Winter has certainly arrived, and today marks the winter solstice. While the winter solstice means that today is the shortest day and longest night of the year, it also represents a hopeful inflection point. The days will now begin to get longer, and before we know it, the birds will begin to make their way back.
With that comforting thought in mind, here are a few swift-related happenings, updates, and newsflashes.
-Barb Stewart, one of our many incredible volunteers, has put together a summary of what happened at the different nest sites in St. Adolphe this past breeding season. You can read it here: Chimney Swift Nest Outcomes in St. Adolphe 2022.
-Interested in learning more about how the use of artificial nesting structures by Chimney Swifts in Manitoba? A fantastic article written by Tim Poole was recently published in the Blue Jay, and details the use of replacement structures at Old Grace Hospital and at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre. The article also delves into how the timing of when these structures are put up can affect how they are used by Swifts.
You can read Tim’s article (“Possible Effects of Placement Timing on the Use of Replacement Habitat by Chimney Swifts in Manitoba”) in our “Resources and Links” area at this link.
-It is never too late in the summer to find Chimney Swifts. On August 24th, after receiving a tip from John Weier, Frank Machovec followed up on some sightings at the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) to try determine what the swifts were up to. The previous week he had watched a very handsome chimney on site but saw no birds entering it. Later, he returned to watch a large round chimney with a round metallic flue showing above. Frank had assumed this huge chimney was capped but gave it a go anyway. Frank reported:
“After no activity for about half an hour, I had an entry by a single CHSW. A bit later there was frantic duo flying very low (and I mean VERY low) around the chimney. Because of nearby trees and the building, I had trouble maintaining visuals on the birds. I witnessed five apparent entries, but I suspect I missed some low exits to the north.”
A new site had been found. Frank shared the information with John Weier, who has some personal connections at CMU. John connected with the building management and managed to get access to the chimney. This was a fascinating chimney. It has a stainless-steel liner at the top. However, when John was able to crawl inside in the fall, he found a spacious interior with brick wall at least up to 25 feet from the ground. At this point it changed to a metal liner for the upper half. The metal liner was about a foot in diameter whereas the chimney at the base was about one metre square.
This was a great find and will be an intriguing site to watch in summer 2023.
-Last but not least, we want to extend another massive THANK YOU to our incredible volunteers. Your time, energy and enthusiasm are incredibly appreciated. We absolutely could not have achieved this successful monitoring season without you. Stay tuned for a summary of the monitoring results in the new year (and please send in any remaining datasheets if you haven’t already).
Happy holidays!
–Marissa
