News and posts

We are back with a summary of the reports we’ve received from Wednesday, June 3^rd, to today, Friday, June 12^th. What a wild spring! Much of Manitoba has seen warm and stormy weather in June; over the last ten days, volunteers reported temperatures ranging from 18–23°C at the start of roosting hour chimney watches.

Since their arrival in Manitoba, Chimney Swifts have had to endure dust storms, thunder and lightning, hail, and even tornados. They are tough birds! Fun fact (from Audubon Magazine): because Chimney Swifts cannot perch like most other birds, they can only drink from the surface of a water column by swooping past while in flight. Maybe the swifts are enjoying the rain as it brings the water to them!

Once again, a reminder that the fun is far from over now that the National Roost Monitoring Program has come to a close. Our first MSCI Chimney Swift Blitz is next Wednesday, June 17^th, followed by additional blitzes on July 15^th and August 12^th! Our goal during these monthly blitzes is to monitor as many chimneys and towers as possible for nesting activity on these days, particularly at Priority Sites where swifts have not been seen in the last few years. Daytime and roosting hour watches will both provide welcome information. Not free on those days or want to monitor more? We’re happy to receive any observations in addition to Blitzes!

Prior monitoring

A handful of reports have come in after we shared our recap of NRMP nights 3 and 4. Please submit your NRMP night data sheets if you have any remaining!

Winnipeg

North Kildonan

Rudolf observed the Radmon House, Linlee Apartments, and Curtis Hotel chimneys on the evenings of May 26^th and 28^th. No swifts were seen on the 26^th and, while Rudolf reported five Chimney Swifts performing fly-bys at the sites, none entered any of the three chimneys.

Tuesday, June 2^nd, to Friday, June 12^th

Carman

Rhonda watched the Carman Memorial Hall during roosting hour on Saturday, June 6^th, and recorded a single Chimney Swift entering the chimney at the site.

Portage la Prairie

Jana watched the small chimney on the Portage Corrections Centre during roosting hour on June 3^rd and saw nine Chimney Swifts near the site. Four swifts resided in the chimney at the end of roosting hour.

On Wednesday, June 10^th, Jana observed the short (South) and tall (North) chimneys at Trinity United Church. Jana recorded eight swifts between the two sites; one swift remained in the short chimney at the end of roosting hour, while one swift entered the tall chimney but exited it before the end of watch.

Selkirk

A number of chimneys and towers in Selkirk were observed during roosting hour on Monday, June 8^th:

At the Selkirk Mental Health Centre, Dennis and Patti watched the Infirmary chimney (East) and the Infirmary-attached tower (T03). They counted ten swifts between the two sites, five of which had tucked away in the chimney at the end of roosting hour, and a pair roosted in the tower. Fred and Nettie observed the Taller Tower (West; T01), counting two swifts which entered the chimney to roost for the night. Lisa and Monty counted nine swifts flying near the Smaller tower (East; T02), three of which remained in the chimney at the end of watch.

Winona observed the apartments at 367 Main St. and saw five swifts at the site, but only one entered the chimney.

St. Adolphe

Program Assistants Brooke and Gibson returned to St. Adolphe for daytime monitoring on Friday, June 12^th. A maximum of seven Chimney Swifts were seen in town, frequently flying in pairs or trios and performing V-displays. Gibson and Brooke recorded two Chimney Swifts entering both the St. Adolphe RC Church and the Club Amical (NE) chimneys. Despite some very close fly-bys and fake-out dives, they saw zero entries to the St. Adolphe cemetery tower (T3), the Brodeur Bros. and Club Amical (SE) chimneys, or a private residence on Main St.

St. Andrews

Gerald watched the North Chimney at the St Andrews Lock and Dam Powerhouse on June 5^th. Two swifts were counted at the site, both of which entered the chimney and remained there until the end of watch.

Gerald also watched the Lower Fort Garry Furloft, Men’s House, and Red shingled building chimneys during roosting hour on Monday, June 8^th. Eight Chimney Swifts were seen in the area, with three entering the Men’s House and Red shingled building chimneys, and two entering the Furloft chimney.

Winnipeg

East Kildonan/Elmwood

Josh and Marci monitored the MMF Artificial Tower at 385 Henderson Hwy during roosting hour on Thursday, June 4^th. They counted four swifts at the site, three of which entered the tower to roost.

Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry

Breanne monitored the chimney on the apartment building at 39 Balmoral St. (a 2026 Priority Site!) during roosting hour on Thursday, June 4^th. Breanne recorded five Chimney Swifts at the site and one swift remaining in the chimney at the end of roosting hour, crossing this site off our priority list!

River Heights/Fort Garry

Steering Committee Chair Tim noted a Chimney Swift exiting a chimney on the Grant Wilton Apartment building during his commute home on Friday, June 5^th.

On Saturday, June 6^th, Tim also spotted a pair of swifts flying above the Dollarama at 1295 Pembina Hwy and on Sunday, June 7^th, saw six swifts in the sky near 1181 Pembina Hwy; both of these sites are priority monitoring sites for 2026 as roosting/nesting have not been confirmed since 2023.

Finally, Tim spotted a Chimney Swift entering a chimney with a broken pest cage on Pembina Hwy. He will confirm the address of the chimney, but that is our second new site of 2026!

St. Vital

On June 8^th, Pam and Sylvia saw three Chimney Swifts at the St. Mary’s Road United Church. Two swifts entered the chimney to roost. Pam returned to the church with Marilyn on June 10^th and the two reported only one swift at the site and entering the chimney during roosting hour.

Overall

Another big thanks to everyone who has volunteered so far! We are now on the lookout for Chimney Swift nesting activity – keep an eye out for future updates and check our updated Priority List for monitoring to see where we are still hoping to confirm nesting or roosting!

• Gibson, Program Assistant

Earlier this week marked the end of the National Roost Monitoring Program for Chimney Swifts! Nights 3 and 4 of the program fell on Thursday, May 28^th, and Monday, June 1^st, respectively. We have summarized what was seen across the province on these two nights and will share the results here.

Once again, we would like to thank everyone who volunteered during this year’s NRMP! Your monitoring efforts have helped us immensely to capture a snapshot of Chimney Swift migration in 2026. As a reminder, if you haven’t yet submitted your data sheets, please send them via email to mbchimneyswift@gmail.com. Don’t worry – if you missed this year’s NRMP, you can still aid in Chimney Swift monitoring by participating in our MSCI Blitzes on June 17^th, July 15^th, and August 12^th. Stay tuned for more information about these monitoring blitzes! Not free on those days or want to monitor more? We’re happy to receive any observations in addition to Blitzes!

Prior monitoring

A number of reports were submitted to us after we shared our recap of NRMP nights 1 and 2 and prior to night 3.

In Winnipeg, Christie heard the distinctive “swoosh” and chittering of swifts in the chimney in her Tuxedo home during the night of May 24^th and spotted four flying above her home on the 26^th.

On May 26^th, Jana was on a dog walk in Portage la Prairie and spotted a pair of swifts entering a chimney that had not previously been monitored, marking our first new site identified in 2026!

On May 27^th, Jana and Gordon recorded a total of eight roosting Chimney Swifts between two chimneys on the National Indigenous Residential School Museum in Portage la Prairie. Ron recorded no entries but had a busy daytime watch in St. Adolphe with ten Chimney Swifts, some of which performed V-displays (a behaviour indicating courtship) while in flight, and Purple Martins and Tree Swallows foraging in the air. Lastly, in Winnipeg, Marilyn and Pam checked a site off of our priority monitoring list, observing a pair flying above and one swift entering the chimney at the Good News Fellowship Church in St. Vital during roosting hour.

