Hello all! We’ve got lots of monitoring updates to share this week including a new site in Winnipeg, and 3 sites crossed off our priority site list!
Our June monitoring blitz was on Wednesday June 18. Unfortunately the weather in many areas was stormy and/or rainy, so this definitely made it tough to monitor certain sites and/or may have led to some swifts going to bed early. We still managed to get lots of great data on June 18 as well as during the rest of the week.
Many sites are showing daytime activity. Most nesting swifts will likely be at the incubation stage. At this stage you will likely see classic incubation exchanges – 1 entry followed by 1 exit a few minutes later. These incubation exchanges typically happen about once per 60 minutes.
Without further ado, let’s get into the monitoring recap!
Carman
On June 13, Gordon and Jana watched the Memorial Hall from 8:38-9:30pm. They saw 1 entry at 9:07pm and 1 entry at 9:13pm. Jana notes that there was a break in the observation time from 8:48pm-9:00pm as they spend a few minutes checking out the chimney at the Carman Elementary School.
Hartney
Katharine has spent a lot of time monitoring the Hart-Cam Museum in Hartney, a site she discovered back in 2023. Katharine didn’t see any swifts there last year, so she was very excited to see 2 swifts back at the chimney on June 9. The rollercoaster ride continued when she returned on June 10 and June 11 and saw zero sign of the swifts – had they disappeared again? Thankfully, on June 19, Katharine saw 2 swifts again, entering the chimney for the evening.
Lower Fort Garry
Gerald watched the LFG sites on June 11 during the roosting hour. He saw 2 entries into the Fur Loft and 3 entries into the Men’s House.
Morden
Marvin monitored Lucky Chinese Restaurant on June 18 during the roosting hour and saw 1 entry at 9:51pm. Marvin notes that he did not see any swift activity other than the one quick entry.
Marvin monitored this site again on June 19 and this time saw 1 entry at 9:12pm followed by an exit at 9:15pm, 1 entry at 9:15pm, and 1 entry at 9:29pm. It appears that there is a nesting attempt ongoing at this chimney!
Otterburne
On June 17, Brett monitored the convent building at 33 Eglise Ave and saw 6 swifts in the air near the chimney, but no entries or exits between 9:20pm-10:20pm.
On June 18, Brett monitored Providence College and saw up to 9 swifts overhead but only 1 entry into site 551 (“large chimney”) and 1 entry into site 552 (“skinny chimney).
Portage la Prairie
On June 11, Gordon and Jana monitored the Red River College from 9:07pm-10:12pm. They did see 2 swifts fly over, but there were no entries or exits.
Saint-Jean-Baptiste
Luc monitored the church in Saint-Jean-Baptiste on June 18. He saw 1 entry at 9:17pm, 1 entry/exit around 9:44pm, and 4 entries from 9:47-9:57pm (5 swifts in the chimney at the end of the roosting hour). Luc noted that the final entry happened a few seconds before it began to rain.
Selkirk
The action continues at Selkirk Mental Health Centre. Thanks to the Selkirk Birdwatcher’s Club diligent monitoring efforts paired with the daytime monitoring by Tim’s Wildlife Branch students, we’re able to gather so much interesting information on all the strange and interesting happenings at all 6 sites!
Cam watched T01 on June 11 from 10:14-10:59am and saw 2 entries at 10:20am, 2 exits at 10:21am, 2 entries at 10:22am, 1 entry/exit at 10:24am, 2 exits at 10:25am, 1 entry/exit at 10:28am, 2 entries at 10:29am, 2 exits at 10:30am, 1 entry at 10:32, 1 entry at 10:33, 2 exits at 10:34, 1 entry at 10:47, a entry at 10:49, 1 entry/exit at 10:51, 2 exits at 10:54. That’s up to 3 in the tower at once, and 12 swifts accounted for in the air. Cam monitored the Yellow Brick chimney and T04 from 11:07am to 11:52am. There were no entries or exits at the Yellow Brick chimney. At T04, he saw 1 entry at 11:08am followed by 1 exit at 11:12am.
