Author: mbchimneyswift@gmail.com

The monitoring season is officially in full swing!

Overall, it seems that the swifts have been slow to arrive at most sites. Based on many reports from across the province, the counts so far seem lower than usual for this time of year. It will be interesting to see what the swift numbers are on NRMP Nights 3 and 4 (Thursday May 29 and Monday June 2).

We’ll now launch into a recap of what’s been seen chimney-side this past week, including NRMP Nights 1 and 2. Thank you to all you incredible volunteers for participating! We’re still waiting to receive the results from a few sites – friendly reminder to send in your monitoring reports by email to mbchimneyswift@gmail.com if you haven’t done so yet!

Dauphin

On May 21, Ken and Jan monitored the main roost and saw a group of 5 swifts enter the chimney, followed by a group of 7 swifts enter the chimney (total roost count of 12 swifts). Pat monitored the Hong Kong Café, and saw no activity until 1 swift appeared and entered the chimney around sunset. On May 25, Ken and Jan monitored the Watson Arts Centre and the Old Scott’s Hardware chimney and saw no swift activity at both locations.

La Broquerie

Frank monitored the church in La Broquerie on May 25 and saw 1 entry into the large chimney, and 2 entries into the small chimney.  

Lockport

Gerald monitored the St Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound in Lockport on May 19, and saw 2 entries into the north chimney at 9:08pm, followed by 2 entries at 9:15pm, followed by 1 exit at 9:15pm and 1 exit at 9:19pm. Maybe the last 2 swifts were kicked out by the first 2 swifts who may be establishing that chimney as their nest site.

Lower Fort Garry

On May 25, Gerald monitored at Lower Fort Garry. At the Men’s House, he saw 2 entries at 9:05pm. At the Fur Loft, he saw 1 entry at 9:11pm and 1 entry at 9:28pm.

Morden

Marvin monitored the Pembina Hills Art Centre on May 21 and saw no swift activity.

Otterburne

 Amy H. monitored the 3 chimneys at Providence College in Otterburne. She saw up to 13 swifts in the air at once. At the “skinny chimney” (site 552), she saw a total of 6 swifts enter the chimney, while at the “large chimney” (site 551), she saw 3 swifts enter the chimney. No activity was seen at the chimney near the bell tower (site 550). 

Portage la Prairie

Jana monitored the Trinity United Church in Portage la Prairie on May 21 and did not see any entries or exits. She did see one swift overhead 9:27pm and another one at 9:39pm.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste

On May 20, Luc monitored the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church and saw 4 entries between  9:11pm to 9:17pm. On May 25, Luc saw up to 9 swifts in the area during his monitoring session. He saw 6 of these swifts enter the chimney between 9:21pm-9:46pm. 

Selkirk

On May 21 at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre (SMHC), Gerald watched T01 and the Infirmary and saw no entries or exits at either site. At T02, Gerald saw 1 entry at 8:39pm, 1 exit at 8:43pm, and 2 entries from 9:12pm-9:16pm. At T03, Gerald saw 1 entry at 9:14pm. Nia watched the Yellow brick chimney and saw 2 entries at 9:14pm. Linda watched T04 and saw 2 entries at 9:13pm.

On May 25 at the SMHC, Fred and Nettie watched T01 and saw 3 entries at 9:21pm. Lisa and Monty watched T02 and saw 1 entry at 9:30pm and 1 entry at 9:40pm. Linda watched T04 and did not see any entries or exits. Linda also watched the Yellow Brick chimney and saw quite a bit of activity – 2 entries followed by 1 exit at 8:22pm, 1 entry at 8:24pm, 1 entry followed by 1 exit at 8:43pm, 1 entry at 9:07pm, 2 entries at 9:39pm and 1 entry at 9:47pm. That’s a total of 6 swifts in the chimney.

Dennis and Patti watched the Infirmary chimney and T03. At the Infirmary chimney, they saw 1 entry at 9:25pm, 1 exit at 9:27pm, 1 entry at 9:28pm, 1 exit at 9:30pm, 1 exit at 9:32pm, 1 exit at 9:37pm, 1 entry at 9:50pm, and 1 exit at 9:52pm (that’s 3 swifts confirmed inside the chimney, but 0 left inside the chimney at the end of the roosting hour). At T03, they saw 3 entries between 9:24pm-9:33pm, 1 exit at 9:34pm, 1 entry at 9:43pm, and 1 exit at 9:43pm (up to 3 swifts inside the chimney, but only 2 at the end of the roosting hour).