Night 3 – Thursday, May 28^th

As pointed out by Ken in Dauphin, NRMP night 3 was capital-h Hot with temperatures ranging from 27–32°C at the start of roosting hour, this less than 10 days after there was fresh snow on the ground! Despite the heat, it was a nice night for monitoring with clear skies and no rain at most sites.

Overall, volunteers monitored 24 chimneys across Manitoba on May 28^th. Chimney Swifts were present at or near 92% of monitored sites, with swifts recorded entering 79% of monitored chimneys. The maximum number of Chimney Swifts recorded in a chimney at the end of roosting hour was eight. Here are the detailed results for each community:

Dauphin

Ken, Jan, and Pat noted ten swifts circling and plentiful airborne insects for Chimney Swifts to feed on in Dauphin. Observing two chimneys, Scott’s Hardware and Hong Kong Café, the group recorded one pair of swifts entering each.

Lac du Bonnet

Jeff and Sue returned to Gran’s Bakery and Casey’s Inn, this time in hopes of catching Chimney Swift activity during sunrise at this pair of priority sites. Unfortunately, swifts were absent on this brisk 13°C morning.

Morden

Marvin recorded two Chimney Swifts in the sky near Lucky’s Chinese Restaurant during roosting hour, but neither entered the chimney there.

Otterburne

Ron observed three chimneys on Providence College’s Hanna Centre building, reporting a total of 15 Chimney Swifts at the site with 12 recorded in the chimneys at the end of roosting hour. Six swifts roosted in the Skinny SE Chimney, five in the Large SW Chimney, and one in the chimney near the bell tower.

Selkirk

Five teams watched six sites at the Selkirk Mental Hospital on night 3. Program Assistant Brooke and Tanner spotted eight Chimney Swifts near the Stack Replacement Tower (T04) but only a single swift remained in the tower at the end of roosting hour. Dennis and Patti watched two chimneys, reporting 11 swifts total at the East infirmary chimney, with five in the chimney at the end of their watch, and two swifts at the Infirmary-attached Tower (T03), both of which tucked away in the tower for the night by the end of roosting hour. Nia counted three Chimney Swifts at the Powerhouse/”Yellow Brick” chimney, one of which was in the chimney at the end of watch. Lisa and Monty observed the Smaller East Tower (T02) and reported 11 swifts in total, five in the tower at the end of roosting hour. Finally, Winona reported three swifts in total and two in the Taller West Tower (T01) at the end of watch.

St. Andrews

Gerald watched two chimneys, the Lower Fort Garry Men’s House and Furloft chimneys, counting five Chimney Swifts in total. Three and two swifts remained in the Men’s House and Furloft chimneys, respectively, at the end of roosting hour.

St. Jean Baptiste

Program Assistant Gibson noted many bugs in the air and high numbers of martins and swallows foraging above the banks of the Red River before dusk. Seven Chimney Swifts were recorded in the air near the Paroisse Catholique, of which four were present in the chimney at the end of roosting hour.

Winnipeg

Charleswood/Tuxedo/Westwood

Tai reported seven total swifts at the Canadian Mennonite University, with four settled into the chimney at the end of watch.

Daniel McIntyre

Nicole and Cainobserved the Fleetwood Apartments South chimney and Lothian Block Apartments, reporting a total of four swifts in the area. At the end of roosting hour, two swifts were present in the Fleetwood chimney, and the Lothian chimney was empty.

East Kildonan/Elmwood

Alexia watched the MMF Artificial Tower at 385 Henderson St. and reported two Chimney Swifts at the site, both of which entered the tower to roost for the night. Rudolf watched the chimneys at the Northdale Shopping Centre and had two fly-bys for a total of 5 swifts, but no entries or exits into any of the chimneys. 

Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry

Breanne watched Granite Gates apartment building on Balmoral Ave., where ten swifts were present, but an empty chimney remained at the end of watch. Meanwhile, Chantel and John monitored the visible and invisible towers at River Manor Apartments; 19 swifts were recorded between the two sites, with eight and four roosting in the visible and invisible chimneys, respectively, at the end of roosting hour.

St. Boniface

Program Coordinator Mackenzie watched the Kaljieb Electrics chimney, spotting five swifts. Two Chimney Swifts were settled in the chimney at the end of roosting hour.

St. Norbert

Blaire reported seeing five Chimney Swifts at the St. Norbert Behavioural Health Foundation, but only two remained in the chimney at the end of watch.

Between NRMP nights

A handful of watches were completed between nights 3 and 4.

On May 29^th, Gerald recorded two Chimney Swifts roosting in the North Chimney of the St. Andrews Lock and Dam Powerhouse. This same day, in Winnipeg, Garry reported seeing a total of three swifts, one of which remained in the chimney at the end of roosting hour, at 712 Watt St. (formerly Pro-Tac Roofing).

In St. Adolphe, Ron spotted eight swifts in the air above Brodeur Bros. during the morning and early afternoon of May 30^th. Ron did not record any Chimney Swifts entering nor exiting from the chimney during this time.

Dave  counted six Chimney Swifts above his home in Dominion City and reported that they’re back nesting in his chimney. He’s keeping an eye out for a potential second roosting site nearby.

Night 4 – Monday, June 1^st

Breezy in places and cloudy at most sites, but with no rain and more mild temperatures (ranging 23–26°C) during roosting hour, NRMP night 4 was a great night for Chimney Swift monitoring across the province.

26 chimneys were watched on June 1^st, with Chimney Swifts seen at all sites! Swifts were recorded entering and remained in 78% of chimneys at the end of roosting hour.

Dauphin

Ken, Jan, and Pat watched the chimneys at Harrison Computer Services (Malcolm Block Building) and the Watson’s Art Centre. They observed three swifts entering the Art Centre chimney, with one exiting just before the end of roosting hour, but no Chimney Swifts at Harrison Computer Services.

Otterburne

Ron observed the chimneys at Providence College again, reporting a total of 24 Chimney Swifts at the site during this “wild and crazy evening”! All 24 swifts were tucked into the chimneys by the end of roost hour, with 15 roosting in the Skinny SE Chimney, five in the Large SW Chimney, and four in the chimney near the bell tower.

Selkirk

All six chimneys at the Selkirk Mental Hospital were monitored once again! Nia and Linda recorded five and six swifts in the Powerhouse/“Yellow Brick” chimney and the stack replacement tower, respectively, at the end of roosting hour. Dennis and Patti counted three swifts in the Infirmary-attached tower and four in the Infirmary East Chimney at the end of their watch. At the Smaller East Tower (T02), Lisa and Monty counted six swifts throughout the night and, while only two were in the chimney at the end of watch, they could still hear swifts at the end of roosting hour. Fred and Nettie watched the Taller West Tower (T01) and counted two swifts in the tower by the end of their watch.

Winona also observed the apartments at 367 Main St., counting four swifts near the site but no entries to the chimney.

St. Adolphe

Barb and Rob did a short daytime watch of the Old-style tower, St. Adolphe RC Church, and Brodeur Bros. chimneys. They counted 11 Chimney Swifts in the air at the sites, noting courtship behaviour (V-displays), foraging, and several fly-bys at each chimney, but recorded zero entries.

