Chimney Swifts – Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative

Smokin’ hot swift action !

Hello all! This week we are reporting on volunteers who conducted monitoring sessions last week (or earlier). It has been a busy time in volunteers getting their monitoring sheets to me, so we have quite a bit to cover this blog. Before we get started with last week, I would like to give a quick update on where the nesting swifts you monitor may be at. As you may know, Barb Stewart watches nesting chimneys in St Adolphe very carefully, and is able to estimate the age of the chicks in successful nests there as a rough road mark for the possible timing for other sites in Manitoba. On Tuesday the chicks in the Main St nest chimney were around 21 days old. Between 19-21 days old is when the chicks can start leaving the nest itself and start clinging (and climbing) the chimney walls. If you are a homeowner with chicks in your chimney, you may notice at this time that they get much louder and/or you hear the sound differently as the chicks may be closer (or further) from your fireplace as they move about.

And now onto the reports! We had volunteers monitoring in Dauphin, Carman, Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Lockport, Lower Fort Garry, Selkirk and Winnipeg last week.

A NEW SITE in Dauphin was identified last Friday! You think you know where your neighbourhood swifts are? Think again! The swift is a mysterious bird and a volunteer from Dauphin was able to tip Ken Wainwright off that swifts were using the Hong Kong Café chimney. Ken and Jan went down to take a look and said, “Almost immediately we had a swift exit the chimney. About 12 minutes later first one, then a second swift returned to go down the chimney and within about two minutes they both exited just as fast. It would appear they are very actively feeding young in this chimney”.

Frank and Jacquie Machovec monitored at the Carman Memorial Hall on July 21^st. They had three entries for the night. The first was earlier at 8:43 PM, followed by two entries at 9:17 PM. They also noted “No group flying or vocalizations were noted during the monitoring period, unlike in past visits”.

Last week we had the monitoring report on July 14^th for the west chimney on the Orange Block building in Brandon from Glennis Louis, and this week we have the corresponding report for the north chimney on the same building from Louanne Reid (along with Kathryn Hyndman and Gillian Richards). Louanne saw three Chimney Swift entries, one at 8:47 PM, one at 9:18 PM and one at 9:30 PM. I had a good chuckle at one of her report comments (8:43 PM – a fly…too many legs!). I have had this same thought earlier this year when I poorly chose a monitoring spot that had spiders nearby!

Louanne, Gillian and Gwynn were back at the Orange Block building north chimney on June 21^st, 2021 for a 100-minute monitoring session. This time they had one exit at 8:59 PM (so they would have started the session with a swift in the chimney) and an entry at 9:46 PM. Louanne had heard a mystery squawking/ begging bird during the beginning of her monitoring period when she was there alone. Once Gillian and Gwynn showed up with binoculars, they were able to figure out it was a Peregrine Falcon making the noises – perhaps why there was less Chimney Swift activity around the chimney this time? Ariel noticed a similar lack of Chimney Swift activity around a site near the Legislative Building in Winnipeg that also had a Peregrin around last week.

At the same time Glennis was monitoring the Orange Block west chimney again. She had solid string of entries and exits from two swifts from 9:19 PM almost every couple of minutes until 9:46 PM when both birds were in the chimney for the rest of her monitoring period. She ended up with four entries and two exits that evening.

Cal Cuthbert and William Rideout watched the Trinity Church large chimney in Portage la Prairie for 45 minutes starting at 9 AM on June 23^rd. They had two swifts go down the chimney with a flyover afterwards by one more swift.

Almost a month later Gordon Ogilvie and Janice Madill watched the large chimney on the Trinity Church for the roosting hour and had two entries, one at 9:35 PM and the other at 9:42 PM.

Gerald Machnee watched the southeast building chimney at Lower Fort Garry on July 20^th for a 90 minute period that included daytime monitoring and part of the roosting hour. He had an entry, followed by an exit at 8:30 PM and 8:31 PM respectively, and another entry at 9:11 PM and no more action by the time he ended his monitoring session at 9:40 PM.

At the St Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound on July 21^st, 2021 Winona Hook and Tim Verbiwski saw quite a bit of activity with entries and exits into the chimney. At the north chimney they started the monitoring period with two exits, followed by three entries over about 30 minutes. Then an exit, and entry and another exit within two minutes. From 9:00 PM onward they saw four more entries and one exit – leaving them with five birds in the chimney at the end of the monitoring period. At the south chimney they have an entry followed by an exit at 8:30 PM with two swifts then entering the chimney for the night, one at 8:34 PM and the other 50 minutes later.

In Selkirk Ray Peebles and Sybil Finnson monitored from 9:00-10:00PM at 367 Main St on July 15th. No swift activity was seen.

The rest of the Selkirk group was also monitoring on July 21^st at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre and in town. Gerald Machnee and Robert Hempler watched the Big Stack replacement tower (2021-T04), the east tower (2021-T02), the west tower (2021-T01), the infirmary attached tower (2021-T03) and the infirmary chimney (2014-2). See last week’s blog for a map of the site!

There were no entries or exits in the east, west or stack replacement towers – just 1-2 swifts in the air around 9:00 PM. The infirmary attached tower had a quick entry, followed by an exit, followed by an entry all at 9:30 PM, and then a last exit at 9:45 PM – so no one actually spent the night there. There was the usual feeding pattern happening at the infirmary chimney, with many entries and exits happening from 8:26- 9:25 PM. The last entry was a 9:25 PM.

Nia Massey and Linda Adie were watching the Yellow Brick chimney at the Mental Health Centre. They also had entries and exits every 5-10 minutes – which is unusual for this chimney. There was no daytime action here previously to suggest nesting use (or even consistent roosting use). The chimney ended up with two swifts at the end of the monitoring period. Hopefully time will tell us what is going on here!

Moving on now to Winnipeg…

From earlier in the year (June 8^th) James Chliboyko watched the 424 River Ave roost in the Osborne Village. He was there from 9:30-10:00 PM but counted all the 100 entries between 9:30 and 10:00 PM. He noted it was hard to get a count – makes total sense!

On June 9^th Ward and Marlene Waldron also observed the roost at 424 River Ave for just over an hour. They counted 193 swifts entering the roost. Ward and Marlene also spent just over an hour around sunset watching the two Arundel Apartment buildings on June 12th. They observed one bird go down the chimney at 780 Elizabeth St and two birds head down the chimney at 790 Elizabeth St.

For an incidental report, I had a phone call from Judy Anderson – who had been walking near Augustine United Church near sunset on July 11th, and estimate 35 Chimney Swifts flying to and fro, but said there easily could have been 3-4 times that amount. Not surprisingly she decided to hang out and watch them for a while! It is likely she was seeing some of the swifts from the 424 River Avenue roost.

While not actually monitoring Tim Poole caught an entry at 277 River (Royal Oak Apartments) on July 18^th while getting into his vehicle! He had previously noted around six swifts flying over the area.