Winona watched the Merchant’s Hotel in Selkirk on May 22 and saw 2 entries at 9:04pm.

On May 25, Winona watched the apartment at 367 Main St and saw 1 entry at 8:59pm, 1 exit at 9:11pm, and 2 final entries at 9:20pm (2 swifts in the chimney).

St. Norbert

On May 25, Blaire monitored the Behavioural Health Foundation and saw 1 entry at 9:11pm. 

The Pas

Joel saw the first 2 swifts of the year in The Pas on May 21 at 10:02pm. Joel pointed out that this is the earliest he has ever noticed them in The Pas by at least 2 weeks.

Winnipeg

On May 19, Gwen monitored 139 Market Ave in Winnipeg and saw 2 swifts enter at 9:19pm.John watched the Canadian Mennonite University chimney on both NRMP nights. On May 21, he saw 4 entries into the chimney between 9:11pm-9:18pm. On May 25, he observed 3 entries between 9:31pm-9:37pm.On May 21, Cam, Jonathan and Chantel watched 424 River Ave and saw 44 entries. On May 25, Cam saw 61 entries at 424 River. On May 21, Nicole monitored the Fleetwood Apartments and saw up to 6 in the air and 2 entries at 9:12pm. On May 26, Amy H. monitored the Old Grace Housing Co-op and saw up to 4 swifts flying overhead, but did not see any entries or exits into the chimney.

That’s it for this week’s monitoring recap. Looking forward to NRMP Nights 3 & 4!

Here’s the priority site list – no sites have been confirmed yet. We will continue to update this list throughout the summer, to reflect when a site has been “checked off” the list (when swift use has been confirmed).

Priority site list (May 27)

Community	Neighbourhood	Address	Site name
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
Morden	–		Private residence
Pilot Mound	–	Railway St	Private residence
Souris	–	5th Street W	Private residence
Souris	–	2nd Street S	Private residence
St Jean Baptiste	–	113 2nd Ave SW	Ecole Regionale Saint-Jean-Baptiste
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
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	834 Grosvenor	Eugene Apartments
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
Winnipeg	St Boniface	780 Elizabeth Road	Arundel Apartments
Winnipeg	St Boniface	223 Archibald Street	Archibald Storage, large chimney
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
Winnipeg	Transcona	1305 Winona Street	Transcona Collegiate
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

2025 Monitoring Info & Event Recap

It’s official, the swifts are BACK! The first reported sightings were on May 6, in Winnipeg and in Souris. Since then, the reports have been steadily flowing in from all over the province! Thanks everyone for sending in your observations.

The official blog monitoring recaps will start next week. For now, here’s some info about the upcoming monitoring season, as well as a little recap of our season kick-off event that took place earlier this week.

Monitoring Info 2025

Datasheet & protocol: The datasheet and protocol for 2025 can be found on the Resources and Links page of our website. We now also have a French version of the datasheet and protocol – thank you to Luc Blanchette for translating them.

The protocol is where you will find full monitoring instructions, including start/end times, duration, safety information, instructions on how to fill out the datasheet, etc. In the protocol, we also go over the differences between roost hour monitoring and daytime nest monitoring, and what type of monitoring is best based on the time of year. Not much has changed from last year’s protocol, other than the dates (which I will mention again below).

Volunteer sign-up form: Please fill out the volunteer sign-up form for 2025 (for new and returning volunteers):  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRHcAI2bjFEAFB8DA2SKmQ9o8XdueANES4kFtO7d41cIyxyg/viewform

NRMP dates: The National Roost Survey (“NRMP”) dates are May 21, May 25, May 29, and June 2. If you are free to do a roost monitoring session on one or any of these nights, let us know. Otherwise, you can begin monitoring whenever works for you!

Monitoring blitzes: We will be holding monthly monitoring ‘blitzes’ throughout the season. The goal is to get a snapshot of what is going on at swift sites across the province, by monitoring as many sites as possible on a given night. Monitoring can be done during the day or during the roosting hour. The blitz dates are: June 18, July 16, August 19.

Resources: If you would like a volunteer lanyard, factsheets to hand out to the public, or any other monitoring resources, please let us know!