St. Andrews

At the Lower Fort Garry Men’s House and Furloft chimneys, Garry recorded five Chimney Swifts in total with two roosting in each chimney at the end of watch.

St. Jean Baptiste

Luc observed nine swifts at the Paroisse Catholique. Six swifts were settled in the chimney at the end of roosting hour.

Winnipeg

Charleswood/Tuxedo/Westwood

Graham and Seika recorded three swifts at the at Canadian Mennonite University but no chimney entries, noting a robin perched on the chimney during parts of roosting hour.

Jo and Betsy also saw three swifts at the Assiniboine Park Tower, all of which entered the chimney to roost.

Daniel McIntyre

Nicole counted six Chimney Swifts in the air at Fleetwood Apartments and had multiple people pass by to enjoy the “vocal display”. After things calmed down, two of these swifts quietly entered the South chimney near the end of roosting hour and remained there until the end of watch.

Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry

John described “absolute chaos” at River Manor Apartments as 56 Chimney Swifts swirled in the air above the site; 53 swifts entered the visible chimney and the other three were in the invisible chimney by the end of roosting hour.

North Kildonan

Program Assistant Brooke watched all three chimneys (North, East, and South) at the McBeth House, counting a total of four swifts at the site. Only the North chimney saw any use, with two Chimney Swifts roosting at the end of watch.

St. James

At Moorgate Apartments, Program Coordinator Mackenzie observed eight swifts foraging and performing fly-bys, but no chimney entries.

St. Norbert

Program Assistant Gibson and Ryan observed five Chimney Swifts in the air near the St. Norbert Behavioural Health Foundation. At the end of roosting hour, three of those swifts remained in the building’s chimney to roost.

Other Monitoring

Program Assistants Brooke and Gibson returned to St. Adolphe on June 2^nd for daytime nesting watches. Brooke saw eight Chimney Swifts in the air but no entries to the Brodeur Bros. chimney. Gibson counted one entry to the Tower, but no use of the church’s chimney. Brooke also counted eight swifts during a watch at Club Amical and noted a maximum of three and two swifts inhabiting the NE and SE chimneys, respectively. Finally, Gibson observed four Chimney Swifts flying near and one entering the chimney of the Main Street private residence. Brooke and Gibson noted swifts gliding on strong gusts, robins and doves perching on chimneys at various times, and courtship behaviour (V-displays). Barb strongly suspects nest construction is ongoing in both chimneys at Club Amical and the private residence and is hopeful for the rest of the sites!

Jana performed a roosting hour watch at a private residence in Portage la Prairie on June 2^nd, following stormy weather (thunder and lightning!). Thankfully, the rain paused long enough for Jana to record seven swifts at the site, two of which had settled into the chimney at the end of roosting hour as the rain started up again.

Jana also watched the small chimney at the Portage Corrections Centre during roosting hour on June 3^rd and observed nine swifts, reporting four in the chimney at the end of watch.

Overall

Thanks to the efforts of our volunteers, 35 chimneys/towers were monitored across NRMP nights 1–4 with roosting confirmed at 23 of these chimneys. The three sites with the highest numbers of roosting Chimney Swifts were: Selkirk Mental Health Centre Smaller East Tower (T02) (9 swifts) on night 2, Providence College “Skinny” Chimney (15 swifts) on night 4, and the River Manor Apartments visible chimney (53 swifts) on night 4.

Another big thanks to everyone who volunteered during this year’s National Roost Monitoring Program!

Here is our updated Priority List for monitoring.

If the above link doesn’t work for you, try the following shared Dropbox link:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/t6aubzujqoh9n2rz7svsz/MCSI_Priority-Sites-List_2026_DYNAMIC.xlsx?rlkey=tvmwfmeknm0iud89vsunes6ym&dl=0

• Gibson, Program Assistant

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Hello MCSI Volunteers,

The 2026 monitoring season is now well and truly underway! As many folks know, Nights 1 and 2 of the National Roost Monitoring Program recently took place on Wednesday, May 20^th and Sunday, May 24^th, respectively. Based on the data we’ve received, Nights 1 and 2 told rather different stories, but there was still Chimney Swift activity reported on both nights. Continue reading for a full monitoring recap!

We also wanted to say a big thank-you to everyone who’s participated in monitoring so far! This initiative isn’t possible without the help of our wonderful, dedicated volunteers. If you haven’t yet submitted your data sheets, please send them via email to mbchimneyswift@gmail.com at your earliest convenience. We appreciate you! If you still want to participate in NRMP monitoring, you’re luck! The last monitoring date is coming up on June 1^st.

Night 1 – Wednesday, May 20^th

Overall, the swifts certainly seemed to have strong feelings about Night 1’s conditions! During roosting hour, most sites saw temperatures in the mid-teens. However, significant cloud cover and light/occasional rainfall made conditions less than ideal. Several sites recorded no avian activity whatsoever (swifts or otherwise), and very few chimneys/towers served as roosting sites. Across the board, there also weren’t many entries and exits recorded prior to roosting. The beginning of the monitoring season tends to have a slower start at the best of times, let alone being coupled with poor weather and a lack of insects. That said, here’s the breakdown:

Dauphin

Ken reported that two teams monitored two different chimneys, but neither had activity. One observer saw birds flying in the distance, but they couldn’t be confirmed as Chimney Swifts.

Lac du Bonnet

Jeff and Sue reported no swift activity at Gran’s Bakery and Casey’s Inn. They also went above and beyond trying to scope out other potential sites in the area. A for Effort!

Morden

On May 21^st, Marvin and Evelyn monitored the chimney at Lucky’s Chinese Restaurant, but no swifts were observed.

Otterburne

Program Assistant Gibson monitored all three chimneys at Providence College and had the most productive first NRMP night in the province! Thirteen swifts were accounted for overall, with 10 roosting in the Skinny SE Chimney, two in the Large SW Chimney, and one in the chimney near the bell tower. A solid start for Otterburne!

Selkirk

At the Selkirk Mental Health Centre (SMHC), we had four teams of monitors out. Dennis and Patti monitored the Infirmary-attached Tower (T03) and recorded one entry. They also watched the East Infirmary Chimney and observed no entries or exits. Lisa and Monty watched the Smaller East Tower (T02) and observed two swifts enter the tower to roost. Nia and Linda had their eyes on the Powerhouse Chimney and the Stack Replacement Tower (T04) – neither of which showed any signs of activity. Lastly, Fred and Nettie were stationed at the Taller West Tower (T01) but did not see any swifts.

St. Andrews

At Lower Fort Garry, Gerald kept watch of the Men’s House and Furloft chimneys. No swifts were seen in the vicinity. Later, on May 22^nd, Gerald monitored both chimneys at the St. Andrews Lock and Dam Powerhouse. There wasn’t any action at the South Chimney – but four swifts were seen near the North Chimney. After multiple entries and exits, two of them were inside at the end of the monitoring period.

Winnipeg

Overall, minimal Chimney Swift activity was observed in Winnipeg, although multiple sites were monitored. Program Coordinator Mackenzie watched the chimney at Moorgate Apartments, Program Assistant Brooke and Rob monitored all three chimneys at McBeth House (two of which being Priority Sites), and Michelle and Graham were stationed at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU). None of these sites yielded any swifts.