On June 11, Bonnie watched the Infirmary chimney and T03. At the Infirmary chimney, she saw 3 entries between 9:20-9:52pm. At T03, there was lots of activity: 1 entry at 8:56pm, 2 entries at 9:26pm, 1 entry/exit at 9:35pm, 2 exits at 9:43pm, 2 entries at 9:45pm, 1 exit at 9:51pm, and 19 entries between 9:52pm-10:12pm (21 swifts in the tower at the end of the roosting hour). Fred and Nettie watched T01 and saw 1 entry at 8:00pm, 2 entries at 8:15pm, and 2 entries at 9:48pm (5 swifts roosting in the tower).
On June 12, Nia and Linda watched the Yellow Brick chimney and T04. At T04, they saw 1 entry at 9:09pm, 1 entry at 9:16pm, 1 exit at 9:18pm, 1 exit at 9:24pm, and 4 entries between 0:42pm-9:59pm (4 swifts roosting in the tower). At the Yellow Brick chimney, they saw 1 entry at 9:16pm.
On June 13, Gerald watched the Merchant’s Hotel and saw 2 entries around 9:15pm.
On June 15, Dennis and Patti watched the Infirmary and T03. At the Infirmary chimney, they saw 1 entry at 9:25pm, 4 entries between 9:48-9:51pm, 1 exit at 9:51pm, 2 entries at 10:02pm, 1 exit at 10:02pm, 2 entries around 10:05pm, and 2 final entries around 10:13pm (9 swifts in the chimney at the end of the roosting hour). At T03, there was once again a lot of activity. They monitored from 8:50pm-10:13pm. From 9:24pm-10:00pm, there were 15 entries and 7 exits (up to 9 swifts in the chimney but only 8 swifts inside at the end of the roosting hour).
Gerald watched 367 Main St on June 15 and saw no swifts.
On June 17, Gerald (with the help of his video cameras) monitored T01, T03 and the Infirmary. At T03, he saw 1 entry/exit around 9:03pm, 1 entry/exit around 9:12pm, 1 entry/exit around 9:35pm, 1 entry/exit around 9:47pm, 1 exit at 9:53pm, and 5 entries between 9:56pm-10:11pm (5 swifts roosting in the tower). At the Infirmary chimney, he saw 2 entries around 8:57pm, 6 entries between 9:18pm-9:27pm, 2 entries followed by 1 exit around 9:48pm, 1 entry/exit around 9:53pm, and 4 entries around 10:02pm (13 swifts roosting in the chimney). At T01, he saw 1 entry at 8:46pm, 1 entry at 9:17pm, 1 entry/exit around 9:27pm, 2 entries around 9:54pm, followed by 2 exits around 9:58pm (up to 4 swifts using the chimney but only 2 at the end of the roosting hour).
On June 18, Dennis and Pattie monitored the Infirmary and T03. At the Infirmary, they saw a whopping 30 entries and 17 exits between 9:24pm-10:12pm (up to 13 swifts in the chimney but only 11 swifts in at the end of the roosting hour). At T03, there were 10 entries and 4 exits from 9:43pm-10:12pm (up to 7 swifts inside the tower but only 6 swifts in at the end of the roosting hour).
On June 19, Nia and Linda monitored the Yellow Brick chimney and T04. At the Yellow Brick, they saw 3 entries from 9:14pm-9:19pm, and 1 exit at 9:51pm (2 swifts in the chimney at the end of the roosting hour). At T04, they saw 2 entries at 9:27pm, 1 exit at 9:51pm, and 2 entries around 9:53pm (3 swifts in the tower at the end of the roosting hour).
There is a lot to keep up with here, and the swift numbers at each site seem to be changing from night to night. I hope to do a bit more of a deep dive into the SMHC sites in a future blog post, to really try and explain what might be happening at each of the sites!