Priority sites: Every year we have a list of priority sites to monitor. These priority sites are chimneys that haven’t had confirmed use by swifts in a few years, so we want to reaffirm these sites as important Chimney Swift habitat. For these sites, the goal is to see an entry or an exit – once we’ve had a confirmed observation of a swift using that chimney, we can cross that site off our priority list. We will update the list on the blog every week. The list will be at the end of this blog post. Please note that the private residences don’t have the whole

Season kick-off event recap

On Wednesday, May 14^th we held our second annual season kick-off event at Assiniboine Park. It was a lovely evening with a great turn out of around 30 people. Thank you everyone who came out! We spent the evening talking about swifts, eating, and visiting. A group of us ended off the evening with a swift watch at the Assiniboine Park Zoo tower, during which we saw 2 swifts enter the tower. A big thank you goes out to Assiniboine Park Conservancy for letting us use the space and for their help throughout the event. Thank you to Wild Birds Unlimited, Barb & Rob Stewart, Stephen Petersen, and Lewis Cocks for their generous door prize donations.

Can’t wait to see what the NRMP monitoring nights bring. As always, please contact us if you have any questions, comments, or would like to be matched with another site.

Wishing you all a lovely long weekend!

-Marissa

Priority site list (May 16)

Community	Neighbourhood	Address	Site name
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
Morden	–		Private residence
Pilot Mound	–	Railway St	Private residence
Souris	–	5th Street W	Private residence
Souris	–	2nd Street S	Private residence
St Jean Baptiste	–	113 2nd Ave SW	Ecole Regionale Saint-Jean-Baptiste
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
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge	834 Grosvenor	Eugene Apartments
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
Winnipeg	St Boniface	780 Elizabeth Road	Arundel Apartments
Winnipeg	St Boniface	223 Archibald Street	Archibald Storage, large chimney
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
Winnipeg	Transcona	1305 Winona Street	Transcona Collegiate
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)

View the Priority Sites list as a pdf

Join us Wednesday, May 14 at the Assiniboine Park Zoo to kick off the 2025 Chimney Swift season with food, door prizes, and great company! We can’t wait to visit and show our appreciation for all the hard work and dedication our volunteers have put in. RSVP required (link below at end of this post).

This event will be taking place in the multi-purpose room of the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre in the Assiniboine Park Zoo (same location as last year). There will be volunteers at the Special Events Entrance of the Assiniboine Park Zoo (54 Zoo Dr) to let participants in between 6:40 pm – 7:00pm.

At 7 pm, Marissa (MCSI coordinator) will start the evening off with a short presentation on Chimney Swifts and what we know (and don’t know) about their use of trees and other natural habitats for nesting/roosting. Marissa will also share updates on the monitoring season and give out some door prizes. We will also have resources to distribute including MCSI volunteer badges and lanyards, and Chimney Swift factsheets. After that, there will be time to visit and enjoy some snacks.

At around 8:15pm, we will move outdoors for a group swift watch at the zoo’s artificial tower (weather permitting).

Please RSVP on Eventbrite, at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mcsi-season-kick-off-event-2025-tickets-1350002286179?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

If you have any questions or want more information, please send us an email at: mbchimneyswift@gmail.com

Thanks!

Marissa

Save The Dates: 2025 Season Kick-off Event & Monitoring Nights
Hello and happy spring! With the swift season quickly approaching, here are some important dates to mark down in your calendars.
-Season Kick-off Event: Wednesday May 14^th @ 7 pm, Assiniboine Park Zoo (54 Zoo Drive)
Last year we held our first ever season kick-off/volunteer appreciation event. It was a great success, so we’ve decided to do it again this year! Join us at the Assiniboine Park Zoo on the evening of May 14^th for a presentation, food, visiting, door prizes, and a group swift watch!

More details and a registration link to come next week.

-National Chimney Swift Roost Survey Dates:

• Wednesday May 21^st
• Sunday May 25^th
• Thursday May 29^th
• Monday June 2^nd  

-Monthly Monitoring Blitzes:

• Wednesday June 18^th
• Wednesday July 16^th
• Tuesday August 19^th

The monitoring protocol, datasheets and other 2025 monitoring season updates will be shared in May.

Stay tuned for more information! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out via email at mbchimneyswift@gmail.com.