On July 18-20^th Phil and Barbara Barnett did a great blitz of daytime monitoring at most of our known Chimney Swift sites in the Osborne Village area. On the morning of July 18^th Barbara watched the Royal Oak Apartments for an hour. At 9:16 AM and 9:18 AM she caught two entries, followed by two exits at 9:26 AM. Then a surprise third exit at 9:42 AM! After that two swifts went down the chimney close together again (9:51 AM and 9:52 AM) and then left at the same time again (9:55 AM). At 9:56 AM there were three swifts overhead, which matches with the number of swifts she saw using the chimney. Were the pair of swifts practicing, hoping that synchronized chimney entries/ exits would be included in this year’s summer Olympics?! Just kidding, but it looks like there is a feeding pattern happening, perhaps with a helper swift on site.

On July 19^th Phil watched the Biltmore Apartments and Barbara watched the Rosemount Apartments (both on River Avenue) during the morning for an hour. Neither spotted any swifts using the chimneys but Barbara had between 4-12 swifts overhead and Phil had between 1-3 swifts overhead.

To wrap up their blitz on the morning of July 20^th Phil watched 105 Clarke St and Barbara watched 141 River Ave (west chimney). Phil saw two swifts flying west, but no chimney use. Barbara had an entry at 9:45 AM and an entry at 9:56 AM. She also had a swift fly out briefly at 9:58 AM which circled briefly but headed right back down the chimney.

On July 21^st Tim visited the chimney on the Scarsdale Apartments (downtown Winnipeg) from 8:40- 9:26 PM and saw further behavior that looked like nesting was happening (which Ariel also observed last week). He assumed there was a swift in the chimney when he arrived, as his first sighting was an entry, followed by two exits. Two swifts were down the chimney when he left. He also took a quick pit stop at the 424 River roost on his way home and counted only 13 swifts there – but also mentioned that he was there a little later than ideal and only for a short time.

I conducted a monitoring session at Chief Peguis School in Winnipeg on July 21st. It was an early night for the swifts – I arrived during the “daytime” monitoring period (i.e. the 30 minutes before the roosting period started) to see if there was any evidence of nesting. However, instead two swifts went down the chimney early at 8:47 PM for the night. Luckily, I had a bit more entertainment for the night when five more swifts flew overhead before heading off to the south (where there are other known Chimney Swift chimneys).

On July 23^rd Blair Reid monitoring Nelson McIntyre Colligate during the daytime for 90 minutes and saw no Chimney Swift action. As he thought this meant that the swifts could be using the site for roosting only, he also went back the next night during roost monitoring time, but once again, no swifts showed up.

Thank you to all the volunteers for hanging in their for us during the week of hot and smoky weather! Stay safe with your Chimney Swift monitoring and have a great August long weekend!

Amanda Shave

What a Scorcher!

Hello and good day! It sure was a hot week for chimney Swift watching. From what I have found out, this extreme heat wave was from a climate phenomenon called a heat dome. It basically comes from the build up of hot air coming from the ocean. That air, like a moving cloud, hovers over the country. You could think of it like a pressure cooker, where the heat waves are trapped under the lid. Despite the hot temperature, I spent most of my weekend outdoors with my family. I hope everyone else had something to distract yourselves from the heat, like some chimney monitoring!

In this week’s blog, we have data from Selkirk, Brandon, Lockport, Lower Fort Garry, St. Jean-Baptiste, Souris and Carman.

We start the blog with Amanda! Amanda has quite a bit of collected data. She was out at the St Jean-Baptiste Parish Church on June 11 for an abbreviated daytime monitoring session. There were no Swifts but other aerial insectivores (Purple Martins and Tree Swallows) were seen. On June 14, Amanda watched the Mount Royal Apartments and the Silver Heights FoodFare chimneys (both can be seen from the same spot) during the roosting period. At the Mount Royal apartments in Winnipeg there were four Swifts flying in the vicinity with four entries and two exits. In the end, two Swifts remained in the chimney. At the Silver Heights Foodfare location, there were a total of 6 entries between the two Swifts, with two using the chimney for the night. Skipping to the morning of June 23^rd at Lower Fort Garry, we had one exit at a chimney and no entries after 90 minutes. Two Swifts were accounted for in the air.

Amanda was out near Souris and Melita last week doing early morning grassland bird surveys, and so checked out some of our southwestern Chimney Swift sites with 20 minute daytime monitoring sessions. First up is Souris. On June 25, there was one entry at a private residence on 5^th Ave West and one entry at the Chocolate Shop Restaurant. There were no entries at the Rock Shop, Lagasse Art Studio and the Whistling Donkey Pub that day. On the 26^th, still in Souris, Amanda checked out the Kowalchuk’s Funeral Home and the Chocolate Shop Restaurant again. They both had no entries during those monitoring sessions, but the Whistling Donkey had one quick and quiet exit that was spotted as she walked back to her car. Souris has a fairly large swift population, with the chimneys (that we know of) clustered in an area around First St and Crescent Ave, so there were almost continually a couple of swifts overhead.

Next is early evening monitoring in Melita on June 30, each site again watched for about 20 minutes each. Amanda monitored at the Melita Legion where there was one entry and one to three Swifts flying overhead. The Agriculture building on Main St had was one entry as well. No entries at the hospital chimney but there was another quick and quiet exit. This site was tricky due to the abundance of Purple Martins! There were Martin houses put up next to the hospital and it was clear that it is an excellent spot for a variety of insectivorous birds. Next was Antler River Museum, with only sightings in the air. From our past data, the Museum appear to usually be a roost site (as opposed to a nest site), so it is not too surprising that no one entered during the daytime monitoring period. Unfortunately waking up at 4:00am for grassland bird surveys is not conducive to staying up after sunset for Chimney Swift work!

Despite the cows being excellent Chimney Swift monitors, no swifts were seen in this tiny chimney.

On June 12, we had Marlene and Ward watch the Arundel apartments. In the evening, there were two entries. One at 9:37, and then another ten minutes later. At its 2^nd chimney, it had one entry at 9:35.

Now we go over to the Selkirk Mental Health Hospital center, with its many chimneys! Starting with Tim on June 18^th, the infirmary tower had an exit, followed by an entry and another exit within 15 minutes. Perhaps nesting is occurring! The tower attached to the infirmary had no entries, but the large tower chimney had one entry and exit within two minutes. A total of seven Swifts were flying over the whole building.

We then hear from Robert for the night of June 23^rd, our final MCSI night. Two entries at the infirmary tower, zero Swifts from the tower attached to the infirmary, but a max of eight Swifts could be seen overhead.

On June 27, Nia and Linda watched the yellow brick chimney during the night. No Swifts entered the chimney, but there were two at the Stack tower that went in at the same time. One to five Swifts were overhead.

Gerald, Winona, and Robert also all watched the sites on the 27^th. First, over at the west chimney there were no entries. At the east chimney, no entries. The infirmary attached tower had one entry at 9:58 pm, and the infirmary chimney itself had two separate entries. Around four Swifts could be seen flying overhead the Hospital center.