Blaire B. watched the site at the St. Norbert Behavioural Health Foundation and saw three swifts in total, with one roosting at the end of the monitoring period.

At the River Manor Apartments (Visible Chimney) in Osborne Village, Chantel and John observed five swifts circling overhead – but no entries or exits were recorded. A highlight of the evening was that a resident of the neighbourhood inquired about “the birds”, implying that she was aware of swift activity in the area… although she was slightly disappointed to learn that only five had been seen that evening!

Night 2 – Sunday, May 24^th

The second night of the NRMP brought significantly more activity across Manitoba! Average temperatures were in the low twenties, with varying cloud cover and a lot more insects. Swifts were confirmed at sites from Dauphin to Winnipeg, to the communities in between.

Dauphin

With the swifts having finally arrived, things were starting to look up in Dauphin… until a thunderstorm rolled in! One clever swift managed to enter the roosting chimney at the Malcolm Block just as the rain began, and three more were not far behind. Pat reported that an additional swift safely entered the Hong Kong Cafe chimney around the same time, though it was fighting the wind to get there!

Lac du Bonnet

Despite their diligence, Jeff and Sue yet again reported no swift activity while monitoring Gran’s Bakery and Casey’s Inn on May 25^th.

Selkirk

Selkirk had a strong Night 2 across multiple sites at SMHC (and beyond)!

 At T02, Brooke and Tanner observed nine swifts roosting, and a maximum of 11 swifts at the site at one point. At the end of their monitoring period, two extremely chatty swifts were still circling overhead. Fred and Nettie again monitored T01 and confirmed a maximum of three swifts inside the tower – but after a last-minute exit, only two roosting swifts remained inside by the end of their monitoring period. Dennis and Patti returned to T03 where one swift alone made six entries and exits with no recorded roosting activity. They also confirmed seven roosting swifts at the East Infirmary Chimney, with entries having continued more than 30 minutes past sunset! Nia and Linda monitored T04 and the Powerhouse Chimney, with one and three roosting swifts recorded, respectively.

Winona monitored the Merchants Hotel site, where two total entries were observed.

St. Andrews

Gerald was back out at the Lower Fort Garry site. At the Furloft, he recorded two roosting swifts and observed a maximum of seven at the site. At the Men’s House, he confirmed another two roosting swifts.

Winnipeg

Chantel and John were back at the River Manor Apartments. They observed 29 entries and no exits at the Visible Chimney, making it the largest roost thus far! And arguably even more exciting – the pair saw an additional two swifts entering the Invisible Chimney… which means we can officially cross it off the Priority List!

At Moorgate Apartments, Mackenzie confirmed four roosting swifts with six additional swifts flying over the site, for a maximum of 10. Nicole and Cain covered two sites in Wolseley: five swifts entered and roosted at Fleetwood Apartments, but no activity was seen at the Lothian Block Apartments. At the St. Norbert Behavioural Health Foundation, Blaire B. counted 15+ swifts flying overhead. Two entries and exits were observed, though none chose to roost by time the monitoring period concluded. Blair R. confirmed one roosting swift at Kaljieb Electrics in St. Boniface. Catherine, Tyler, and Graham watched the chimney at CMU and saw two entries.

Carly, Emma, and Sophie watched Trinity Baptist Church – another Priority Site – and spotted two swifts in flight nearby. None entered the chimney, so we aren’t able to cross this site off the list yet.

Lastly, between NRMP nights on May 22^nd, Breanne checked on the Maryland Foodfare site and saw one entry, resulting in one roosting swift.

Daytime Monitoring

The monitoring fun didn’t conclude with NRMP Night 2! Brooke and Gibson also spent some time in St. Adolphe on May 26^th, doing daytime monitoring at six sites. The day’s theme: “Swallows and Martins and Swifts… oh my!”. It seems that the combination of warm weather and plenty of insects resulted in a lot of aerial activity from these species. As well, they quickly realized that folks in the community are definitely “swift-aware”! While monitoring, Brooke and Gibson both received inquiries from neighbours about how many swifts they’d been able to spot that day.

During their monitoring, Brooke and Gibson were looking for signs of potential nesting activity. Despite numerous swifts flying near all the sites, there weren’t any entries or exits observed at the Cemetery Tower, the Club Amical chimneys, the Brodeur Bros./Daycare chimney, or the Main Street home. However, at just over 50 minutes into her monitoring period, Brooke saw a pair of swifts enter the St. Adolphe Church chimney! They didn’t exit before the monitoring period concluded. Hopefully, this means that nest construction is currently underway! Barb confirmed that the church is prime Chimney Swift real estate and tends to be chosen as a nesting site before the others. We’re keeping our fingers crossed!

… That brings our monitoring recap to a close! We’re looking forward to seeing what Nights 3 and 4 bring – keep an eye out for updates. Here’s the updated Priority List, reflecting our recently confirmed site:

Community	Location	Site	Confirmed by
Brandon	1203 Princess Ave	Orange Block (North Chimney)
Carman	2nd Street	private residence
Carman	1st St. SW	private residence
Clearwater	8-10th Street & Boundary Trail	Harvest Moon Learning Ctre
Eriksdale	16 Railway Avenue	St John’s Anglican Church and former Eriksdale Museum
La Salle	27 rue Beaudry	Ste Hyacinthe Church (East Chimney)
Lac Du Bonnet	68 1st Street	Casey’s Inn
Lac Du Bonnet	100 1st Street	Gran’s Bakery
Melita	Veteran’s Way	private residence
Melita	Ash Street	private residence
Melita	133 Summit St	Melita and Area Health Centre
Melita	139 Main Street	Agriculture Building
Neepawa	500 Hospital Street	Neepawa Health Centre (Memorial Hospital)
Pilot Mound	Railway Street	private residence
Portage la Prairie	329 Duke Avenue	Portage Correctional Centre (large chimney)
Portage la Prairie	16 Royal Road South	MTS Building
Selkirk	420 Main Street	Lord Selkirk Hotel
Selkirk	241 Manitoba Ave.	A&G Brows and Spa
Souris	5th Ave W	private residence
Souris	26 Cres. Ave E	Hillcrest Museum (East Chimney)
Souris	99 2nd St S	Kowalchuk’s Funeral Home
Swan River	518 Main Street	Commercial building?
The Pas	627 Cathedral Ave	Cathedral Apartments
Wasagaming	106 Buffalo Drive	Stowaway Inn
Wasagaming	133 Wasagaming Drive	RMNP Visitors Centre
Winnipeg	583 Ellice Street	John Howard Society
Winnipeg	127 Cobourg Avenue	Gordon-King Memorial United Church
Winnipeg	222 York Ave	Brink’s Canada (west chimney)
Winnipeg	222 York Ave	Brink’s Canada (middle chimney)
Winnipeg	33 Kennedy Street	Lincoln Towers Apartment
Winnipeg	348 Assiniboine Ave	Redboine Apartments
Winnipeg	1022 Pembina Hwy	Cambridge Hotel
Winnipeg	411 Stradbrook Ave	Lancaster Apartment
Winnipeg	277 River Ave	Royal Oak Court Apartments
Winnipeg	272 Cockburn Street	King George Court
Winnipeg	118 Scott Street	Apartment (central chimney with pest cage)
Winnipeg	141 River Avenue	Ludlow Court Apartments
Winnipeg	141 River Avenue	Ludlow Court Apartments
Winnipeg	280 River Avenue	Moxam Court
Winnipeg	245 Bell Avenue	Children’s Education Funds Inc
Winnipeg	444 River Ave	Augustine United Church
Winnipeg	444 South Drive	St. John’s Ravenscourt – residence
Winnipeg	39 Balmoral Street	Apartment
Winnipeg	634 Broadway	Apartment
Winnipeg	180 Main St	Sky Bridge Americas
Winnipeg	303 Assiniboine Ave	Newcastle Apartments (south chimney)
Winnipeg	303 Assiniboine Avenue	Newcastle Apartments (north chimney)
Winnipeg	45 Edmonton Street	House of Hesed
Winnipeg	444 South Dr	St John’s Ravenscourt
Winnipeg	375 Stradbrook Avenue	The Village Apartments
Winnipeg	780 Osborne Street	Overlook Apartments
Winnipeg	415 Mulvey Avenue East	Dominion Auctions (D’s Warehouse)
Winnipeg	424 River Avenue	River Manor Apartments (invisible chimney)	John W and Chantel M – May 24
Winnipeg	549 Gertrude Ave	Trinity Baptist Church
Winnipeg	415 Stradbrook Avenue	The Wakefield
Winnipeg	395 River Ave	The Biltmore
Winnipeg	94 Roslyn Rd	Signature Homes Ltd
Winnipeg	321 Stradbrook Ave	Fontana
Winnipeg	351 River Ave	The Rosemount
Winnipeg	464 St Mary Avenue	Mall Plaza Apartments
Winnipeg	935 Main Street	Ukrainian National Federation
Winnipeg	135 Anderson Ave	St John’s Cathedral
Winnipeg	25 Valhalla Drive	Valhalla Gardens
Winnipeg	31 McBeth St	McBeth House (A) East chimney (centre)
Winnipeg	31 McBeth St	McBeth House (A) South chimney (right)
Winnipeg	1030 Brazier St	Linlee Apartments
Winnipeg	520 William Ave	Living Gospel Church (West Chimney)
Winnipeg	520 William Ave	Living Gospel Church (East Chimney)
Winnipeg	100 Adelaide Street	Immigrant Centre Building
Winnipeg	91 Albert Street	The Old Market Autonomous Zone
Winnipeg	442 William Avenue	Filcasa Housing Coop
Winnipeg	41 Princess St	Peck Building
Winnipeg	471 William Ave	Victoria Court
Winnipeg	54 Adelaide Street	Nejmark Architects
Winnipeg	52 Albert Street	Gregg Building
Winnipeg	80 Lombard Ave	Nutty Club Food Club
Winnipeg	515 Waterfront Dr	Vita Foam
Winnipeg	150 Pacific Avenue	Children’s House
Winnipeg	527 Waterfront Dr	Restmore Bedding Co Ltd
Winnipeg	465A Lanark St	Lanark Gardens
Winnipeg	465D Lanark St	Lanark Gardens
Winnipeg	890 McMillan Avenue	Milan Apartments
Winnipeg	394 Academy Road	Academy Uptown Lanes
Winnipeg	1295 Pembina Hwy	Dollarama
Winnipeg	1181 Pembina Hwy	Flag Shop
Winnipeg	465B Lanark St	Lanark Gardens
Winnipeg	378 Academy Rd	River Heights Apartments
Winnipeg	393 Marion St	Marion Hotel
Winnipeg	2160 Portage Ave	Stanley Park Apartments
Winnipeg	2150 Portage Ave	Thunderbird Apartments
Winnipeg	155 Traill Avenue	Theton House
Winnipeg	2415 Portage Avenue	Essex House, pest cage
Winnipeg	2235 Portage Ave	New Silver Heights Apartments
Winnipeg	1790 Portage Ave	Carillon Towers
Winnipeg	271 Hampton St	St Anne’s RC Church (east chimney)
Winnipeg	271 Hampton St	St Anne’s RC Church (north chimney)
Winnipeg	1780 Portage Ave	Marner Apartments
Winnipeg	1975 Portage Ave	Assiniboine Gordon Registration Building
Winnipeg	70 St Pierre Street	St Norbert Parish Church
Winnipeg	151 St. George Road	St. George School
Winnipeg	891 St Mary’s Rd	Good News Fellowship Church

2025 Swift Champions

Before we get too far into the 2026 Season, we still need to announce our 2025 Swift Champions! Every year, we award five Swift Champions awards to individuals or groups who go above and beyond for the Chimney Swifts in Manitoba. This year’s recipients of Swift Champion Awards were Pat Start, Ron Bazin, Marissa Berard, the Manitoba Metis Federation, and the Selkirk Mental Health Centre.

Pat Start

Nominated by her fellow Dauphin monitor Ken Wainwright, Pat has been a longtime volunteer with MCSI. In 2021, Pat discovered a new site in Dauphin, following Chimney Swifts flying and calling overhead and eventually seeing them drop into the chimney of the Hong Kong Cafe on Main Street! Since then, our Dauphin volunteers, including Pat, have monitored four successful nesting attempts at the site. Pat is a core member of our volunteer base in Dauphin, and we couldn’t be happier to recognize her years of work with a Swift Champion award!

Ron Bazin

Ron’s Swift Champion Award feels long overdue, as he’s been with MCSI since the very beginning. Ron joined the MCSI Steering Committee as a founding member in 2007 and has remained a valued member of the Committee ever since. Before his retirement last year, Ron worked for Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service, where he was a member of the federal CHSW Recovery Team. Representing ECCC-CWS on the MCSI Committee, Ron kept MCSI informed of federal recovery strategies, such as the development of the Recovery Strategy for the Chimney Swift, identification of critical habitat, descriptions of Chimney Swift residences, the identification of priority sites for monitoring, and more. Although he retired from ECCC-CWS last year, Ron remains an active member of the Steering Committee and an active monitor with MCSI. Thank you Ron, for your huge contributions to Chimney Swift conservation and recovery in Manitoba. 

Manitoba Métis Federation

Up next is the Manitoba Métis Federation! The MMF and MCSI have been collaborating for several years, working to help the MMF get their own Chimney Swift monitoring program up and running. Marissa worked with MMF staff and citizens in 2024 to host a webinar and monitoring workshop to teach folks about Chimney Swifts and how we monitor them. Later that year, the MMF worked with MCSI to make plans for monitoring a newartificial tower at the former Roxy Lanes building on Henderson Highway in Winnipeg. The MMF decided to move forward withdemolishing the old building after purchasing it in 2022, and they had an artificial tower built as mitigation for the lost habitat. MMF staff closely monitored the site every week throughout 2025, and thanks to their observations we were able to confirm that the new tower was used successfully by a nesting pair! The fledglings weren’t observed by monitors, but during the end of season cleanout they found five hatched eggs! A successful first season indeed. As recognition of their diligent monitoring efforts in 2025 (and already in 2026), we’re very pleased to award the Manitoba Métis Federation with a Swift Champions Award. 