Cheers!
-Marissa

Hello, and happy April! The swift season is just around the corner – more on that in the coming weeks. For now, it’s time to unveil our 2025 Swift Champions!  

Providence University College & Theological Seminary

Providence University College & Theological Seminary, located in Otterburne, is an important place for Chimney Swifts. This site has 3 chimneys that have been consistently used by swifts since they were first monitored in 2012. Last year, we worked with Providence’s Director of Facilities, Darrell Friesen, to organize the cleaning of all 3 chimneys. There was quite an interesting situation in one of the chimneys – this chimney is divided into two flues, and one of the sides was inhabited by a colony of bees! The presence of the bees became quite apparent when the honey began oozing out of the clean-out trap, onto the nearby floor. Darrell worked with an apiarist to move the colony. This year, MCSI funded the repair of 2 of the chimneys. We want to thank Providence University College, and Darrell, for being so enthusiastic about the Chimney Swifts and working with us to make sure the important swift habitat stays in good condition.

Garry Budyk

Garry Budyk, a long-time MCSI volunteer, has played a vital role in monitoring swifts in the Kildonan area of Winnipeg. He has been consistently monitoring the chimney at 712 Watt St for many years, gathering important long-term data on this nesting site. In fact, Garry was the one who first discovered this swift chimney back in 2015! Thanks to the many hours Garry has spent watching this chimney every summer, we have consistent, thorough and detailed information on the nesting dynamics at this site, which is also very helpful for gauging nesting dynamics on a larger scale. Beyond monitoring, Garry has also helped with outreach to the Watt St chimney property managers. In addition to volunteering with MCSI, Garry also contributes his time and birding skills to many other local initiatives, and is a wonderful member of the birding community. Thanks Garry!

Barbara & Phil Barnett

Barbara and Phil Barnett are two incredible volunteers who have both spent countless hours monitoring the years. They have been an invaluable presence in Osborne Village, which is a hotspot for Chimney Swifts in Winnipeg. Barbara and Phil have monitored almost every single site in the neighbourhood, including the big roost on River Ave. One summer, they even succeeded in monitoring every site within a few days by splitting up to tackle different nearby chimneys! Barbara and Phil are wonderful ambassadors for Chimney Swifts, spreading the word whenever the opportunity arises – conversations with local residents, passers-by, neighbours, friends, etc. Through their friendliness and enthusiasm, they have managed to recruit more than a few new swift volunteers. Thanks, Barbara and Phil!

Luc Blanchette

Luc Blanchette has been our eyes in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste skies for many years. Luc regularly monitors the Parish Church in Saint-Jean-Baptist, which is used by roosting Chimney Swifts every spring. Luc also discovered another site in Saint-Jean-Baptiste in 2018, when he saw 2 Chimney Swifts enter the school chimney (École regionale Saint-Jean-Baptiste).

Luc has translated many MCSI factsheets into French, and was key in helping us build relationships with swift sites in Saint-Jean-Baptiste. In 2015, Luc asked the Parish Church if he could access the chimney clean-out trap. With the church’s approval, Luc was able to inspect the chimney’s contents. The presence of old swift nests confirmed that this chimney had been used as a nesting site. The church then became the recipient of our first Swift Champion award.

Luc has spent countless hours chimney-side, but one evening was particularly eventful. Here’s the story, in Luc’s words: “Just for the records, I might have missed some entries because I was distracted during the count by two police officers. Someone in town called the police saying there was a stranger parked in the church area with binoculars… I have been in town for only 17 years… Anyway, after letting them know who I was (driver’s licence and all), what I was doing and describing chimney swifts, their nesting habits and the MCSI monitoring program, they left, laughing.”  Ah, the perils of swift watching. We appreciate the dedication! Merci, Luc!  

Thank you to our Swift Champions. Thank you as well to ALL of our volunteers. Our program would not exist without you. Thank you for your time, dedication, and energy – we appreciate it so much.

-Marissa

It is with sadness that we belatedly report the passing of Neil Butchard.

Neil served on the steering committee of the Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative from its earliest days, and he participated for many years. In addition to his service on our committee, he was an avid photographer, frequent contributor to Manitoba Birding on Facebook, and a well-regarded and skilled guide at Fort Whyte Alive.

