NRMP-3 RESULTS, “IN-BETWEEN THE NRMP NIGHTS” REPORTS, AND HOME STRETCH REMINDER FOR NRMP-4,MONDAY, JUNE 6, 2016
As we head towards the FINAL NIGHT for the 2016 National Roost Monitoring Program (NRMP) session on MONDAY, JUNE 6, we have an update of the NRMP-3 results and reports of Chimney Swifts monitoring done before, and in-between, the NRMP nights. Here is what happened:
A. Prior to the start of NRMP, Marshall made an important discovery of 2 swifts entering 378 Academy on May 24; this chimney had a flip-flopping open/closed/open-but-modified status. The swifts confirm the chimney is open for 2016.
B. Between NRMP-1 (May 25) and NRMP-2 (May 29):
David saw a mid-morning entry into Assiniboine School on May 28. One other Chimney Swift was flying about the rim. It appears that a breeding pair was scouting out the location.
C. More NRMP-2 (May 29) reports winged in:
David, Adolf, Anna, Beth, Wolfgang, Irene, Luke, John, Kim counted 114+ Chimney Swifts entering the roost at Assiniboine School. It was very difficult to enumerate large clumps of swifts, even with video assistance.
David, Adolf also noted 2 entries at the Carillon site and 2 entries (plus a possible exit) and King’s Theatre. The St. James area is well monitored by an ever-growing group of volunteers. I understand the suggestion of a dessert bar may entice more recruits for Monday…
D. Between NRMP-2 (May 29) and NRMP-3 (June 2):
Marshall documented 2 roosting hour entries at Lanark Gardens in River Heights on May 31.
Cal was on a recon mission in Brandon on June 1. He found 7 swifts in the area near 13th St and Louise Ave on June 1. Active sites in that area need to be identified.
E. NRMP-3 (June 2) Results:
1. A “teachable moment” played out in Dauphin. Ken & Jan were ready for the standard protocol but they wisely adjusted their monitoring session based on the real scenario which played out. Sunset was 9:47 PM, so the end of monitoring was to be 10:17 PM. For most of the evening, there were no swifts to be seen. At the crack of curfew, “there was chittering overhead and birds flying everywhere, over the chimney, down the chimney, past the chimney, flying overhead, disappearing and reappearing. In the end we stopped as we could not see anymore if the bird went down or past.” Ken & Jan noted the first entry = 10:22 PM and ended their counts at 10:30 PM – 13 minutes beyond the standard session – after ~38 swifts entered for the night.
If there is an interesting event, document everything you see and watch the event through to completion. We can “filter” the data afterwards as necessary. It is impossible to recreate datasets from memory and special moments deserve to be described as accurately as possible.
2. It was also quiet in St. Adolphe through the evening. Occasionally a group size of 5 appeared. The final headcount in town was 5 swifts, a decrease of 1 from NRMP-2. The partitioning between sites was:
Kathy and Rob at Club Amical: SE Club = 0; NE Club = 2 but there was no activity prior to the roosting entries;
Jacquie at Brodeur Bros. saw entries/exits, but had no roosting swifts;
Lewis, Frank, and Ken at the Church: 2 swifts roosted and, again, there was no activity prior to the roosting entries;
Barb at Main St. had 1 swift arrive a minute before curfew and it was likely the Brodeur Bros. swift that exited just prior to the end of the viewing session.
The priority of the swifts was feeding. After two days of cold, rainy weather, nest building was a lower priority. The start of the breeding season has been challenging as June 4 is the “line in the sand” date for a breeding pair to start a nesting attempt with a chance to succeed (based on 9 years of tracking 5 nest sites in St. Adolphe).
3. Gerald, in Selkirk, seized the moment to spread the word about the wings in the local chimneys…”a set of movie trailers parked by the Infirmary Chimney in preparation for filming Friday. I briefed the security guard on what we were doing. He knew about Barn Swallows but not about swifts. So I told him to look for cigars with wings around9:00 PM…At the end after 10:00 PM I checked with the guard and he was thrilled to have seen them flying around…” Maybe there is some Hollywood star looking upward for swifts dropping downward. That was a great outreach opportunity to take advantage of Gerald!
As for the headcounts in town:
Winona watched the Merchants chimney where 3 swifts roosted;
Gerald and Carol had 2 early entries at the Infirmary;
Gerald and Carol had 2 early entries at the Infirmary;
Gerald and Carol then saw 2 entries at the 241 Manitoba site;
Carol, Gerald, Robert, Dorothy & James viewed the Yellow Brick chimney where there was 1 early entry followed by 2 late entries;
Carol, Gerald, Robert, Dorothy & James had a final roosting count of 24; most swifts were very late arriving and 1 was on the wing when observations ended.