Ray and Sybil over at 367 Main St. Selkirk, had three entries on the night of June 27^th. If I remember correctly, there were eight last week! I wonder where they went.

Gerald staked out the Merchant’s Hotel on the night of the 29^th. There was one entry at 9:45 pm, and the swift stayed in the chimney for the rest of the monitoring period. Gerald also went to Lower Fort Garry in the afternoon and evening. The afternoon had two entries and one exit. The evening had one entry at 8:42. On the night of the 30^th, together with Tim, they watched the site in Lockport by the Lock and Dam Maintenance compound. The south chimney had three entries, and the north chimney had one.

Backing up to June 22, we have Ron watching the St. Norbert RC Church for the evening. Three entries were made, all at different times. With an exit for each entry, except the last one.

On the morning of June 26, there was Ariel, who watched over at Kaljeb Logistics. There was one Swift entry at 1:49. There was a total of three flying overhead.

Frank and Jacquie visited Carman Memorial Hall for the evening of the 30^th. While unfortunately there was no Timmies on offer in Carmen they were able to make do (and even saw some swifts)! There was an entry and exit, within 20 minutes of each other. And then, four Swifts made entries right after 10 pm. Frank and Jacquie expect that there is at least one other site being used by Swifts in Carman. We have historical records of some residential chimneys being used in past years, so perhaps one of these sites is where the extra swifts are spending their time.

At Kaljeb Logistics on the 30^th, there were five entries during the daytime. Two Swifts entered at 10:20, then both left at 10:24. Again at 10:55, they entered and exited again at 11:12. After working in pairs, one Swift went solo, entering the Chimney and exiting again. The other Swift did not come back for the rest of the monitoring period.

Over in Lower Fort Garry, I was finally able to meet a fellow Swift watcher! I had the pleasure of meeting Leah on the 2^nd of July. Leah had stayed an extra hour after I left. This gives us a solid three hours worth of a single observation period. Starting with my info from 8:10, a Swift exited the false chimney and soon returned within four minutes. At 8:41, a Swift exited the chimney and came back at 9:56. Leah caught a Swift making an entry at 10:54 and departing soon at 10:56. However, it could be possible that we missed some entries, since the bench was quite close to the Fur Loft chimney. I only ever watched Chimneys from a far distance, so it was very neat to see the entries and exits up close!

I also checked out a site in the morning of July 5. Over at the Eugene apartments, I thought I made out two entries. It was hard to tell, since the chimney is in the middle of the apartment building, but I saw the Swifts spreading their wings out and glide, like how they usually enter chimneys, so I am confident in the entries! Between one to six Swifts could be seen circling around the area.

In Brandon, we have Glennis, Gwynn and Gillian, who watched the Orange Block building chimney on July 4, in the morning. There were two entries in one of the chimneys for sure. There was another pair, but they have yet to pinpoint its chimney.

Thank you for joining me and reading this week’s blog. I will hear from you all next week!

Vicky

Week Five report

Hello and good week to everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your summer and taking are of yourself. This week’s blog covers the last MCSI night, and to everyone who consistently sent in data for the MCSI nights, thank you for all your good work!

Back to the Swifts, we have some interesting entries coming from Selkirk, Brandon, St Francois-Xavier, La Salle, and Lockport!

Let us start off with David! David watched the Mennonite church’s chimney back on May 26 for the first MCSI night, where no Swifts were apparent. On the June 2^nd for the 2^nd MCSI night, there was one entry at 8:31 pm. Lastly on June 9^th, for the 3^rd MCSI night, no swifts were in view. This site has little activity, but at least we can confirm that its being used.

Sophia went over to watch the big roost at the 424 River apartment site on the 14^th in the evening. Starting from 9:35 pm, Swifts made entries throughout the period, with 9:56 pm being their peak entry time. A total of 111 were accounted for.

keep watching — Keep watching the skies !

For a MCSI night, Mike and Michele watched the St. Francois-Xavier RC church on the 16^th. There were three entries, but only one remaining in the chimney by the end. On the 5^th MCSI night, there were four entries that night. However, it seems like only one pair used it as a roost, while the other pair flew elsewhere for the night. Through the night, there was some exciting views as well. They had an American Kestrel perched on its favorite spot and a fox trotting into the cemetery. What a good night indeed.

We have Barb, Rob and Qilliaq (the Swift questing pup) watching the Catholic church over at La Salle. On the 21^st, The three started the stake out at 7:08 pm. On a nice grassy expanse away from traffic, and a friendly neighbourhood, the night was quite peaceful. There was a total of four entries in the chimney. There was distinctively one pair moving in and out together, while a single swift was going in and out at opposite times than the pair. It may be a possible helper Swift.

Gerald went to check out the Lower Fort Garry site for the evening of the 22^nd. There were two entries in total, with one remaining for the monitoring period. Many barn swallows were noted as well.

Jon went out to the apartments on Balmoral in Winnipeg on the night of the 23^rd for MCSI. In a nice grassy spot, the view of the chimney was perfect to catch two Swifts entering the chimney. Jon noted some Swifts flying low behind 39 Balmoral, which would be 37 Balmoral. Perhaps 37 Balmoral’s chimney is being used as well. Only time will tell!

Another on MCSI night, we have Lynnea who watched a new location she discovered with some perfect swift chimneys on McBeth St in Winnipeg, however no Swifts were around either.

Ron went over to the Marion Fire Hall again for MCSI night. There were two entries in total for the night. One at 9:02 and 9:27 pm. They both entered quietly and swiftly. Seems like there was activity noted over at 847 Marion St.

Gordon, watched for swifts over at the old Women’s Jail in Portage la Prairie on MCSI night. He had a single entry at 9:07 pm. There were a few flying above, but they did not roost there for the night.

For MCSI night at Selkirk, we have Tim over at the new artificial tower. There were two entries in the chimney. Before we head on to Gerald’s summary, Tim let us know that it has been a strange night at the other locations. Here is what Gerald reports: Over at the yellow brick chimney, there was an entry, however soon left and was not found coming back. Over at the West chimney, there were two Swift entries, and in the east chimney and infirmary attached tower, no Swifts. Besides the Mental Health center, over at big stack replacement, there was one permanent entry. At the Merchants hotel, there was one permanent entry, and finally the apartment on Main St, had two Swifts come on in.

What is a better way to start the monitoring period, than with a cup of timmies? That is what Frank and Jacquie did as they staked out the Transcona collegiate chimney on MCSI night. Starting from 8:30 pm, there was no Swift activity until 9:14, then with two entries. They seemed to have arrived from the North side and was not foraging around the area of the chimney.

For the MCSI night, we have Jo and Betsy at the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower. Starting at 8:40 pm, three Swifts were flying above the chimney. One Swifts made the first entry at 9:15 pm. The last two entered at 9:43 pm. There was also the occasional existence of the Pileated Woodpecker being heard and seen going into its roost, which it has made by tunneling into the side of the Chimney Swift tower.