Souris
On June 11, Katharine monitored a few sites in Souris. At the “White House”, a private residence on 5th Ave W, she saw lots of activity – 1 entry/exit around 11:46am, 1 entry/exit around 12:19pm, 2 entries around 12:38pm followed by 2 exits at 12:42pm, 1 entry at 12:46pm, 2 entry/exits at 12:58pm, 1 exit at 12:49pm, 2 entries around 12:56pm, 1 entry/exit around 1:06pm, and 2 exits at 1:11pm. There were at least 3 swifts using the chimney. Potentially a nesting site pair with a helper? Exciting!
At another private residence on 5th Ave W (which is on our priority site list), Katharine did not see any swift activity. Katharine also monitored the Rock Shop and saw 2 exits around 3:05pm, 1 entry at 3:27pm, and 1 exit at 3:33pm.
While passing through Souris on June 13, I (Marissa) saw 1 entry into the Lagasse Studio of Fine Arts at 10:51am.
Winnipeg
We’ve got a new site in Winnipeg! On June 17, Jon saw a swift enter the chimney at Billy Mosienko Lanes (1136 Main St) at 6:43pm. This site wasn’t previously in our database. Nice one, Jon!
Frank monitored 223 Archibald (priority site) on June 15. He saw one entry at 8:50pm! Frank also monitored the Transcona College (another priority site) on June 17, and saw 1 entry at 8:50pm, 1 exit at 9:10pm and 1 exit at 9:33pm. Woohoo, that’s 2 priority sites confirmed! Nice one, Frank!
Blair monitored 1310 Archibald on June 12 and saw 1 entry at 9:04pm just as he was arriving. He suspects the other swift may have entered before he arrived. Blair monitored Fernwood Apartments (314 St Annes) on June 16 and saw 1 exit at 9:17pm, and 2 entries at 9:45pm. On June 18, Blair monitored 325 Talbot from 9:55-10:40am and saw up to 5 swifts flying overhead, and 1 entry at 10:31am.
Cam monitored multiple sites across Winnipeg on June 13 during the day. He watched the Cambridge Hotel 8:23-9:10am and did not see any swift activity. Cam then watched 411 Stradbrook Ave from 9:22-10:07am and saw up to 4 swifts foraging low overhead but no entries or exits. Next, he watched 280 River Ave from 10:21am-11:06am and saw 3 swifts overhead but no entries or exits. Cam watched 834 Grosvenor Ave (a priority site) from 11:49-12:00am and saw 1 entry/exit at 11:51am, and 1 entry at 11:55am – woohoo, priority site confirmed! He then watched the 465A Lanark and 465D Lanark from 12:26-1:11pm and though there were 3 CHSW foraging low in the sky, there were no entries or edits.
Breanne has been regularly monitoring the Maryland Foodfare chimney (as she does every year). On May 29, she saw 1 exit at 8:56pm and 2 entries at 9:23pm. On June 6, she saw 1 entry at 8:50pm, 1 exit at 9:01pm, and 2 entries around 9:30pm. On June 13, she saw 1 entry at 8:55pm, and 1 entry at 9:22pm.
John monitored the CMU chimney on June 14 from 2:13-3:13pm during the daytime and saw 1 exit at 2:36pm. Walker and Richard monitored the CMU chimney on June 16 and saw 2 entries at 9:39pm.
On June 18, Evan set out to monitor the private residence on Kylemore. While there was no swift activity at that chimney, Evan did see 2 swifts enter the chimney on the west side of the Fort Rouge Leisure Centre.
Rudolf monitored the Curtis Hotel on June 18 and saw 3 swifts enter the chimney during the roosting hour.
Jo and Betsy monitored the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower on June 19 during the roosting hour, and they did not see any swift activity at the tower – very unusual for this site!
Amy M. (program assistant) has been monitoring a variety of sites around the city. On June 13, she checked out the McBeth House and saw 1 entry into the north chimney around 11am. She then monitored the Kildonan United Church on Kilbride Ave and while she saw 8 swifts flying near to the chimney, she didn’t see any entries or exits. She returned to this site during the roosting hour on June 18, but saw no entries or exits (though the rain may be a factor).
