TONIGHT IN SKIES NEAR YOU!

MONDAY JUNE 1, 2015: THE MONITORING SESSION IS 1 1/2 HOURS LONG TONIGHT!

For all of the monitors who are able to watch chimney rims and chimney swifts tonight, for the fourth National Roost Monitoring Program session (NRMP-4), this is a friendly reminder about the change to the length of the observation period.

Please add an extra 1/2 hour of daytime viewing just prior to the roosting hour (calculated as the 1/2 hour before to 1/2 hour after sunset). You will monitor for a total of 1 1/2 hours tonight. The same observation period holds for the alternate NRMP-4 date of June 2 and the last scheduled evening on June 6.

For example, sunset in St. Adolphe tonight is 9:28 PM. The roosting hour = 8:58 to 9:58 PM. By adding an extra 1/2 hour of daytime observations before the roosting hour, we will start monitoring our five chimneys at 8:28 PM.

​What is the objective of adding daytime observations? We want to distinguish nest sites vs. roost sites and this is done on the basis of chsw behavior (seen as entry/exit events). Nest sites are used by a breeding pair of swifts to raise their young; in early June, adults make daytime entries/exits as nest building is underway. Roost sites are used by swifts to rest in at night, so we typically see only entries during the roosting hour. We hope to be able to identify active nest sites now so that breeding success may be tracked over the summer...

The last organized evening scheduled for 2015 is Saturday, June 6th. It is cottage season, soccer playoff season, time to watch Chicago whoop Tampa Bay season etc. We know that your lives are busy - please substitute June 5th as a go-to-the-chimney night if June 6 is just not an available target for you.

The MCSI Steering Committee sends a big THANK YOU out to all of the monitors who have been chimney side from the start of the 2015 program and a WELCOME to the new monitors joining us in Fort Rouge and Steinbach tonight. Your efforts are appreciated. Thanks also to our webmaster, Frank, who posts all of your spring migration and site use data on the blog/website.

We have another iffy weather forecast tonight with on/off rain showers and possibly electric storms in Dauphin. Keep safe while you monitor. May your heads stay dry and your swifts be plentiful (and that is aimed specifically for Matt, PL, Rob, Jane, Ian, and possibly other so far "skunked" monitors!).

Happy monitoring, Barb for Christian, Ron, Neil, Lewis, Ken, Nicole, Rob, and Tim.