End of August Recap

It’s Not Over Till It’s Over! 

We’ve reached the last week of August, and soon the swifts will all be headed down south for the winter. But, it’s not over till it’s over! While it seems that swifts have officially departed from many sites (as evidenced by counts of zero swifts during theroosting hour), there are still lots of swifts around. For example, the breeding pair and helper at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre’s Infirmary chimney are still feeding non-brooded young! 

As swifts move around and make their way south, swifts may pop up in areas they weren’t regularly seen throughout the spring/summer. If you do notice any groups of swifts, we’d love to hear about it! Please send us an email with the number of swifts, location and time.  

Though swift numbers are dwindling, monitoring is still valuable at this time of year. Getting those roosting hour “zero counts” helps us understand when swifts depart from different areas (and how these dynamics change from year to year). 

Let’s get into the recap, including the results from our Aug 19 blitz. Thanks again to all of you for your continued help and participation. We are so grateful and very appreciative to have such an incredible volunteer base!

Carman

Rhonda watched the Carman Memorial Hall on August 19 from 8:11pm-9:00pm. She saw 2 entries around 8:36pm. Rhonda also mentioned that she saw some daytime activity at this chimney on the following days (though the amount of daytime use seems lower than in early August). 

Lockport

On August 21, Gerald monitored the St. Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound from 8:15pm-9:07pm and saw no activity. 

Lower Fort Garry

Gerald watched the LFG sites on August 19 from 8:08pm-9:10pm. There was no activity at the Fur Loft. At the Men’s House, there was 1 entry/exit at 8:32pm, and 1 entry at 8:33pm.  

Gerald returned on August 24. He watched from 8:00pm to 8:55pm and saw no swifts. Seems they have officially departed from Lower Fort Garry.  

Portage la Prairie

Jana watched the United Church on August 19 from 8:15pm-9:20pm and saw 2 entries into the South chimney. 

Selkirk

The swifts have departed most sites at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre. As of August 21, only 2 of the 6 sites still had swift activity (T01 and the Infirmary chimney). Details below. 

T01: Fred and Nettie watched T01 on August 21 from 7:30pm-9:10pm and saw 4 entries during the roosting hour. 

T02: Lisa and Monty watched T02 on August 19 from 8:00pm-9:10pm and saw no activity. 

T04: Nia and Linda watched T04 on August 19 from 8:04pm-9:10pm and saw no activity.

Infirmary chimney: Dennis and Patti watched the Infirmary chimney on August 19 from 8:00pm-9:08pm. They saw 1 entry/exit at 8:07pm, 1 entry/exit around 8:13pm, 1 entry/exit around 8:27pm, 1 entry/exit around 8:33pm, 1 entry/exit at 8:41pm, and 11 entries between 8:45pm-8:59pm. Looks like this site has shifted to feeding non-brooded young while also hosting roosting swifts. 

On August 23, Patti monitored the Infirmary from 7:55pm-9:00pm. She saw 1 entry/exit at 7:59pm, 1 entry/exit at 8:04pm, 1 entry/exit at 8:15pm, 1 entry/exit at 8:18pm, 1 entry/exit at 8:28pm, 1 entry at 8:40pm, 1 entry/exit at 8:43pm, and 2 entries around 8:49pm (3 swifts using the tower – likely a breeding pair + helper). Lots of feeding happening here!!! It seems also that the group of roosting swifts has moved on, leaving only the swifts involved in the breeding attempt. 

Yellow Brick chimney: Nia and Linda watched the Yellow Brick chimney on August 19 from 8:04pm-9:10pm and saw no activity. 

St. Adolphe

Barb has continued her regular visits to the Tower. On August 18, she was there from 9:15am-10am and saw 3 exits, and 1 entry. The next day (Aug 19), she did see 2 swifts feeding in the area but did not see any entries or exits. On Wednesday (Aug 20), she once again did not see any activity. It seemed like the daytime activity had come to an end, until Thursday (Aug 21) when Barb caught an exit from the tower at 9:36am. She returned on Friday morning and did not see any entries or exits during the 30 minutes she was there. She returned again on Sunday and once again didn’t see any swifts. It seems that the swifts may now have left St Adolphe for the season (though I think it’s safe to say we are all open to some more surprises this year). 

