May you live in interesting times

Well, it's certainly been an unusual season for the chimney swift monitoring program! Wet and cool weather in the early days, followed by dry conditions and heat in latter days (not to mention extremely low mosquito populations in some areas).

So far our reports suggest "normal" (possibly a bit lower than normal) numbers at roost sites --Carman, Dauphin, Selkirk-- but we have erratic reports at some other sites, notably in Winnipeg and Saint Adoplhe.

In Saint Adoplhe, with its cluster of five well-monitored sites, there is clear evidence of nest failure and chimney abandonment. At some Winnipeg sites, --St. Johns Ravenscourt and 1181 Pembina for example-- we had initially activity, but have seen no activity upon recent checks. Other sites seem to have normal occupancy.We've had numerous reports of chimney swift flyovers, but these reports don't always seem to correlate with known nearby chimneys.

As the season winds down, please continue to observe your sites and submit reports, even you see no entries/ exits at identified sites.

Updated monitoring results for the 2011 season may be seen at
http://www.naturemanitoba.ca/birder/monitoring_data.pdf

Special thanks to those of you who braved the cold and rain for last Monday's chimney watch in Saint Adolphe! (And I promise to dress more appropriately next time.)

Frank