We have news from Luc over at Saint-Jean-Baptiste church for the MCSI night. Starting at 9:10, we had some entries and exits that ended around 10:11 pm. This made a total of 2 Swifts that stayed in the chimney. There was quite a bit of flying around during the whole monitoring period.

Blaire staked out the Behavioural Health Foundation in St. Nobert for MCSI night. There was one entry at 9:34 pm, and four flying around all evening.

Hands clapping — Thanks to our volunteers

Blair decided to check out the location at 865 Tache Ave on the 24^th, since as there have been around eight Swifts flying above the area recently. There was no entry at the site on closer inspection though. On the same night at 340 Provencher, there was not any activity from the Swifts either.

On the 24^th, Glennis in Brandon watched the Orange Block building chimney for the evening. There were two entries late in the evening at 9:54. One other Swift was flying with the other pair as well, but it did not enter.

Over in Lockport on the 24^th, we have Gerald and Tim checking out the lock and dam compound north and south chimney in the evening. Two Swifts entered the north chimney about 40 minutes apart. Another two entered the south chimney right after the last entry from the north chimney. The two pairs would remain in their respective chimneys for the rest of the monitoring period.

Barbara and Phil had an adventure at the Wasagaming Information Centre on the 25^th. They decided to watch its chimney for the evening. Barbara noted that the building was recently re-shingled, however we have confirmation from park staff that it was done outside the Chimney Swift season, so it should not have impacted the swifts at all. Although there were no Swifts, it was pleasant to sit around a bed of flowers with the strong scent of lilacs, having robins and Juncos serenading them throughout the evening. As they said in their email, “It sure is different from standing in the back lane of Osborne Village!”

At the Assiniboine Park zoo tower, on the 27^th, Barb and Rob watched the tower on the Friday morning. They caught three Swifts flying about, but no entry. They noticed that the hole being used by the woodpecker has become substantial and worrying. It would probably be best to break this cycle of damage, so that this does not happen again next year through some repair work in the bird “off” season. While we would like to support all birds – having the inside of the tower open to the elements (when it was not supposed to be) could impact the structural integrity of the tower through issues such as water damage, etc. Like Barb says, “Swifts should be given housing priority!” We didn’t realize when the tower was installed that we would have an extra “tenant”!

Vicky

ST ADOLPHE NEST SITE UPDATE

June 21^st. Summer Solstice. The longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. In ancient Asia, Summer Solstice was the time to celebrate the Earth and “yin” forces. Summer Solstice continues to be a significant Heritage Day for Indigenous cultures.

Summer Solstice is associated with change, nature, and new beginnings. For breeding Chimney Swifts, the time around this solstice is the beginning of a new stage of nesting – incubation.

Chimney Swifts have moved through the early stages of nesting. In the arrival stage, spring migrants used sites for nighttime roosting only. Then, breeding pairs of adult swifts began daytime activities inside chimneys and nest building was underway. Both parents would grab small diameter twigs from dead branch ends and fly them into their nest sites. The twigs were attached to the rough interior wall, using the swift’s sticky saliva, to form a small cup-shaped structure. Here are some basic timelines for the nest building to egg laying stages of nesting:

A nest under construction is ready to hold an egg after 7 days.
Egg laying may then start and a new egg is laid every second day. The nest continues to be built around laid eggs – it is a tricky process!
Clutch size is 2–7 eggs. There is no way of predicting how many precious eggs will be laid; energy reserves of the female, weather, and foraging potential etc. may all affect the clutch size, and therefore, the onset of incubation.
Incubation begins with the second to last egg laid and lasts 18-21 days. Additional twigs are added to the nest during this phase.

Our dedicated monitors are nearing the last Wednesday MCSI spring monitoring night and have finished the NRMP evening counts. If your swifts have been arriving in pairs, as Gerald aptly describes in “Noah” fashion, it is likely the chimney is being used as a nest site. For those of you who are captivated by this Chimney Swift activity and are lured by what will follow, there are ways to track nest site developments…we welcome your ongoing participation in chimney-side monitoring beyond the end of our spring roost monitoring!

Continued monitoring, ideally with maximum 3-to-4-day intervals – including daytime sessions as you can manage – will help reveal the swift’s progress. As monitors, we record the times of entry and exit events at the chimney. It is simple data to collect but it informs many complex things. Importantly, the sequence and frequency of entry and exit events at a nest site reflects the various stages of nesting.

Two intervals are useful to calculate:

1. The time between an entry and an exit. This interval can be either a length of time a single swift spends in the chimney = duration-in OR a turnaround time for partner exchanges when mates take turns with duties inside the chimney.

2. The time between an exit and an entry. This interval is the time between-visits to the nest site.

Sequential entries and exits can be used to estimate the maximum number of swifts in the chimney at one time.

Also, look at the sequence of events to determine if any swifts were present at the start of your observation period and/or if any swifts remain inside at the end of viewing.

During the late nest building-egg laying stage, pairs of Chimney Swifts are seen together less often. The chimney is occupied, or attended by a swift, for a greater proportion of time. So, entries and exits tend to shift to single bird events and they occur less frequently. If you are in an area with a high concentration of nest sites, lower group sizes of swifts are seen in the air. Monitoring now and through the incubation stage becomes very challenging. Okay, it gets downright boring sometimes!

Pinning down the start of incubation is very, very difficult. What follows is a Rule of Thumb for determining the onset of incubation at a nest site, established by a pair of breeding Chimney Swifts, usually ~2-3 weeks after nest building started (note: this is variable!). Three signs of incubation, in increasing order of certainty, are:

Good. Attendance >50%. For a standard 60-minute daytime session, a swift is present in the chimney over half the time. A swift is continuing to work on the nest construction, plus laying an egg and/or starting incubation. Both parents can be out of the chimney at the same time.
Better. Interval between entry-exit <10 minutes. An incoming bird is likely switching up with the partner which goes out to feed. Both partners may be out of chimney at the same time but one tends to return soon.
Best. Classic incubation exchange = an entry followed by an exit 30 seconds to ~2 minutes later. These exchanges usually occur once an hour. Swifts at this stage are “tight” on eggs and the partners are changing up to share incubating duties between foraging bouts. Both parents may leave the nest site (eggs are unattended) but one usually returns shortly to resume incubation duties. Typically, this happens more as the roosting hour approaches – the parents are getting a last feed, and possibly a drink, before roosting.

Monitoring in St Adolphe has continued since the inaugural year of MCSI activity in the spring of 2007. So, 2021 represents the 15^th consecutive year of following the breeding success of swifts using 5 chimneys located in 4 historical buildings along Main St.

This year, swifts arrived in low numbers in mid-May and primarily fed for two weeks. By the end of May, all 5 nest sites were claimed by a breeding pair and nest building finally got underway in earnest on May 31^st – about a week later than normal. The cold spring weather was likely a deterrent for the birds to start nest building; instead, they fed and rebuilt energy reserves lost during migration.