Selkirk Mental Health Centre

For many years, this site has been discussed as a potential recipient for the award – and we’vefinally done it! The Selkirk Mental Health Centre (SMHC) is one of the most consistently active swift sites in the province, hosting four purpose-built towers and three additional chimneys. The artificial towers were constructed as a mitigation strategy in response to the demolition of a large chimney stack in 2018. Since they were built, all of the towers have seen steady nesting success, with at least one tower (but often more!) producing successful fledglings each year. Towers aside, two out of three other chimneys onsite have been consistently used for roosting, nesting, or both. Strangely, one chimney – the west chimney on the Infirmary Building – never had any activity… until one evening in 2024. On NRMP Night 2, over 50 swifts suddenly decided it would make a fantastic roosting site! Interestingly, it seems like the site has only ever been used on that one evening. Chimney Swifts are mysterious creatures, indeed. We’re thrilled to recognize SMHC with this award for their longstanding commitment to coexisting with Chimney Swifts, and we look forward to many more years of the swifts calling this site their home!

Marissa Berard

Our final 2025 Swift Champion is Marissa Berard. A familiar name to all of you, Marissa was nominated for the Swift Champion award by the Steering Committee for her time as MCSI Program Coordinator from 2022-2025. Her interest in Chimney Swifts was sparked during her time in the Resource Conservation department at Riding Mountain National Park. In this role, Marissa coordinated swift monitoring and outreach initiatives within the park. The transition over to MSCI Program Coordinator was thus a natural one, and she spent over three years growing the program and extending its reach throughout the province. While leading the MCSI, Marissa was instrumental in accomplishing a great deal for the program, and the swifts it supports. Notably, she secured a five-year grant for MCSI through the ECCC’s Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk, ensuring a long-term, stable source of funding for the program! She also worked to cultivate meaningful partnerships with other organizations within the province, such as the Manitoba Métis Federation and the University of Manitoba Indigenous Birding Club. For these reasons, we’re happy to recognize Marissa as a 2025 Swift Champion. On behalf of everyone at MCSI, we would like to extend a very big thank-you to Marissa for all she has contributed to the program, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors!

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)

Hello everyone!

It’s hard to imagine that this time last year the first swifts had already been reported in Winnipeg. As I’m writing this, it’s snowing outside my window at the Albert St office. A seemingly never-ending winter. That being said, the swifts are making their way north and will likely be arriving in the next few days. According to eBird reports, they were spotted just outside Fargo, ND on May 2. Here’s hoping there are insects for them to eat once they arrive! Ahead of the swift’s return to Manitoba, I wanted to send out some details about the upcoming monitoring season.

I also wanted to remind anyone who has not already done so to RSVP for our Season Kick-Off Event happening at the Assiniboine Park Zoo next Tuesday, May 12! For more information and to RSVP, click here.

Monitoring Info 2026

Datasheet & protocol: The datasheet and protocol for 2026 can be found on the Resources and Links page of our website in both English and French.

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.  I’ve added a link to our new interactive map to the protocol. If you see a chimney near you that doesn’t have data from the 2025 season, it could need monitoring! Other than that, only the important dates have changed from last year’s protocol (which I will mention again below).

Volunteer sign-up form: Please fill out the volunteer sign-up form for 2026 (for new and returning volunteers):  https://forms.gle/bXxziae5p8RGg1Ve7

NRMP dates: The National Roost Survey (“NRMP”) dates are May 20, May 24, May 28, and June 1. 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 17, July 15, August 12.

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 private residences don’t have the full address listed. If you would like more information about a chimney on a private residence, please contact Mackenzie at mbchimneyswift@gmail.com.

We can’t wait to see what this monitoring season brings! As always, please contact us if you have any questions, comments, or would like to be matched with another site.

-Mackenzie

Priority site list (May 6)

Community	Neighbourhood	Location	Site
Brandon	–	1203 Princess Ave	Orange Block (North Chimney)
Carman	–	2nd Street	private residence
Carman	–	1st St. SW	private residence
Clearwater	–	8-10th Street & Boundary Trail	Harvest Moon Learning Ctre
Eriksdale	–	16 Railway Avenue	St John’s Anglican Church and former Eriksdale Museum
La Salle	–	27 rue Beaudry	Ste Hyacinthe Church (East Chimney)
Lac Du Bonnet	–	68 1st Street	Casey’s Inn
Lac Du Bonnet	–	100 1st Street	Gran’s Bakery
Melita	–	Veteran’s Way	private residence
Melita	–	Ash Street	private residence
Melita	–	133 Summit St	Melita and Area Health Centre
Melita	–	139 Main Street	Agriculture Building
Neepawa	–	500 Hospital Street	Neepawa Health Centre (Memorial Hospital)
Pilot Mound	–	Railway Street	private residence
Portage la Prairie	–	329 Duke Avenue	Portage Correctional Centre (large chimney)
Portage la Prairie	–	16 Royal Road South	MTS Building
Selkirk	–	420 Main Street	Lord Selkirk Hotel
Selkirk	–	241 Manitoba Ave.	A&G Brows and Spa
Souris	–	5th Ave W	private residence
Souris	–	26 Cres. Ave E	Hillcrest Museum (East Chimney)
Souris	–	99 2nd St S	Kowalchuk’s Funeral Home
Swan River	–	518 Main Street	Commercial building
The Pas	–	627 Cathedral Ave	Cathedral Apartments
Wasagaming	–	106 Buffalo Drive	Stowaway Inn
Wasagaming	–	133 Wasagaming Drive	RMNP Visitors Centre
Winnipeg	Daniel McIntyre	583 Ellice Street	John Howard Society
Winnipeg	East Kildonan/Elmwood	127 Cobourg Avenue	Gordon-King Memorial United Church
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	222 York Ave	Brink’s Canada (west chimney)
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	222 York Ave	Brink’s Canada (middle chimney)
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	33 Kennedy Street	Lincoln Towers Apartment
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	348 Assiniboine Avenue	Redboine Apartments
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	1022 Pembina Highway	Cambridge Hotel
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	411 Stradbrook Ave	Lancaster Apartment
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	277 River Ave	Royal Oak Court Apartments
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	272 Cockburn Street	King George Court
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	118 Scott Street	Apartment (central chimney with pest cage)
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	141 River Avenue	Ludlow Court Apartments
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	141 River Avenue	Ludlow Court Apartments
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	280 River Avenue	Moxam Court
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	245 Bell Avenue	Children’s Education Funds Inc
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	444 River Ave	Augustine United Church
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	444 South Drive	St. John’s Ravenscourt – residence
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	39 Balmoral Street	Apartment
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	634 Broadway	Apartment
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	180 Main St	Sky Bridge Americas
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	303 Assiniboine Avenue	Newcastle Apartments (south chimney)
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	303 Assiniboine Avenue	Newcastle Apartments (north chimney)
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	45 Edmonton Street	House of Hesed
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	444 South Dr	St John’s Ravenscourt
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	375 Stradbrook Avenue	The Village Apartments
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	780 Osborne Street	Overlook Apartments
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	415 Mulvey Avenue East	Dominion Auctions (D’s Warehouse)
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	424 River Avenue	River Manor Apartments (invisible chimney)
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	549 Gertrude Ave	Trinity Baptist Church
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	415 Stradbrook Avenue	The Wakefield
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	395 River Ave	The Biltmore
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	94 Roslyn Rd	Signature Homes Ltd
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	321 Stradbrook Ave	Fontana
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	351 River Ave	The Rosemount
Winnipeg	Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry	464 St Mary Avenue	Mall Plaza Apartments
Winnipeg	Mynarski	935 Main Street	Ukrainian National Federation
Winnipeg	Mynarski	135 Anderson Ave	St John’s Cathedral
Winnipeg	North Kildonan	25 Valhalla Drive	Valhalla Gardens
Winnipeg	North Kildonan	31 McBeth St	McBeth House (A) East chimney (centre)
Winnipeg	North Kildonan	31 McBeth St	McBeth House (A) South chimney (right)
Winnipeg	North Kildonan	1030 Brazier St	Linlee Apartments
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	520 William Ave	Living Gospel Church (West Chimney)
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	520 William Ave	Living Gospel Church (East Chimney)
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	100 Adelaide Street	Immigrant Centre Building
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	91 Albert Street	The Old Market Autonomous Zone
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	442 William Avenue	Filcasa Housing Coop
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	41 Princess St	Peck Building
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	471 William Ave	Victoria Court
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	54 Adelaide Street	Nejmark Architects
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	52 Albert Street	Gregg Building
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	80 Lombard Ave	Nutty Club Food Club
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	515 Waterfront Dr	Vita Foam
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	150 Pacific Avenue	Children’s House
Winnipeg	Point Douglas	527 Waterfront Dr	Restmore Bedding Co Ltd
Winnipeg	River Heights/Fort Garry	465A Lanark St	Lanark Gardens
Winnipeg	River Heights/Fort Garry	465D Lanark St	Lanark Gardens
Winnipeg	River Heights/Fort Garry	890 McMillan Avenue	Milan Apartments
Winnipeg	River Heights/Fort Garry	394 Academy Road	Uptown Lofts
Winnipeg	River Heights/Fort Garry	1295 Pembina Hwy	Dollarama
Winnipeg	River Heights/Fort Garry	1181 Pembina Hwy	Flag Shop
Winnipeg	River Heights/Fort Garry	465B Lanark St	Lanark Gardens
Winnipeg	River Heights/Fort Garry	378 Academy Rd	River Heights Apartments
Winnipeg	St Boniface	393 Marion St	Marion Hotel
Winnipeg	St James	2160 Portage Ave	Stanley Park Apartments
Winnipeg	St James	2150 Portage Ave	Thunderbird Apartments
Winnipeg	St James	155 Traill Avenue	Theton House
Winnipeg	St James	2415 Portage Avenue	Essex House, pest cage
Winnipeg	St James	2235 Portage Ave	New Silver Heights Apartments
Winnipeg	St James	1790 Portage Ave	Carillon Towers
Winnipeg	St James	271 Hampton St	St Anne’s RC Church (east chimney)
Winnipeg	St James	271 Hampton St	St Anne’s RC Church (north chimney)
Winnipeg	St James	1780 Portage Ave	Marner Apartments
Winnipeg	St James	1975 Portage Ave	Assiniboine Gordon Registration Building
Winnipeg	St Norbert	70 St Pierre Street	St Norbert Parish Church
Winnipeg	St Vital	151 St. George Road	St. George School
Winnipeg	St Vital	891 St Mary’s Rd	Good News Fellowship Church