St. Norbert

On August 19, Blaire watched the St. Norbert Behavioural Health Foundation from 8:01pm-9:19pm and saw 7 entries between 8:32pm-8:53pm. 

Winnipeg

Tim has once again found a new site! On August 20, Tim caught a fast entry into a private residence in the 300 block of Maplewood Ave. This chimney was an interesting one. Here is Tim’s description: 
“It looks like there are three flues with spark arresters covering the outer two flues and the swift entering the central flue (which might or might not have some sort of liner).” 

Here is a photo, sent in by Tim: 

On August 19, Amy M. checked out the Uptown Lofts (394 Academy Rd) from 9:10am-10:00am and did not see any activity. She then moved to the Assiniboine School (175 Winston Rd). She monitored this site from 10:05am-11:05am and saw 1 entry at 10:20am, 1 exit at 10:23am, 1 entry at 10:36am, and 1 exit at 10:43am. Seems feeding is ongoing at this site. 

Jo and Richard watched the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower on August 19 from 7:06pm-8:10pm. They saw up to 6 swifts flying overhead but did not see any entries or exits. 

Breanne monitored Ludlow Court (141 River Ave) on August 19 from 7:40pm-9:10pm. Though she heard some chittering to the west, she did not see any swifts. 

Rudolf shared with us an interesting sighting he had on the morning of August 20: “About 25 swifts were flying in a loose flock over Kildonan Park, seen from across the river. They were obviously actively feeding and I counted/estimated them several times, always coming up with the tally of 25. Most I have seen in the area in many years.” 

That’s it for this week’s recap. Thanks again for monitoring and for sending in your reports! 

Priority site list (updated August 25):

Community	Neighbourhood	Address	Site name	Observer
Carman	–	2nd St	Private residence
Dauphin	–	404 1st St. SW	St. Paul’s Anglican Church	Pat S.
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
Souris	–	2nd St S	Private residence	demolished
Saint-Jean- Baptiste	–	113 2nd Ave SW	Ecole Regionale Saint-Jean-Baptiste	Luc B.
Stonewall	–	336 Main St	Prairie Zen Massage	Tim P.
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 (both chimneys)	Brink’s Canada
Winnipeg	City Centre	71 Kennedy St	Scarsdale Apartments	Marissa B. & Amy M.
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	Amy M.
Winnipeg	Fort Garry	1022 Pembina Highway	Cambridge Hotel – Tower
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
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	834 Grosvenor	Eugene Apartments	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	Uptown Lofts
Winnipeg	River Heights/Fort Garry	Dorchester Ave	Private residence
Winnipeg	River Heights/Fort Garry	Kylemore Ave	Private residence
Winnipeg	St Boniface	780 Elizabeth Road	Arundel Apartments	Marilyn B. & Pam L.
Winnipeg	St Boniface	223 Archibald Street	Archibald Storage, large chimney	Frank M.
Winnipeg	St Boniface	865 Tache Ave.	Civic Roofing
Winnipeg	St Boniface	99 Birchdale Avenue	Nordale School	Amy M.
Winnipeg	St James	2285 Portage Avenue	Foodfare, St James	Amy M.
Winnipeg	St James	2415 Portage Avenue	Essex House, pest cage
Winnipeg	St Vital	185 Fernwood Ave	St Vital – Niakwa Manor	Frank M.
Winnipeg	Transcona	1305 Winona Street	Transcona Collegiate	Frank M.
Winnipeg	West Broadway	39 Balmoral Street	Apartment
Winnipeg	West End	318 Home St	Mennonite Church	Frank M.
Winnipeg	West Kildonan	187 Kilbride Avenue	Kildonan United Church	Amy M.
Winnipeg	West Kildonan	31 McBeth St	McBeth House (B) East chimney (centre)
Winnipeg	West Kildonan	31 McBeth St	McBeth House (C) South chimney (right)

Cheers,

Marissa