Fortunately, swifts at all 5 nest sites were underway with nest building by June 3^rd – 4^th = the last known starting date of nest building to be followed by a successful breeding outcome.

Incubation was first noted for swifts at Brodeur Bros./Daycare and the Church on June 17^th; SE and NE Club Amical on June 18^th, and finally at Main St on June 19^th. Here are some recent monitoring data which indicate incubation is underway…note the variable activity patterns seen at the 5 nest sites!

Attendance >50%:

Brodeur Bros./Daycare; Thurs. June 17^th; 10:50 to 11:50 AM.

11:04:10 1 Entry

11:17:47 2 Exits; 1 swift in at start of observation period.

11:41:57 1 Entry

Church; Thurs. June 17^th; 12:05 to 1:05 PM.

12:34:34 Entry

1:05 End of session with 1 swift in.

SE and NE Club Amical; Fri., June 18^th; 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

11:04:08 Entry – SE; with 1 other swift that flies on; 2 swifts close together on approach.

11:11:39 Entry – NE; alone.

11:39:42 Entry – SE; arrives alone; 2 swifts in.

11:44:23 Exit – NE; alone.

11:46:20 Exit – SE.

11:46:22 Exit – SE; joins above bird and both swifts leave vicinity together; 0 swifts in.

Interval between entry-exit < 10 minutes: Main St; Sat., June 19^th; 10:48 to 11:48 AM.

11:13:24 Entry; 1 swift had been feeding locally since the start of observations.

11:23:07 Exit; no further swift sightings seen by the end of the observation period.

Classic incubation exchange: none seen yet, but the time shortly after Summer Solstice will be the period to watch for this sure sign of incubation.

Questions? Keep in touch as we are always happy to help interpret nest site data. Good luck on tracking your breeding Chimney Swifts!

–Barb Stewart

Week 3

Join Vicky again, for another recap of this past week of Chimney Swift monitoring…

We are now almost at the halfway checkpoint for the Chimney Swift monitoring season. Swift activity has been picking up, as we have a pile of papers from everyone on this week’s findings! With this week over, the NRMP nights are now completed, good work everyone! Our own chimney swift monitoring program, the MCSI nights, continue. We had sightings in Brandon, Otterburne, Selkirk, Dauphin, St. Francois-Xavier, Portage La Prairie, La Broquerie, and Lockport.

Back on May 30^th, Tim Verbiwski and Gerald Machnee made their way to St Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound where both chimneys were observed. At the south chimney, four entries were noted, and in the north, there was two.

Bonnie Chartier, Tim and Sandy all went out on June 7^th to check out the St Andrews Lock and Dam as well. At both chimneys there were two entries and a few flying around throughout the monitoring period.

On June 11th, Gerald made his way to St Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound. Both chimneys also each had two entries. There was a clear illustration how Swifts enter the chimneys when rain is imminent, as both pairs entered their respective chimneys just before it started to rain.

We have quite a bit of information from Tim and our volunteer monitors from the Selkirk Birders Club. On the morning of June 3rd at Selkirk Mental Health Centre, the three new towers were observed. The only swift entry was in the tower attached to the infirmary building. The other towers had one to three flying above. In the evening, at the same sites, none had any signs of entry but there was still the occasional four to six swifts flying around. Moving on to the June 7^th NRMP night, at the same three sites, there was a perfect double entry in each chimney! All during roosting time.

Back on May 30^th, Robert Hempler watched the two chimneys at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre Infirmary for NRMP night. While the infirmary chimney had one Swift enter, the tower chimney had none. A couple of Swifts could be seen flying above with one Nighthawk mixed in the crowd. Forward to June 7^th, this time Robert went out with Donna to find two Swifts making an entrance in the infirmary chimney, while there were no entries in the attached tower chimney. More than six Swifts could be seen flying above though, I wonder where they went.

Nia and Linda monitored the Selkirk Mental Health Centre yellow brick chimney on the 30th of May for a NRMP night. No entries were noted, but about five Swifts could be seen flying around. They came back to the same chimney for June 3rd (NRMP night) where they saw two Swifts come in quite late to roost for the night. This time there was a max of eight Swifts flying around. The last NRMP night, there were two entries and five to six Swifts flying around.

Tim monitored both the small and large tower chimneys at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre on June 1^st, where he observed no entries or exits, but kept note of the growing curiosity the Swifts had in these chimneys. It seems like the curiosity got the better of them, as Tim later wrote in an email the strange happenings on the night of the 10^th at the various Mental Health Centre chimneys, “There was definitely a shift last night (June 10th) in swift activity at the Selkirk Mental Health centre. Robert Hempler watched the old infirmary chimney on June 7th for the final NRMP night. In his report, the swifts were mainly behind him, towards the yellow brick chimney and the short tower (2021-T2). Last night (the 10th), the swifts were very active over the large tower (2021-T1) making numerous passes in that direction. In total, eight birds were counted in the air, but there was usually only six or seven accounted for. It was clear something was up when at 8:43 a pair of swifts circled over the top of the tower several times. Over the next few minutes the entire flock appeared to descend over the tower, swirling and chasing around the area. A pair were flying low over the entrance of the tower at 8:52 when one suddenly lunged towards the entrance and pulled away. At this point pandemonium appeared to break out, three swifts were spinning the top and suddenly a fourth appeared, either from within the tower itself, or coming low from behind. It was clear though by this point that the swifts had finally found this tower and finally were taking a very close interest. Regular visits to the tower was followed at 9:22 by a sudden drop into the brick chimney on the old infirmary. This site was being monitored by Robert again. Yet still there were two, three or four birds visiting the top of the tower. At 9:31, three swifts were over the entrance. At last two swifts took the lunge and entered the tower for the night. The drop did not feel too clumsy, suggestive that this was not the first time these swifts had used the tower. The third swift circled the tower several times over the following 10 minutes, at one stage sweeping between it and the old infirmary chimney. This is likely the same swift which turned in for the night at 9:45 in the infirmary, to make it two for that site.”

As I read this email, I could not help but feel like I was reading an action novel!

On the other side of the Selkirk campus on June 10th, Linda and Nia had a late entry/exit at the yellow brick chimney before two roosted for the night. Gerald also recorded an entry/exit at the short tower (2021-T2) but this was earlier in the evening. There was only one swift counted in this chimney, but maybe that early entry/exit was some sort of exchange? In town, Winona recorded two exits early on at the Merchant’s and two came in to roost. The current roost of choice in Selkirk is in the Main Street apartment. Here there were 9 swifts counted by Ray and Sybil.

Tim also noted that the fourth new tower is going up at Selkirk Mental Health Centre. While this new tower is likely too late for swifts to use it during the 2021 nesting season, we know from past observations that once they fledge, young swifts will fly around and check out/ roost in other nearby chimneys. Or perhaps some non-breeding pairs from this year will discover the tower and come back next year to nest. All of the artificial Chimney Swift Towers going up at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre are to mitigate the impact of removing some existing swifts roost and nest sites, which had to be removed due to safety reasons.