That wraps up our monitoring recap. Thanks for reading!
Priority site list (updated June 20):
| Community | Neighbourhood | Address | Site name | Observer |
| Carman | – | 2nd St | Private residence | |
| Dauphin | – | 404 1st St. SW | St. Paul’s Anglican Church | |
| Eriksdale | – | 16 Railway Avenue | St John’s Anglican Church/Eriksdale Museum | |
| Melita | – | Veteran’s Way | Private residence | |
| Pilot Mound | – | Railway St | Private residence | |
| Souris | – | 5th Ave W | Private residence | |
| demolished | ||||
| Luc B. | ||||
| Stonewall | – | 336 Main St | Prairie Zen Massage | |
| Swan River | – | 518 Main Street | Commercial building | |
| The Pas | – | 627 Cathedral Ave | Cathedral Apartments | |
| Wasagaming | – | 106 Buffalo Drive | Dragonfly Delights Team Room | |
| Winnipeg | Charleswood/Tuxedo/Westwood | Park Boulevard N | Private residence | |
| Winnipeg | City Centre | 222 York Ave | Brink’s Canada | |
| Winnipeg | City Centre | 222 York Ave | Brink’s Canada | |
| Winnipeg | City Centre | 71 Kennedy St | Scarsdale Apartments | |
| Winnipeg | City Centre | 100 Adelaide Street | Immigrant Centre Building | |
| Winnipeg | City Centre | 91 Albert Street | The Old Market Autonomous Zone | |
| Winnipeg | Daniel McIntyre | Canora St | Private residence | |
| Winnipeg | Fort Garry | 1022 Pembina Highway | Cambridge Hotel | |
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge | 411 Stradbrook Ave | Lancaster Apartment | |
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge | 272 Cockburn Street | King George Court | |
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge | 141 River Avenue | Ludlow Court Apartments | |
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge | 280 River Avenue | Moxam Court | |
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge | 245 Bell Avenue | Children’s Education Funds Inc | |
| Cam T. | ||||
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge | 444 River Ave | Augustine United Church | |
| Winnipeg | Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry | Balmoral St | Private residence | |
| Winnipeg | North Kildonan | 25 Valhalla Drive | Valhalla Gardens | |
| Winnipeg | Point Douglas | 442 William Avenue | Filcasa Housing Coop | |
| Winnipeg | River Heights | 465A Lanark St | Lanark Gardens | |
| Winnipeg | River Heights | 465D Lanark St | Lanark Gardens | |
| Winnipeg | River Heights/Fort Garry | 394 Academy Road | Academy Uptown Lanes | |
| Winnipeg | River Heights/Fort Garry | Dorchester Ave | Private residence | |
| Winnipeg | River Heights/Fort Garry | Kylemore Ave | Private residence | |
| Marilyn B. & Pam L. | ||||
| Frank M. | ||||
| Winnipeg | St Boniface | 865 Tache Ave. | Civic Roofing | |
| Winnipeg | St Boniface | 99 Birchdale Avenue | Nordale School | |
| Winnipeg | St James | 2285 Portage Avenue | Foodfare, St James | |
| Winnipeg | St James | 2415 Portage Avenue | Essex House, pest cage | |
| Winnipeg | St Vital | 185 Fernwood Ave | St Vital – Niakwa Manor | |
| Frank M. | ||||
| Winnipeg | West Broadway | 39 Balmoral Street | Apartment | |
| Winnipeg | West End | 318 Home St | Mennonite Church | |
| Winnipeg | West Kildonan | 187 Kilbride Avenue | Kildonan United Church | |
| Winnipeg | West Kildonan | 31 McBeth St | McBeth House (B) East chimney (centre) | |
| Winnipeg | West Kildonan | 31 McBeth St | McBeth House (C) South chimney (right) |
Thanks!
-Marissa
