court | |
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry | 245 Bell Ave | Children’s Education Funds Inc | |
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry | 834 Grosvenor Ave | Eugene Apartments | |
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry | 444 River Ave | Augustine United Church | |
| Jon Benson | ||||
| Winnipeg | North Kildonan | 25 Valhalla Dr | Valhalla Gardens | |
| Winnipeg | River Heights/Fort Garry | 465A Lanark St | Lanark Gardens | |
| Winnipeg | River Heights/Fort Garry | 465D Lanark St | Lanark Gardens | |
| Aynsley Woods | ||||
| Aynsley Woods | ||||
| Blair Reid Frank Machovec | ||||
| Blair Reid | ||||
| Frank Machovec | ||||
| Blair Reid | ||||
| Winnipeg | St Boniface | 99 Birchdale Ave | Nordale School | |
| Amanda Shave | ||||
| Amanda Shave | ||||
| Amanda Shave | ||||
| Winnipeg | St James | 2415 Portage Ave | Essex House, pest cage | |
| Winnipeg | St Vital | 531 St Mary’s Rd | Riverside Billiards |
Thanks, and have a great weekend!
-Marissa