Backing up a bit, Ray and Sybil went out on the 30th of May for NRMP at 367 Main Street, Selkirk. They saw no Swifts, and all they could say that night, was that it was cold. Better luck on the 3rd of June, they got nine entries in total this time, but still a very cold night. Finally, a warm night on the 7th, they had a total of nine entries in the chimney again, all at relatively different times, except for the last four that went in as pairs.

Winona monitored the Merchants Hotel in Selkirk on May 30th for NRMP night to see two Swifts making an entrance, eight minutes apart from each other. They entered the chimney directly without flying around. On June 3rd, two entries were observed again in almost the same way as on May 30th but starting at 8:50 this time. On the 7th, there were no Chimney Swift entries at all, but a few flying by periodically. Winona specially notes that it may have been due to possible wasps in chimneys during the time, but was not entirely certain.

Gerald has also been periodically watching southeast chimney on the Fur Loft building at Lower Fort Garry. On the June 2nd for the 2nd MCSI night, there was no view of Swifts nearby, but some Barn swallows did fly by. On June 13^th, Gerald headed back to Lower Fort Garry in the evening. There was little activity, but there was an exciting entry of a couple Swifts entering the chimney! You may not have known, but this chimney is plastered in the inside, making nest building difficult for Swifts. Early this spring MCSI, Tim Poole (from the province) and Parks Canada staff tried to solve that problem by installing a false chimney wall – similar to what is found inside the artificial chimney towers, so it is good news to know Swifts are still using it. We are having our other summer student, Ariel check out the southeast building soon as well! Hopefully, we can see if there is some nesting action from the Swifts soon.

Back on May 30^th, Breanne, finally caught some Swift action at Maryland Foodfare in Winnipeg. Two Swifts entered the chimney at 9:23 in the evening and 40 were seen in the air! Breanne noted a few pigeons, sparrows, and gulls scattered on different rooftops too.

As of June 7, “The swifts have come and gone” Ken Wainwright writes, as the Swifts in Dauphin leave the roost site and start heading to the nesting chimneys. For the last NRMP night, two chimneys were monitored to have three Swifts each, with a 3^rd chimney occupied by a single pair. This gives a grand total of eight Swifts in the vicinity. It was noted that most of the Swifts were more active after sunset rather than in the day.

On June 8, Tami Reynolds and Mike Karakas watched the Assiniboine Park Zoo Tower. They saw three Swifts flying around and eventually three entries into the chimney, all within five-minute intervals.

For the 3^rd MCSI night on the 9^th, we had Jo and Betsy watching the Assiniboine park chimney. One Swift made an entry at 8:53, and another two at 9:34. A few more Chimney Swifts were seen flying around as well. If you head out to watch the Swifts at the Zoo Tower, you will notice a hole on the side of the chimney. From Jo and Betsy’s observation that hole is being used by Pileated Woodpecker (who they saw enter in the evening). We are not entirely sure what the Pileated Woodpecker is using the hole for (nesting or roosting), but the woodpecker and the Chimney Swifts appear to be co-existing peacefully. Three nighthawks were seen that evening as well!

A Zoo staff member, Kirstyn, came out during the day of the 10th to watch the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower. There were two separate entries and one exit. To make the day a little more troublesome, someone was driving their lawn mower around the chimney for 17 minutes. And ironically, 17 Swifts were seen flying in the air.

Back at the River Manor Apartments (424 River Ave) for the 3^rd MCSI night, Barbara and Phil Barnett watched its west chimney. They counted 193 Swifts entries! I have not seen the chimney myself, but I cannot imagine how full it is now. They started flocking in around 9:00pm in batches of 1-4, until 9:40, where many would enter at a time. They described it as an “Extraordinary experience and mesmerizing to watch.”

Jon watched the River Manor Apartments east chimney (“invisible chimney”) on the 3^rd MCSI night where there were no entries. Although non-stop chittering could be heard, it all stopped around 9:50 (likely when all the Swifts had entered the west chimney on the same building).

Luc Blanchette watched the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church for the 3^rd MCSI night. There were two entries in the chimney, with only one Swift in the chimney at a time. Another Swift was about to go in, but it veered off at the last second! Luc stayed a little later to see if the Swift would try again, but to no avail, as it did not enter in the end.

In Brandon, Glennis Lewis monitored the Orange Block’s small chimney on June 3^rd. No action was seen, but later on June 9^th, one Swift entered the chimney at 10:01, another two entered at 10:04 and two more at 10:07.

Back in Winnipeg on the 7^th of June, Blair watched the Franco Manitoba Cultural Centre, with no Swifts in sight. On the 9^th, Blair went out to 188 St. Mary’s Rd to come up empty again. Fortunately, Blair’s most recent outing to 188 St. Mary’s on the 13^th came into fruit where two Swifts were sighted making an entry and two more flying in the air!

Beth first went out on June 7^th with Jake and Anna to Assiniboine School for NRMP night. They had two separate entries during the monitoring period and a few Swifts flying around throughout the time period. A high of seven Swifts were seen flying at one time at 9:34. On the 9^th, for MCSI night, Beth went back alone to watch the Swifts. Another two entries in total that night, and once again, timely appearances of Swifts flying throughout the whole period.

At Chief Peguis Junior High, Lynnea kept watch on June 7^th for the evening. The chimney had one Swift come in at 9:20 and another at 9:40. The rest of the monitoring period was quiet.

On June 7, Carl and Debby monitored the Old Grace Housing Coop where two Swifts were seen flying above the centre of the courtyard, but none making their way in or near the chimney.

Ron Bazin, who had watched all three chimneys in Otterburne for the last three NRMP nights, also monitored them for the last NRMP night on June 7^th. There were two entries at the chimney near the bell tower, two entries in the large chimney, and four entries in the small chimney. Despite being the smallest chimney, it gets the most action out of the three. Besides the entries, there were eight to ten Swifts flying overhead upon arrival. Noting a definite V-flight by at least two. After that night, Ron makes his way to observe St. Nobert RC Church on the 8^th, where a total of four entries into the chimney. Then on the 10^th, Ron watched the Fire Hall on Marion, where two entries were observed.

For the 4^th NRMP night, we had Amanda check out the Moorgate apartments on Portage. There was a total of four Swift entries and many flying around throughout the monitoring period. Most flew continuously overhead of the chimney.

On June 9^th, for MCSI night, Pam watched the St. Mary’s Road United church for the evening and did not see any Swifts.

For the 4^th NRMP night, Frank and Jacquie went out to La Broquerie to St Joachim Church to observe in the evening. The large chimney had three entries and the small chimney had five entries. That makes for eight in total that were seen that night. The pair also made way to Transcona Collegiate on the 9^th for MCSI night where two Swifts made entries.

I had gone out on the 10th to the Maple apartments with my parents to share the wonderful joy of watching Swifts. There were many times that the Swifts would dive in but pull back right at the last second. It felt like watching a soccer player about to score a goal, only to miss. I had a max of 15 flying at once in the air and two pairs going into the chimney just after sunset at 9:36 pm.