On a biographical note, here are a few details from a tribute on Facebook:

After his internship at the Children’s Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he returned to Manitoba and spent his career as a school psychologist and Clinical Psychologist in Manitoba. During this time, he touched many lives. Along with his best friend Bob Spencer they formed WEVAS Inc. that helped trained individuals on effective and humane ways of dealing with children and adolescence, who were aggressive and violent. He also did some teaching at both universities and sat on various boards. For a time he was acting director of the Children and Youth Secretariat.

Neil obviously left a lasting impression on those he encountered as evidenced by the following observations posted after Neil’s obituary in the Winnipeg Free Press Passages section (February 1, 2025):

“A bright light has somewhat been extinguished and it will be hard to imagine Neil being gone because he lived life with such positive energy. It was fun to feed a birding question or observation to him because you just knew that he would light up and relish the pursuit or chance for a new insight into nature. RIP good friend and mentor.” – Lewis Cocks

“We remember Neil as a colleague and friend. He was instrumental in the establishment of psychological support services to rural and suburban students in Manitoba. He also pioneered the use of computers for children with disabilities. He was insightful, compassionate and a great teacher.” – Keven & Gloria Van Camp

“Neil was an outstanding leader of birding walks at Fort Whyte-supportive of new birders and keen to share his love of nature. Our sincere Condolences to his family and friends.”- Louise Buelow-Smith & Eric Smith

Farewell, Neil…

CHIMNEY SWIFT NEST SITE OUTCOMES IN ST. ADOLPHE, MB, 2024

Chimney Swifts using five nest sites in St. Adolphe have been monitored annually since 2007. So, 2024 was the 18^th consecutive year of observing breeding Chimney Swifts in town. Behaviour observations plus the physical evidence seen in cleanout traps were used to assess nesting success at the Brodeur Bros./Daycare and Main St. sites. Only behaviour observations were available to assess nesting success at the SE Club Amical, NE Club Amical, and the Church sites (there are no accessible cleanout traps associated with those chimneys).

Merci et thank you to our swift-friendly landlords and tenants: S. and A. Leclerc; Paroisse St. Adolphe; the RM of Ritchot; and the staff of the St. Adolphe Child Care Centre. Your support of this Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative research program and St. Adolphe’s Chimney Swifts is appreciated!

In 2024, breeding pairs of Chimney Swifts were established at the 5 nest sites between May 20-21 and June 3. Nest building, egg laying, incubation, and hatching occurred at all sites. Unfortunately, nest failures began in July and by mid-month four nests of juveniles were lost (SE Club Amical, NE Club Amical, Brodeur Bros./Daycare and Main St.). Fortunately, the breeding pair at the Church prevailed, assisted by helpers, and fledglings took their first flights outside the chimney July 26-27.

The movement of adult Chimney Swifts from failed St. Adolphe nest sites, and the addition of out-of-town pre-migratory swifts, into the Church chimney BEFORE the young in the nest had fledged was documented for the first time in 18 years of monitoring. It was a fascinating biological event to track but it meant for wild observation periods! The maximum count was 21 Chimney Swifts using the Church on Aug. 7. Swarms of swifts dove toward the chimney before veering off or dropping quickly into the chimney. Sometimes groups of birds burst out of the chimney like popcorn. Tracking parents, established helpers, fledglings (2 at least), relocated swifts from other St Adolphe nest sites and “birds from away” meant arriving at the Church before sunrise to catch first exits of the day, coming back mid-morning to document feeding and socializing groups, then tracking swifts in the evening for roosting or nighttime occupation of the Church chimney. The last Chimney Swift seen in town in 2024 was a lone migrant on the evening of Aug. 27^th. All in all, it was a season to remember!

What should be remembered also are the years of unwavering support that Suzanne and Arthur Leclerc provided to me and the Chimney Swifts that called “Main St.” home. Heartfelt thanks are extended for all of your generous contributions! On January 1, 2025 a new family moved into the house that Arthur’s Grandfather built ~1920. While the Leclerc family’s tenure as swift “landlords” has ended, the Main St. chimney will remain as a valuable nest site for future generations of breeding Chimney Swifts in St. Adolphe. We welcome the new family who will share their special home with the swifts.

