Queen Victoria was reputedly not referring to Chimney Swift monitoring when she famously noted, “A strange, horrible business, but I suppose good enough for Shakespeare’s day.”
It looks like Saint Adolphe remains the Chimney Swift Capital of Manitoba with up to five chimneys active. For those who like sheer numbers, however, you just can’t beat the Dauphin site with 31 swifts on Saturday night!
We have preliminary reports of sightings at known sites in Brandon, La Broquerie, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk, and Winnipeg. If early monitoring results in Winnipeg are any indication, the swifts have not yet returned to some of their old haunts.
As the official reports come in, I’ll be updating the numbers on the summary spreadsheet. You can check the summary (as a Google document). If you want the current overall report in Excel format, please send me an email.
Now would be a good time to check “your” chimney so that we can verify occupancy of known sites. Don’t forget to let us know what you see! Forms and resources are available at the website.
If you would like to volunteer to check a chimney site, please get in touch by phone (204-798-6275) or email
As always, I’d like to thank our many existing volunteers!
Don’t forget our chimney-gazing extravaganza on Monday, June 4 from 8 PM at the rear of the St. Adolphe Parish Church at 392 Main Street in St. Adolphe. Bring a chair and your binos, and prepare to be amazed! Door prizes are an added inducement (as if you needed more incentive)…