Blaire Barta monitored the Behavioral Health foundation on the 10^th of June during the evening. There was a total of two entries, each at separate times. Blaire noted the day before the 10^th, there were three in the air around the site. So, that leaves one perhaps spirited away.

Mike and Michele Tumber monitored the St. Francois-Xavier RC Church on the 10^th during roosting hours. They observed two entries at 9:31.

On June 11^th, Rudolf watched the Rufus Prince building in Portage La Prairie for a short period and saw 12 Chimney Swifts flying around the west end of Crescent Lake. Making his way back to Winnipeg for June 13^th, he also stopped by Roxy Lanes and saw three Swifts flying with one swift entering the front (red brick) chimney. MCSI partnered with the owners of Roxy Lanes last year to repair that chimney, so we are doubly pleased that it is being used by the Chimney Swifts again this year!

And last, but certainly not least, on June 12^th Nicole Firlotte watched the Fleetwood Apartments in the evening. There were two entries both at 9:48 pm. Nicole also notes earlier in the day, there were three Swifts flying around the neighbourhood. Use of this chimney is also exciting, as it was also repaired under the MCSI program last year as well.

Vicky

Week Two !

The 2^nd week of Chimney swift monitoring – Join one of our summer students, Vicky, for a recap of recent monitoring efforts.

Welcome to the 2^nd week blog on our Chimney swift monitoring efforts! Yesterday, the 7^th of June was World Swift Day. This day was first celebrated in 2019 by 39 countries, where they would introduce and share to the world about swifts. As of 2020, the number of countries that actively created events for swifts increased to 49! I would like to use this chance to thank again, all our volunteers for contributing to the monitoring of swifts in Manitoba. Without volunteers, our database would have nothing to prove the existence of swifts and their dwindling numbers. So, happy belated World Swift Day!

I have been going through all your data entries, and it is exciting to see so many sightings! June 2 was our second MCSI night. As well as our second and third NRMP nights on May 30 and June 3. With it finally warming up, we can expect some swifts in action! We had sightings in Dauphin, Winnipeg, La Broquerie, Portage La Prairie, Carman, St Jean Baptiste, St Francois Xavier, Brandon, Selkirk and Otterburne.

Ron Bazin kept watch over in Otterburne at the Providence College for the first NRMP night with its three chimneys. He saw three swifts fly by on May 26. There were three entries in the big chimney all at separate times, with the first one flying out before the other two swifts entered and remained inside. The 3^rd chimney by the bell tower had swifts flying in and out from 8:20 to 9:00, making a total of twelve entries. Coming back on the 30^thfor the second NRMP night, there were six entries in the small chimney. The large chimney had four swifts all come in around 9:20 to 9:40. There were nine in the air, so one swift seemed to have gone missing. At the bell tower, we had two more entries. During the 3^rd NRMP night, two entered the bell tower chimney, six in the large chimney, and seven in the small chimney. Ron also made his way to St Norbert RC Church on the 1^st, where there were two entries and to the Fire Hall on 864 Marion on the June 3rd where there were six entries.

As a new student, I went out for my first monitoring on June 1st to 161 Stafford St, where I saw 15 swifts fly by! No entries though. They were headed to the west. The next day for the 2nd MCSI night, I headed to the apartments at 555 Lanark St and spotted my first swift entering the chimney! I was surprised by how smooth they entered. One entered at 8:40 while another did not enter until 9:40.

Our other summer student, Ariel Desrochers, monitored her first chimney on May 26^th at the Lothian Block apartments in Wolseley. Unfortunately, no swifts that night. However, she was there on our first watch night to confirm the large number of swifts at our new roost site on 242 River Ave on June 3rd, so all is well!

Blair Reid monitored 261 Youville street on May 30, where Blair caught two swifts making entries in the evening. On June 2^nd, two entries were also observed at 690 St. Joseph, with two more flying about in the air.

Amanda was out to the Assiniboine School on the 31^st of May. Last MCSI night an unusually low number of swifts were observed, this week was not much different, dispite the much nicer weather. She encountered six swifts flying about and one making an entry into the chimney. It seems like this site has lost its popularity with the swifts! Hopefully, they found a nice chimney elsewhere (Maybe they moved to that new chimney at 242 River Avenue we just recently discovered!).

Adam watched the chimney at Assiniboine Park on the 26^th during the day. There were no swifts during his monitoring time. However, on June 2^nd, we had Evelien and Allery watching during the day, and had a single entry.

Jo and Betsy monitored the Assiniboine Park site on June 5 for the evening. They had many sightings of swifts, but two entries in total. One at 8:59 and 9:41. Two swifts were calling almost constantly throughout the monitoring period. If you have seen the Zoo Tower, you know that woodpeckers have also used the tower (by creating holes, unfortunately). Jo and Betsy thought that they might have seen scattered feathers near the hole in the side of the chimney, and possibly an entry into the hole by a Pileated Woodpecker. Due to the angle at which they were watching the chimney, it was hard to tell. They were obviously set up for Chimney Swift monitoring, not expecting to need to monitor for Pileated Woodpecker entries into the chimney. We are going to have to wait for someone to confirm more information!

We had Gordon Ogilvie on the evening of June 2^nd during the 2^nd MCSI night at the Trinity United Church South chimney in Portage La Prairie, where four swifts entered. To add on, there was a special guest, the Common Nighthawk! I have never seen one with my own eyes, but according to allaboutbirds.org, they have this special sound they make when diving towards the ground. With the wind rushing at its wing tips, they make sounds equivalent to a race car! How cool is that.

Luc Blanchette managed to see some swift action this week at the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church on the 2^nd MCSI night with as many as seven flying over and two making an entry. On June 3^rd, Luc made his way to Ecole Regionale Saint-Jean-Baptiste, where he got one Chimney Swift entry and a few flying over making calls.

Blaire at St. Nobert Behavioural Health Foundation also had two swifts enter the chimney on the evening of the 2^nd. Glad to have so many of volunteers who braved the chilly weather from two weeks ago seeing swifts recently!

Frank and Jacquie Machovec monitored two sites for us this week. On June 2^nd at Carman Memorial Hall, three swifts flew to the northwest, and a few could be heard to the east from 8:10 to 8:40. At La Broquerie St Joachim Church on June 3^rd for our 3^rd NRMP night, five entries were observed in both the small and large chimney in the evening. There were, however, seven flying around during the whole monitoring period. Where did the other two go? Seems like the mystery continues…

At St. Francois Xavier RC Church, we had Mike and Michele Tumber monitoring the chimneys on the 2^nd MCSI night. They saw three swifts make an entry, while one more went in and right back out for a 2^nd attempt into the chimney, making the total entry of four swifts.

Pam and Bill Lucenkiw had St Mary’s United Church on watch for the 2^nd MCSI night and saw one swift making an entrance into the chimney, with three flying around later.