In early March, Chimney Swifts leave their wintering grounds in the Amazon Basin and begin to migrate north. Crossing the Gulf of Mexico, the birds arrive in the southern US – Texas to Florida – then continue north as they distribute themselves through the summer breeding range. We can look forward to hearing the characteristic chittering of Chimney Swifts in early to mid-May as they race about the St. Adolphe skies. Then, another year of monitoring begins.

I look forward to seeing you by the chimney sides in the spring of ’25 (year no. 19)!

Summary of Chimney Swift breeding outcomes, for five St. Adolphe nest sites in 2024. These results are based on 75 hours of observations.      

SITE	NESTING ATTEMPT?	OUTCOME OF NESTING ATTEMPT
SE CLUB AMICAL	YES	UNSUCCESSFUL; failed ~July 10-16
NE CLUB AMICAL	YES	UNSUCCESSFUL; failed ~July 10-16
BRODEUR BROS./ ST. ADOLPHE CHILDCARE CENTRE	YES	UNSUCCESSFUL; failed ~July 6-15
CHURCH	YES	SUCCESSFUL; 2+ fledglings, July 26-27
MAIN ST.	YES	UNSUCCESSFUL; failed by July 17

Prepared by Barb Stewart, Sila Consultants, February 3, 2025. sila.stewart@gmail.com

Upcoming Presentation in Dauphin – Feb 3 @ 7 pm

Happy New Year!

The Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative will be hosting a presentation at the Dauphin Public Library on Monday February 3 @ 7:00pm. We’d love to see you there! Please spread the word to anyone else you know who might be interested.

This presentation is free, and all ages are welcome. No registration required, though RSVPs are always appreciated. If you are interested in attending, we’d love to hear from you via email at mbchimneyswift@gmail.com.  

Dauphin is an important spot for Chimney Swifts. Thanks to our dedicated team of volunteers in Dauphin, we know that Chimney Swifts regularly return to several chimneys for roosting and nesting every year. What we know much less about, is if Chimney Swifts are using natural habitat in the area.

Before chimneys existed, Chimney Swifts nested and roosted in hollow trees and caves. As human settlement expanded, Chimney Swifts shifted to nesting primarily in chimneys. They do still use hollow trees, but we know very little about where and how often this happens.  Based on some past observations of Chimney Swifts in forested areas near Dauphin, we suspect they may be nesting/roosting in trees nearby. As suitable chimney habitat continues to disappear, learning more about where and how Chimney Swifts use natural habitats is an important step in the conservation of this species. We released a new factsheet on this very topic this past summer, which you can find here: https://www.mbchimneyswift.com/just-the-facts-new-factsheets/

During this presentation this talk in Dauphin, we will dive into the world of Chimney Swifts, including what we know and don’t know about Chimney Swifts in forests. We hope that by raising awareness and getting more people to look out for Chimney Swifts in forested areas, we might be able to find out if and where they are nesting in trees in Manitoba!

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out! You can send an email to mbchimneyswift@gmail.com.

Please pass along this presentation invite to your networks. If you would like a copy of the poster, send me an email and I can send you a PDF or picture version.

Cheers!

-Marissa

I hope you are all staying warm on this chilly Winter Solstice Eve! With the holiday season in full swing and the New Year just around the corner, it feels like the perfect time to reflect on the 2024 Chimney Swift season and share the monitoring summary results.

Thank you very much to the 90+ volunteers (wow!!!) who helped with our monitoring program this year. We are so grateful for this growing community of people who are passionate about Chimney Swift conservation. This program truly could not function without volunteer support, so we really can’t say it enough – thank you for your time, patience, and energy!

We would love to hear any feedback on our monitoring program and your experience as a volunteer – what you like, what you don’t like, suggestions, etc. I’d also love to know your thoughts on the season kick-off event, and if you’d be interested in an event like this next year. Here is a link to a feedback form which can be submitted anonymously or with your name depending on what you are most comfortable with: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHVjFHpsw44dbWaqMl4zbLnafbG6bUeeh1MbCLuvGR_emAxg/viewform?usp=header

You can also always submit any feedback directly via email to mbchimneyswift@gmail.com.

Monitoring Summary 2024

You can now find the updated MCSI Roost and Nest Site database on the “Monitoring Results” page of the website or by clicking here. This document summarizes the peak Chimney Swift count (and the date on which it occurred) at each monitored site as well as the date on which the peak count occurred. This document also indicates if each monitored site was used as a roost site or a nest site (based on the monitoring data available). This document also indicates if a nesting attempt was successful or if it was a failure (if known).

