August is just around the corner, which means it’s officially time to keep an eye out for fledglings! The young typically fledge 28-30 days after hatching. In Manitoba, this typically falls sometime during the end of July or first week of August. It can be tough to distinguish adults from fledglings, but there are some useful clues we can look for. Here are a few tips, taken from past blog post by Barb Stewart:
“For monitors in Manitoba, moult characteristics become an important way to distinguish fledglings from adults. Most fledging takes place toward the end of July and into the first week of August, and it is useful to identify juveniles to help estimate nesting success. The flight of newly fledged chimney swifts is characterized by: flying at low altitudes, rapid wing beats for slow air speed, large banking turns, and, occasionally, difficult entries to chimneys (yes, they do miss the opening and tumble down the outside face!). However, within several days post-fledging, young swifts are proficient fliers and they are not easy to distinguish from adults based on flight competency alone. So how do you distinguish juveniles vs. adults? The best way is to look for evidence of moulting on the trailing wing margins. Juveniles will have intact margins while adults will have discontinuities and gaps due to worn and missing feathers.” Full post here:https://www.mbchimneyswift.com/july-update-field-identification-of-adult-chimney-swifts-in-the-summer-range/
Another thing to look for is a change in the levels of daytime activity, combined with an increase in the number of swifts that enter the chimney during the roost hour (because the fledglings are now also leaving the chimney during the day and entering it to roost). That being said, it can be hard to know if an increase in roosting numbers is due to fledglings, or due to the arrival of early-dispersing adult swifts that have left their summer sites and are beginning to form pre-migratory groupings.
As is often the case with swift watching, sometimes the clues are easy to interpret, and sometimes all we can do is take a wild guess at what might be happening…
Time for another round of monitoring updates, including the confirmation of another priority site in Winnipeg – woohoo!
Carman
On July 16, Rhonda checked out the Memorial Hall from 7pm-8pm and saw no activity. The next night (July 17), she had better luck with 1 entry at 7:48pm followed by 1 exit at 7:51pm.
La Broquerie
On July 24, Frank took a trip down to La Broquerie to monitor the chimneys at the Saint-Joachim Parish Church. He watched from 8:25pm-10:05pm. At the large chimney, he saw 1 exit at 8:39pm, 2 entries around 8:47pm, and 1 exit at 9:56pm. At the small chimney, he saw 1 entry/exit around 8:48pm, and 2 entries around 9:28pm.
Lockport
Gerald watched the chimneys at the St Andrews Lock and Dam Maintenance Compound on July 25 from 8:25pm-9:50pm. At the South chimney, he saw 1 entry/exit around 8:32pm, 2 exits at 8:41pm, 1 entry at 9:01pm, 1 entry at 9:07pm, 2 exits around 9:13pm, and 2 entries at 9:33pm (up to 3 swifts using the chimney but only 2 swifts in at the end of the roosting hour). There was no activity at the North chimney.
Morden
Marvin monitored Lucky’s Restaurant on July 24 from 6:56pm-7:36pm. He saw 1 exit at 7:04pm, and 1 entry/exit around 7:18pm. Marvin also quickly stopped by the next day around noon, and saw 1 entry during the 3 minutes he was there.
Selkirk
T01: On July 23, Fred and Nettie monitored T01 from 8:00pm-9:55pm and saw 1 exit at 8:20pm, 1 entry/exit around 8:30pm, 1 entry/exit around 8:43pm, 2 entries around 8:48pm followed by a exit at 8:50pm, 1 entry/exit around 8:59pm, 2 entries at 9:15pm followed by 1 exit at 9:16pm and 1 exit at 9:19pm, 1 entry/exit around 9:24pm, and 1 entry at 9:40pm (up to 3 swifts using the tower but 2 swifts in at the end of the roosting hour). On July 25, Cam monitored T01 from 10:33am-11:33am and saw 1 entry/exit at 11:09am. Despite the slower monitoring session on July 25, feeding is likely ongoing at this site.