Mackenzie

Join us Tuesday, May 12 at the Assiniboine Park Zoo to kick off the 2026 Chimney Swift season with food, door prizes, and great company! We are so excited to celebrate the hard work and dedication of our volunteers over the last 20 monitoring seasons. None of what we do would be possible without our volunteers.

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 6:45 pm – 7:00pm. Please note that the Special Events Entrance is not the same as the Zoo Main Entrance off Roblin Blvd. Please see the map below to find the Special Events Entrance. As this is an after-hours event, RSVP’s are required (link below at end of this post).

At 7 pm, We’ll start the evening off with a short presentation by Tim Poole about the evolution of MCSI: what we’ve learned, what we’ve unlearned, and where we see the program in the future. Mackenzie (MCSI Coordinator) will also share updates on the monitoring season, as well as distribute MCSI volunteer badges and lanyards and Chimney Swift factsheets. After that, we will have some door prizes to give away, followed by snacks and visiting.

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-2026-tickets-1987570428656?aff=oddtdtcreator

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

Thanks!

Mackenzie

Save The Dates: 2026 Season Kick-off Event & Monitoring Nights

Hello everyone! While it still may not feel like spring out there, the swift season is quickly approaching, and we have some important dates to mark down in your calendars.

This year is a special one, marking MCSI’s 20^th monitoring season! We are so grateful to everyone who’s been with us from the start, and we’re excited to continue with the important Chimney Swift conservation work we do across the province. If you have any memories (photos, stories, art, poetry, etc) that you’d like to share from your time monitoring with MCSI, please send them to us at mbchimneyswift@gmail.com! We’re hoping to highlight volunteer memories over the summer to help us celebrate how far we’ve come in the last 20 years.

With that, please take note of the important upcoming dates!

Season Kick-off Event: Tuesday, May 12 @ 7 pm, Assiniboine Park Zoo (54 Zoo Drive)

Please join us for our 3^rd Annual Season Kick-off Event held at the Assiniboine Park Zoo on May 12! We will be giving a short presentation, followed by food, visiting, door prizes and a group swift watch at the Zoo Tower.

More details and a registration link to come soon.

National Chimney Swift Roost Survey Dates:

• Wednesday, May 20^st
• Sunday, May 24^th
• Thursday, May 28^th
• Monday, June 1^st   

Monthly Monitoring Blitzes:

• Wednesday, June 17^th
• Wednesday, July 15^th
• Wednesday, August 12^th

Stay tuned for more information, including an updated monitoring protocol, datasheets and other 2026 monitoring season updates! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out via email at mbchimneyswift@gmail.com.

I’m looking forward to another great monitoring season!

• Mackenzie

Hello everyone! I hope you’re all staying warm during this very chilly December. I wanted to make sure we wrapped up the 2025 Chimney Swift season before the New Year is upon us! One of my first tasks as MCSI coordinator has been to summarize this year’s data and I don’t think there could have been a better way for me to learn about the important sites across the province, and of course, the wonderful volunteers who dedicated so much time to monitoring in 2025!

This year we had over 95 volunteers monitor a total of 129 sites across Manitoba. We truly couldn’t run this program without you, so thank you for your time, your energy and your dedication to helping us learn more about Chimney Swifts in Manitoba. I’m looking forward to getting to know many of you during the 2026 monitoring season! 

We’re always looking for feedback on your volunteer experience, what you liked, what you didn’t like, and any suggestions for us to improve. We have a volunteer feedback form at the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlf7TgS8z9STs6lN6MHcjXtFhNtCOpIhTsHh8jzv31ZImLhg/viewform?usp=publish-editor You can leave your submissions anonymously or give us your name, whatever you’re most comfortable with! You can also email us with feedback at any time at mbchimneyswift@gmail.com

The Conclusion to the Infirmary Swift Saga

Before we get into the overall recap for 2025, I wanted to share the ending to the Infirmary swift story. Due to the coordinator changeover happening on our end, we left you on a bit of a cliffhanger. To recap: Dennis and Patti did an awesome job of keeping an eye on the Infirmary Chimney at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre well into September, hoping to catch a glimpse of fledglings. By their last monitoring session on September 14, there had been no sign of young swifts, and the adults had left for the season. At that point, we were unsure whether the nest had been a success, and the fledglings snuck away, or if it had failed.