Here are a few highlights:

• We monitored ~155 sites in 30 communities across Manitoba.
• We confirmed 6 new swift sites: a private residence on Kerby Ave in Miami, the Hemp Oil building in Ste Agathe, a private residence on Ruby St in Winnipeg’s Wolseley neighbourhood, Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, the apartment building at 481 Corydon Ave, and the west chimney on the Infirmary building at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre (swifts regularly use the east chimney).
• We confirmed the presence of swifts at 14 sites on our priority list.
• 90+ volunteers participated in our monitoring program.

This year, we tried something new and started the year off with a volunteer appreciation & season kick-off event at Assiniboine Park on May 14. It was lovely to see so many friendly faces, meet other swift enthusiasts, and get excited for the upcoming monitoring season.

As usual, we participated in the National Chimney Swift Roost Survey (frequently referred to as NRMP). This year, the NRMP nights took place on May 22, May 26, May 30, and June 3. By monitoring on these nights (with a focus on sites that host high counts of roosting swifts), we are able to contribute Manitoba data to this national effort. If you’re curious to learn more about this national program, you can visit the following webpage: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/bird-surveys/volunteers/national-chimney-swift-roost-survey-protocol.html  On that webpage (in Appendix 3), you can find the annual dates for the 4 spring monitoring nights until 2031.

This year, we also organized monthly monitoring blitzes. Our blitzes took place on June 19, July 17, and August 7. While the spring NRMP nights are useful to know if a site is being used as a spring roost by swifts, we can’t necessarily tell that early on if a site will be used for a nesting attempt throughout the summer. These additional monitoring nights provided us with more information on when, where and how swifts use different sites.

Volunteers were free to monitor whenever worked for them throughout the season, whether that was on scheduled NRMP nights and/or monthly blitzes, or on different days if they were Some volunteers regularly monitored the same site, while others visited a variety of different sites to check for swift presence.

Thank you once again to our incredible network of volunteers.

I’d also like to extend a big thank you to the MCSI Steering Committee for their ongoing support:

Tim Poole, Barb Stewart, Rob Stewart, Frank Machovec, Christian Artuso, Lewis Cocks, Nicole Firlotte, Joanne Tuckwell, Ron Bazin, Ken De Smet, Laura Burns, Meredith Stoesz, Kristin Mozel

We’ll be back in the new year with more swift stories to tell and updates to share.

Until then, have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Cheers,

Marissa

It’s official – the swifts have headed south and the 2024 Chimney Swift monitoring season has officially come to an end. What a successful season it was! Thank you SO MUCH to our wonderful and dedicated team of volunteers. We will share the monitoring summary in a future blog post once we’ve compiled all the data. On that note, please remember to send in any remaining datasheets!

Now for the final recap of the year:

St Adolphe

Barb did a roost hour watch of the Church on Sept 1 and while she saw 1 lone swallow and a group of Common Nighthawks foraging overhead, she did not see any swifts.

SMHC

Nia and Linda watched the Yellow Brick chimney and T04 on August 29 during the roosting hour and saw no swifts.

Winona watched T01 on August 30 from 7:45pm-8:25pm and saw 1 entry at 8:15pm, 1 exit at 8:16pm, 1 entry at 8:21pm and 1 entry at 8:22pm (2 swifts roosting in the chimney).

Gerald watched T01 on September 3 from 7:50pm-8:00pm and did not see any swifts in the area.

Lower Fort Garry

If you’ve been keeping up with the blog, you’ll know that the Fur Loft had a late nesting attempt and that the site finally fledged last week. Gerald watched the Fur Loft on Sept 1 from 7:27-8:34pm and saw 1 exit at 7:35pm, 1 entry at 7:45pm, 3 entries at 8:00pm, 1 entry at 8:03pm, 1 exit at 8:07pm and 1 entry at 8:18pm (5 swifts roosting in the chimney).

On September 3, Gerald watched the Fur Loft for 5 minutes and saw 2 entries at 8:17pm.

Gerald returned on Sept 4 to check if the swifts were still there. There were no swifts to be seen, confirming that the adults and young of the year have officially departed!

That wraps up our final monitoring update of the year. We will be back soon with a season summary to share.

Take care,

Marissa