Hello everybody,
Happy 2026 Chimney Swift monitoring season!
Yesterday evening (May 12 th ), we gathered at the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre at Assiniboine Park Zoo to kick off the season. What a night it was!
Staff, volunteers, and Steering Committee members came together to meet face-to-face and reflect on 20 years together as an organization. There was something truly special about being in a room full of people who have dedicated so much time and care to this fascinating (but mysterious!) species. The stories and experiences shared throughout the evening were a reminder of just how far MCSI has come.
Our Steering Committee Chair Tim Poole opened the evening with a presentation called The Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative: 20 Years of Continuous Learning. Tim walked us through the history of the organization, from its beginnings in 2006 as an entirely volunteer-led initiative, to where we are today. He touched on some of the early lessons learned, including MCSI’s first-generation towers – what didn’t work, what needed tweaking, and the eventual conception of a new tower design better-suited to Manitoba’s climate.
Tim also shared Steering Committee member Lewis Cocks’ wise words about these birds: “Chimney Swifts are a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma”. That’s a truly accurate description. Case in point: why did the swifts finally decide to use the first-generation St. Adolphe tower 16 years later?!
After some refreshments and plenty of great conversation, we headed outside to watch the Zoo’s second-generation tower. Before long, we spotted a scream of swifts (yes… that’s actually what a group of them is called) flying acrobatically overhead in the fading light. It’s a sight that never gets old, no matter how many seasons you’ve been monitoring with MCSI. One lucky (and attentive!) volunteer did catch a glimpse of a swift diving straight into the tower! The rest of us sadly missed it, but we know there’s plenty more where that came from as the season gets underway.
Here’s to a successful and interesting 2026 monitoring season – we’re excited to see what the swifts have in store for us this year!
- Brooke (Program Assistant)