On September 25, Tim, Marissa, Kristine, Gerald, and several members of the Selkirk Birdwatchers Club completed the cleanout inspection of the Infirmary Chimney and all four towers at the SMHC. Results of the cleanout showed there were 2 successful breeding attempts, two breeding attempts that failed early in the season, and one that failed right at the very end. Here’s the summary from Tim:

Infirmary chimney – site hosted a large roost of 20 odd birds this year, so the guano pile was larger than usual. We pulled out parts of a broken nest. We were able to do a good inspection of the wall via a strong flashlight, mirror, and cameras and could not detect a nest on the wall, so presumably the broken nest on the ground was the nest used. Overall, there were enough eggshells for 5 eggs. These were interesting though. Around half (2-3 eggs) were very white, and half (2-3 eggs) were filthy dirty and dug out of the guano. It was as if a first nest had failed after hatching BUT we have no evidence to support that from monitoring, just a hunch. The second attempt was very late and failed around September 10th from the monitoring. That date was also around the time I had estimated that the birds should fledge. We pulled out three carcasses. One was larger and more decomposed – clearly an adult had died in the chimney earlier in the summer. Two others were almost fully grown, but the wings were clearly shorter than the adult. So sadly, there was a very, very late mortality of the two chicks just as they were due to take flight.

T1 Tower – the nest was down on the ground. That said, this was the fourth year and the fifth breeding attempt in that nest. 4-5 eggs all hatched, no carcasses. There were at least fledglings in a photo pulled from the camera inside the tower. 

T2 Tower – had fledged, 5 eggs all hatched, no carcasses.

T3 Tower – ugh, this one is a doozy! 3-4 eggs all hatched, no carcass. Nest had fallen. Monitoring indicated early failure. The lens got gunked at some point so the photos became blurry. However, the photos were clear enough to show that the nest was on the wall on the morning of July 20th. However, at 7am there were two swifts (brooding?) at once. Later at 7:43am there was no nest on the wall. It had collapsed! Was this a switch over gone wrong or something else? After that there are still photos of swifts on the nest spot, suggesting a very strong fidelity for that spot (fledglings from 2024 maybe?).

T4 Tower – nest from 2024 had fallen (it was hanging off the wall in the spring). New nest on the wall on the west wall. You can see from the scarring that the nest was exactly the same height as the previous one but on a different wall. 4-5 eggs all hatched, no carcasses but monitoring indicated failure early on.

A sad ending to the Infirmary story, but as Tim said, “even with less than 50% success it still turned out to be an interesting year!”

2025 Monitoring Summary

With the Selkirk update out of the way, we can move on to what I know you’ve all been waiting for: the season summary. You can now find the updated MCSI Roost and Nest site database at https://www.mbchimneyswift.com/Documents/2025_data_summary.pdf. This document summarizes the peak Chimney Swift count (and the date on which it occurred) at each monitored site, and indicates whether each site was used as a roost or nest, based on the monitoring data available. This document also indicates if a nesting attempt was a success or a failure (if known). 

Here are some highlights:

• We monitored 129 sites in 19 communities across Manitoba

• We confirmed the use of five new sites, all located in Winnipeg: the Manitoba MétisFederation Tower at 385 Henderson Hwy, St Edward the Confessor Church at 836 Arlington, a private residence on Maplewood Ave, Billy Mosienko Lanes at 1136 Main St, and a private residence on Hosmer Blvd.

• We confirmed the use of swifts at 14 sites on our priority list

• 95+ volunteers participated in our monitoring program, often in less than ideal hot and smokey weather conditions

• Historic first observation of a swift using a first-generation tower in St. Adolphe

We started the season with our second annual volunteer appreciation and kick-off event at Assiniboine Park on May 14, with a great turnout of around 30 people. It was a great way to kick off the season with some learning, some great food and prizes, and a group swift watch at the Assiniboine Park Zoo Tower.

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 21, May 25, May 29, and June 2. 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 18, July 16, and August 19. 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 available. 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, Stephen Petersen, Meredith Stoesz, and Kristin Mozel 

To finish off this marathon of a season recap, I wanted to include the following message and illustration from Barb nicely summing up the importance of the work we all do here at MCSI: 

An extra piece??? Usually, tabletop puzzles have missing pieces ~ ones that slip under the edge of a table mat or fall quietly on a carpet where the dog can enjoy eating them. But sometimes an extra piece creeps into the mix to challenge our problem-solving skill set. 

Working with Chimney Swifts is an exercise in decoding a puzzle of sorts. A huge and complicated puzzle! By monitoring the birds, we patiently gather puzzle pieces and then try to fit them together. We reflect on patterns, edges (limits) and perspectives to frame the big picture. As time passes and the puzzle infilling continues, our understanding and knowledge of Chimney Swift biology in Manitoba deepens. Unlike finishing a tabletop puzzle, there seems to be no endpoint to understanding the complexities of Chimney Swift life. Those darn birds keep showing us intriguing insights that draw us into more rounds of puzzle solving. 

Each and every puzzle piece generated by a volunteer monitor, who stares expectantly at a chimney rim, is a valuable component of the ongoing MCSI habitat stewardship, outreach and research programs. As the festive season transitions to a New Year, one to be filled with new chimney-side experiences, here’s a big shout out of appreciation to the volunteers who make MCSI such a success! 

In 2026, our amazing volunteers will begin the 20th season of monitoring Chimney Swifts in Manitoba. 

All of us at MCSI look forward to having you be part of that! 

Thank you all again for an excellent season, I can’t wait to be a part of it in 2026. Wishing all of you a restful holiday seasonand a very happy New Year!

Mackenzie

Introducing the New MCSI Coordinator

Hi everyone! My name is Mackenzie Glover (she/her) and I’m very excited to start as the new coordinator for the Manitoba Important Bird Area (IBA) Program and the Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative (MCSI). I’m grateful to have had some overlap with Marissa before her last day as coordinator, she’s done so much for this program and I’m looking forward to picking up where she left off! I recently moved back home to Winnipeg, and I’m excited to continue to learn about Manitoba’s birds and make new connections with fellow nature lovers through this role.

I first fell in love with the outdoors as a kid, spending summers at my family’s cabin in the Whiteshell. That love inspired me to pursue my BSc degree in Environmental Sciences with a focus on Forest Ecology at North Carolina State University, where I was also a varsity student-athlete. After graduating, I moved home to Winnipeg for a year and worked as a Conservation Technician with Native Plant Solutions, before moving out west to continue my education. I pursued an MSc in Ecological Restoration from Simon Fraser University and the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and completed my thesis in partnership with Native Plant Solutions, focusing on the native bees using their sites in Winnipeg.

I first started working with birds after my MSc, when I worked for a small consulting company called Inlailawatash, based in North Vancouver and owned by the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. I conducted nesting bird surveys and helped collect acoustic data for a research project on nocturnal birds and bats in the Indian River Watershed. My favourite days at Inlailawatash were the ones that started with an early morning bird survey!

Autonomous Recording Units deployed next to the Indian River. Photo by Mackenzie Glover

After 2 years with Inlailawatash, I decided it was time to move back home to Winnipeg to be closer to family. I’m very much looking forward to experiencing a real Winnipeg winter again, complete with cross country skiing, winter running, and skating on the Nestaweya River Trail.

Although I’m relatively new to the world of birding, I’ve always had a deep appreciation for birds, with my favourite being the White-throated Sparrow. Their beautiful song is often heard on summer mornings at the lake, and I was shocked when I first heard it singing in the winter in North Carolina. As a homesick freshman, hearing their song instantly transported me back to summer at my favourite place.

I’m excited to step into this role and I’m looking forward to meeting many of you at future MCSI events!