The total in town for the night was 35 = 2 more than NRMP-1 and 5 more than NRMP-2.
Carol, Gerald, Robert, Dorothy & James viewed the Yellow Brick chimney where there was 1 early entry followed by 2 late entries;
Carol, Gerald, Robert, Dorothy & James had a final roosting count of 24; most swifts were very late arriving and 1 was on the wing when observations ended.
The total in town for the night was 35 = 2 more than NRMP-1 and 5 more than NRMP-2.
4. David in La Broquerie also had 2 swifts arrive at the crack of curfew; a group of 3 had been observed and 1 mayhave slipped into chimney with a stealthy entrance.
5. We were fortunate to have the Burrowing Owl folks do a blitz in Melita. Three sites were covered by Alex, Jessica, and Aidan and all were occupied. A pair used the Historical Society Museum chimney; a single swift was present at the Legion; and a pair also entered the Health Centre. Details to follow…
6. Tim and Gillian did a similar blitz in Souris – details are pending but active sites were observed.
7. Derek, who has been in River Heights at a potential new site, spent 2 hours of monitoring (thanks for the extra effort!), had 0 entries, but Chimney Swifts were tantalizingly close a block north. Tracking continues…
8. John, at a new William St. site, had 4 entries, many sightings, and a bonus round with a Common Nighthawk. Congratulations John on adding a new active site to our database!
9. Marshall got skunked at the Christ the King Church in St. Vital; 0 swifts were seen.
10. Two Lac Du Bonnet sites were monitored by Cam and Diann. They noted 3 swifts in the air but only 2 roosted at the Physiotherapy site. Theirs adds to the many reports off unaccounted for Chimney Swifts in air at the end of a monitoring session.
11. Out west in Brandon, Margaret and Millie saw 2 roosting entries. Similar to Frank, Lewis, and Ken at the St. Adolphe Church, the Brandon site is down to a pair of swifts compared to the NRMP-2 count of 3.
F. Lastly, here are the reports for sightings made after NRMP-3 (June 2):
A special shout-out goes out to Jacquie and Frank who undertook a recon mission to Clearwater on June 3. They spent 3 hours monitoring the Harvest Moon site and saw no swifts. They also did some outreach work and talked with locals about historical observations. Thanks so much for taking on this rural trek!
Also on June 3, in the early morning, Liis heard and saw up to 3 Chimney Swifts at two different locations in Old St. Boniface. Mid-morning, the characteristic chittering of swifts alerted Liis, who was now in Norwood around Horace St. and Kenny Ave.; 3 birds eventually were spotted between Horace and Marion St.
MCSI always appreciates reports of opportunistic sightings as it helps us track new habitat!
Al & Barb went to watch the Assiniboine School roost on the evening of June 4 – they watched 109 Chimney Swifts enter between 10:00 – 10:10 PM. Again, some swifts entered past the “1/2 after sunset” curfew (sunset was ~ 9:31 in Winnipeg).
THANKS everyone for participating in the national initiative! All the best for the NRMP season finale on Monday, June 6th. Here are a few things to think about as you stare at the chimney rim:HAS ANYBODY BEEN SMACKING MOSQUITOES? The abundance of this yummy food item seems very low so far this year.
DO YOU HAVE CHIMNEY SWIFTS FLYING AROUND AFTER THE END OF THE OBSERVATION PERIOD? Sometimes we cannot account for all the birds seen in the air before darkness shrouds the chimney tops.
ARE YOUR SWIFTS ENTERING EARLY OR LATE IN THE OBSERVATION PERIOD? Cold and rain can affect the behaviour of your swifts. If the birds are hungry, feeding may be a higher priority than nest building for example. Later in the summer, heat waves coupled with strong winds can also limit “aerial plankton” = the insects in the air which the swifts feed on; this may influence the feeding rates of young at nest sites.
DO YOU WANT A CHIMNEY SWIFT FIX AFTER THE NRMP FINISHES? If so, we would love to have you continue tracking the abundance/dispersal of swifts from roost sites and monitoring the breeding success at nest sites. Any opportunistic observations and monitoring session results you are able to provide will help us protect habitat and understand the biology of Chimney Swifts in Manitoba. We have accomplished and learned a lot but need to achieve more!
–Barb Stewart