Monitoring Recap August 29th–September 10th
Welcome to another Chimney Swift monitoring recap! We are squarely in September and fall is upon us. The sun is setting earlier and earlier (across much of the province, sunset is now before 8:00 PM!), leaves are drifting along the ground, and temperatures are beginning to dip overnight (though average starting temperatures during monitoring over the last ~2 weeks were a mild 20°C during daytime and 23.7°C during evening sessions).
Of course, with the changing of seasons comes fall migration. Maybe you’ve heard the early flocks of Canada Geese passing overhead or, as I observed on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg’s southern basin over the past weekend, seen gulls gather in the hundreds over lakes and in fields, preparing to make their way slowly south. Maybe you’ve made a trip to Oak Hammock Marsh to volunteer in the Delta Marsh Bird Observatory’s fall banding activities and seen the change in songbird species moving through the marsh. Or, if you’ve been monitoring for Chimney Swifts, maybe you’ve noticed the decrease in activity at sites that it seems just yesterday were busy with parents provisioning young or non-breeding adults piling in to roost. Either way, paying attention to the birds is sure to draw your attention to the passage of time!
With swift season sadly coming to a close in Manitoba, this may be our final monitoring recap of the year with activity to relay! Reports of Chimney Swift activity across Manitoba have been sparse of late, with mostly watches at our regular sites, but we’ll catch you up on monitoring efforts across the province from Saturday, August 29th to Thursday, September 10th.
August 29th–September 10th
Selkirk
Brittany watched the east smaller tower (T02) at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre (SMHC) during roosting hour on Sunday, August 30th. Seven Chimney Swifts were seen flying over the infirmary and near the infirmary-attached tower (T03), but no entries or exits were recorded. Brittany noted that the flight pattern of three of these swifts seemed to fit that of juveniles. While previously, on August 19th, four juveniles roosted in T02, this group evidently chose to spend the night elsewhere.
On Tuesday, September 1st, Patti observed two Chimney Swifts entering the east infirmary chimney at SMHC to roost. These swifts entered the chimney together, the latter of the pair circling the chimney before entering within a minute of the former. Numbers of swifts roosting in this chimney have been tapering down since this season’s high of ten Chimney Swifts on July 30th, and this may represent the final reported sighting of Chimney Swifts in Selkirk this year, as Patti returned to the chimney on Friday, September 4th, and recorded a complete absence of swifts at or near the site.
St. Andrews
Brittany and Program Assistant Brooke watched the Furloft and Men’s House chimneys at Lower Fort Garry twice this past week. The pair first visited the sites during the drizzly morning of September 1st, spotting a Turkey Vulture and juvenile Bald Eagle near the sites but recording no daytime swift activity at either site. Returning the following evening during roosting hour, foraging Barn Swallows were present but swifts were once again absent at the site (save for a potential but unconfirmed, very distant group of five swifts seen once at 7:49 PM); this marks a change from the week prior when swifts roosted in both chimneys. With these back-to-back monitoring sessions resulting in zeros, it’s likely safe to conclude that the swifts have moved on from St. Andrews.
Winnipeg
St. Boniface
Blair observed the chimney at Kaljieb Electrics during roosting hour on Saturday, August 29th. No swifts were heard or seen during this watch, hopefully signalling that the pair last recorded incubating young here in July were successful and have begun their migration south along with their fledglings!
The next day, Blair visited Archibald Storage (last recorded use on July 17th) during roosting hour, where swifts were once again absent.
Overall
With the only reported sightings of Chimney Swifts over the last ~2 weeks being in Selkirk, I think it’s fair to say that the end of summer weather has taken with it swifts from Manitoba for the remainder of the year. But don’t fret – as monitoring winds down, we still have exciting news to share! In the coming weeks, we will be cleaning out a number of chimneys and towers, which should yield interesting information as we hope to confirm nesting and estimate numbers of chicks fledged from these sites. Keep an eye out on our blog as well as our social media accounts as we report our findings!
Thanks for reading and, once again, we extend a big thanks to our dedicated volunteers for continuing to share your observations and devoting your time to Chimney Swift monitoring!
– Gibson (Program Assistant)