T02: On July 24, Dennis and Pattie watched T02 from 8:37pm-9:52pm and saw 1 entry/exit at 8:37pm, 1 exit at 8:38pm, 1 entry at 8:42pm, 1 exit at 8:47pm, 3 entries at 8:52pm, 3 exits at 8:54pm, 1 entry at 9:09pm, 1 exit at 9:14pm, 1 entry at 9:16pm, 1 exit at 9:19pm, and 4 entries between 9:36pm-9:43pm (4 swifts roosting in the tower). It seems that feeding is ongoing at this site as well.
T03: On July 23, Dennis and Pattie watched T03 from 8:38pm-9:52pm and saw 4 entries from 9:28pm-9:32pm, 1 exit at 9:40pm, and 1 entry at 9:40pm (4 swifts roosting in the tower).
T04: On July 25, Cam watched T04 from 11:39am-12:39pm and saw no entries or exits at either site.
Yellow Brick chimney: On July 24, Nia watched the Yellow Brick chimney from 8:35pm-9:50pm and saw 4 entries around 9:39pm. On July 25, Cam watched the Yellow Brick chimney from 11:39am-12:39pm and saw no entries or exits at either site.
Infirmary chimney: Dennis and Pattie watched the Infirmary chimney on July 23 from 8:38pm-9:52pm and saw 1 exit at 9:06pm, followed by 9 entries between 9:13pm-9:45pm. It seems possible that there is late incubation ongoing at this site.
St. Adolphe
Barb caught an exit at the SE Club Amical chimney on the morning of July 25, confirming that the nesting attempt at this site is still ongoing.
Winnipeg
On the night of the blitz (July 16), Jo and Betsy monitored the Assiniboine Park Zoo Tower from 8:04pm-9:45pm. They saw lots of activity – 1 entry at 8:10pm, 2 exits at 8:12pm, 2 entries around 8:27pm, 1 exit at 8:30pm, 1 exit at 8:46pm, 1 entry at 8:47pm, 1 exit at 8:53pm, 1 entry at 9:01pm, 1 entry/exit around 9:08pm, 1 exit at 9:16pm, 1 entry/exit around 9:21pm, 1 entry/exit around 9:27pm, 1 entry/exit around 9:31pm, and 2 entries around 9:39pm (2 swifts using the tower and inside at the end of the roosting hour). Seems like this could be feeding non-brooded young.
Paul monitored the CMU chimney on July 23 from 2:46pm-3:16pm. There were no entries or exits during the 40 minutes he was there. He saw up to 4 swifts in the area, and on a few occasions a swift would dive at the chimney but not enter the chimney (a behaviour we’ve been seeing at a few other chimneys in recent weeks). John monitored this site on July 27 from 5:30pm-6:30pm and saw no swift activity at all. Paul returned to this chimney again on July 27 from 8:47pm-9:47pm and also saw no swift activity at all.
Breanne has continued her weekly monitoring of the Maryland Foodfare chimney. On July 9, she monitored from 8:36pm-10:16pm and saw 1 entry/exit around 9:03pm. She mentions that she continued to hear chittering as it was getting very difficult to see near the end of session, so it’s possible she missed entries or that swifts entered late. On July 16, Breanne watched from 8:30pm-10:00pm and saw 2 entries at 9:55pm. On July 23, she watched from 8:22pm-10:10pm and saw 1 entry at 9:40pm.
On July 28, Amy M. monitored the Nordale School (99 Birchdale Ave) and saw 1 entry at 5:17pm, and 1 exit at 5:27pm. This was a priority site, so we can now cross it off our list!
That wraps up our monitoring recap.
Priority site list (updated July 28):
| Community | Neighbourhood | Address | Site name | Observer |
| Carman | – | 2nd St | Private residence | |
| 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 | |
| demolished | ||||
| Luc B. | ||||
| 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 | |
| Marissa B. & Amy M. | ||||
| Winnipeg | City Centre | 100 Adelaide Street | Immigrant Centre Building | |
| Winnipeg | City Centre | 91 Albert Street | The Old Market Autonomous Zone | |
| Amy M. | ||||
| 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 | Uptown Lofts | |
| 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 | |
| Amy M. | ||||
| 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 | |
| Frank M. | ||||
| 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