Glennis Lewis was monitoring the Orange Block Chimney in Brandon at 1203 Princess Ave on June 2^nd for MCSI night and had 1 swift flying from a distance. The same result was observed for the other chimney at the back of the building.

Rudolf kept watch over the Curtis Hotel and the Brazier house apartments in East Kildonan, Winnipeg on June 2^nd. Two entries were observed, each at both locations, and seven could be seen flying from a distance.

Nicole Firlotte went over to the Assiniboine School on June 3^rd for the 3^rd NRMP night. Nicole saw one swift enter a chimney, and other swifts flying to the north, east and west. It would have been perfect if some flew to the south. We would then have all four directions!

Ariel and Devon, and Leah and Donald were our strike team heading out after an emergency call from Amanda at the end of the day on June 3^rd after we had just found out about the new large roost at 424 River Avenue. Leah and Donald watched the east chimney and had two swifts enter for the evening. Ariel and Devon who watched the west chimney on the same night counted 123 swifts! A more recent observation was on the 5^th by Linda Pearn, who saw an estimate of 140 swifts enter the west chimney! They just keep coming.

Sandra Hardy went out to the Old Grace Housing Co-op during the evening of the 3^rd where swifts were nowhere in sight.

Garry Budyk kept watch over Pro-Tac Roofing’s own roof for Chimney swifts and found two entering around 9:25, and one more at 9:33, with no exits. This may be a sign of a helper swift! It is common in some bird species to have the existence of helpers (or visitors). Helpers are young, non-breeding swifts that help a breeding pair with different tasks. However adult swifts, after breeding, have also been found to become helpers with their past young as well.

We have word from Ken and Jan in Dauphin for the 3^rd NRMP night on June 3rd. With their crazy number of swifts last week in Dauphin, site #600 has went from 49+ to at most, ten swifts in the chimney. All three chimneys in Dauphin are occupied now. The swifts are staying out late these nights. Ken and Jan suspect that they may have already begun nest building, but they’ll need day time observations to confirm. They believe that two swifts are using site #600 to nest, while the other eight late comers are just using the chimney for a nightly roost. This is our 4^th mystery I believe, what happened to those 49+ swifts? I like that Ken mentions trees as a possible home. It would be neat to find a swift roosting in hollow. Swifts in trees will be hard to find though!

In Selkirk, we have the Selkirk Birders watching the Selkirk Mental Health Centre and Merchants Hotel on the 3^rd and 4^th of June. At the centre, a staff person stopped to chat with Gerald Machnee, asking what he was doing, and right as he was explaining, a swift flew in the artificial chimney! Its as if the swifts heard him talk about them. In total, three swifts were seen flying around, with that one swift who went inside. The next day, there were two making an entry. The yellow brick chimney had two swifts, and at the Merchant’s Hotel, another two. In another email, Gerald mentioned that Ray and Sybil may have found the disappearing swifts from last week at the apartment on Main St. They made the observation on June 4. The swifts entered just before 10 PM, with seven more coming in, making a total of 9 swifts in the chimney.

That is all for this week folks! I cannot wait to hear more for next week.

– Vicky Tang

Exciting News from Selkirk

This notice comes from Tim Poole, Species at Risk Biologist, Habitat and Endangered Species Section, Wildlife, Fisheries and Resource Enforcement Branch, Agriculture and Resource Development.

The Chimney Swift is listed as threatened by the Manitoba Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act (ESEA) and the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). For many years, the Selkirk Mental Health Centre has been one of the primary sites in Manitoba for roosting Chimney Swifts. The Powerhouse chimney, also known as the large stack, has supported large numbers of roosting swifts, the highest recorded number being 61 in 2009.

Unfortunately, this landmark swift roost had become a public safety hazard. Bricks were beginning to come loose and fall 120 feet to the ground below. In addition, two other derelict buildings on the site also support chimneys used by Chimney Swifts. The Province of Manitoba through the Department of Central Services owns and manages these buildings and commissioned formal surveys by structural engineers to address the ongoing safety issues. These surveys confirmed the worst, and it was immediately apparent that retention of all there chimneys would not be possible. Fortunately, staff from Central Services were aware of the Chimney Swifts and approached biologists from the Wildlife, Fisheries and Resource Enforcement Branch, part of Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development, to assist with producing a mitigation plan for the site. This would ensure that the provincial government were compliant with their own legislation. Additional support and advice came from members of the Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative and the Canadian Wildlife Service who assisted with ensuring the province were compliant with their legislation. These partners have previously collaborated on projects to mitigate loss of Chimney Swift habitat, culminating in the successful breeding tower at Assiniboine Park Zoo (see https://www.mbchimneyswift.com/Documents/FirstUseMB.pdf).

The mitigation strategy identified that for every chimney lost, there would need to be two replacement structures provided. The higher ratio reflects the lost of such an important chimney in this area and the uncertainties that surround which site a swift might select as replacement habitat. Four structures are now either built or in the process of being built, and two will be added at a later date. This allowed for the Minister of Agriculture and Resource Development to provide an exemption under ESEA for the removal of the habitat, and for the federal government to provide a permit for the same work. The Powerhouse chimney was demolished in April 2021 before the swifts returned and the mitigation plan was implemented so that the first two structures were in place in the same period.

The first two structures are free-standing towers, based on the prototype now standing at Assiniboine Park Zoo. The first of these can be seen from Manitoba Avenue in Selkirk, being located on the grass adjacent to the Red River College building. The second is further east within the campus. Another chimney is being built on the side of the Red River building, creating a hub of sites, with there being an existing chimney on this building and the first tower adjacent. A fourth structure will be a free-standing tower. This will be constructed on the cement pad remaining from the now demolished Powerhouse chimney.

Chimney Swifts are returning to Manitoba following their long migration from their winter home in South America. Provincial biologists are working with the Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative and the Selkirk Birdwatchers Club to monitor these new towers. The great news is that Gerald Machnee from the Selkirk Birdwatchers Club has documented a swift entering the eastern tower on two separate occasions, the last time on May 24^th. Thus far, we are still awaiting first confirmed use in the other two completed structures. We will continue to monitor all three towers, plus the other brick chimneys on this site, and hope that it will not be long until we record swifts using all the available habitat!

–Tim Poole

The Swifts are here!

There were several Chimney Swift sightings in Winnipeg over the past weekend according to eBird! There were two separate sightings in St James (total of four swifts), a sighting on Wellington Crescent in River Heights (four swifts) and a sighting in Old St Boniface (six swifts). See the map below.

eBird.org sightings of Chimney Swifts are illustrated by the red point markers. A total of 14 swifts were seen from May 6-9^th 2021.

Just a reminder that our monitoring season officially starts May 26^th, however if you would like to watch a chimney earlier or report swift sightings to us, we are always happy to hear from you! The 2021 monitoring protocol and data sheets are now up on our website. If you would like more information or are looking for a chimney to watch please contact myself at mbchimneyswift@gmail.com.

Amanda