News Bulletin 1 from the MCSI

Manitoba News Bulletin for the National Monitoring Blitz Night No. 1 - May 21, 2014:
The early returns are in and there was a lot of empty air space on the chilly Wednesday evening. Matt Dedrick, who coordinates the Carman volunteers, wondered if a new subspecies was indicated: "Chaetura pelagica noseeum"! Many people would agree as no chimney swifts were seen at: two Carman sites; two Clearwater sites; Portage La Prairie; and La Broquerie.

For monitors lucky enough to spot swifts, few birds roosted for the night in the occupied chimneys. The Dauphin roost had 11 swifts and the record high count for the night was at Selkirk where 25 swifts came in.

In St. Adolphe, the five nest sites had varying activity. Empty sites = SE Club Amical and Brodeur Bros.; occupied sites = 2 swifts in at the NE Club Amical chimney; 2 swifts in Main St.; and only 1 at the Church.​

All has changed now that the cold weather system has moved along and brought the first string of clear, warm days (ok, 30 C is just hot). the bug-inspiring heat has created favourable feeding conditions and chimney swifts have been sighted during the daytime now in various locations such as Fort Whyte Alive and East Kildonan in Winnipeg.

Roosting hour sightings have picked up also since Wed. Interestingly, 4 chimney swifts were active in the Carman Memorial Hall site (entries and exits) before 2 roosted for the night on Thursday, May 22nd. Roosting birds were noted again on Friday, May 23rd.

So the daytime sightings and entry/exit behavior indicate that migrants are moving into our area and nesting territory is being established for the season. The invisible swifts seem to have disappeared.

It seems that a global threat of thunderstorms is upon us all for Sunday night, May 25th, which is National Monitoring Blitz Night No. 2. From Dauphin to La Broquerie to Portage to Winnipeg, Environment Canada has the lightning icon embedded in its forecast.

Just a reminder to all monitors that safety comes first and if there is storm activity, we will pass on chimney side viewing. If light or intermittent rain occurs, monitoring can proceed...in fact, the chimney swifts in St. Adolphe have put on amazing feeding shows at the edge of storm fronts.

All the best for your viewing pleasure Sunday night and may the swifts be winging their way to a site near you...

(Our CHSW season started with an opportunity to watch a Kingston, ON roost site over the May long weekend. Thanks to Chris Grooms for steering us to the location and to Frank Machovec who has provided a link to some "phone video" footage Rob took of the 131 swift spectacle - amazing birds!). Click here to see the video.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon, Barb.

(mbchimneyswift@gmail.com)

They're back!

The first spring sighting of 2014 has been reported! Two chimney swifts were spotted flying over St. Adolphe yesterday by Andy Courcelles.

 We hope that the cool, rainy forecast for the early part of the coming week will not be too harsh for the chimney swifts. 

It is time to watch the skies for more spring migrants.

Let's cast our attention chimney-ward!

 

Some Tools for the Coming Monitoring Season!

Let's Watch Those Chimneys! The Chimney Swifts are working their way northward and should be visiting Manitoba soon. The Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative has prepared survey forms and survey protocols to guide monitors in the 2014 season. A primary focus of our efforts for 2014 will be chimney observations as part of a national effort. Monitoring is to take place during the "roost hour" on May 21, May 25, May 29, and June 2. The national four-day monitoring protocol may be seen at http://www.mbchimneyswift.ca/Documents/MB_Protocol_Swift_2014_ROOST.pdf and the monitoring form may be obtained at http://www.mbchimneyswift.ca/Documents/MB_Survey%20data%20sheet_Swift_ROOST_2014.pdf For those monitoring their sites on other dates throughout the season, please use the "MCSI monitoring protocol." The protocol is explained at http://www.mbchimneyswift.ca/Documents/Monitoring_Protocol.pdf , and the associated monitoring form is at http://www.mbchimneyswift.ca/Documents/report_form.pdf Check the resources area of our website at http://www.mbchimneyswift.ca/resources.html  for a variety of information about monitoring. Please email the monitoring coordinator at mbchimneyswift@gmail.com to volunteer or ask any questions about the monitoring program for 2014. Now, don't overstress those neck muscles!

A New Season Begins (soon)!

A New Season Begins (soon)!

Chimney swifts have been sighted in the southeast corner of South Dakota and eastern Minnesota. So, if we can nudge, kick, or coerce the cold weather out of our area, perhaps our Manitoba chimney swifts will arrive in the next few weeks. MCSI is focusing on two activities this year. You can check out our past  monitoring results at (http://www.mbchimneyswift.ca/Documents/2013_sites.pdf).

The first activity is to support the national chimney swift monitoring program where monitors across Canada will be chimney-side on the evenings of May 21, 25, 29, and June 2. The distribution and abundance of chimney swifts in Canada can be tracked through simultaneous monitoring across the country; our Manitoba data will be collated and forwarded to the national coordinator. Please contact mbchimneyswift@gmail.com if you are interested and available in joining this activity, plus indicate what geographic area is most convenient for you as a monitoring destination. The 2014 guidelines/monitoring protocols are similar to last year's which can be found at: http://www.mbchimneyswift.ca/resources.html  ​We would appreciate everyone monitoring at least 1/2 hour before sunset to 1/2 hour after sunset on the specified evenings. No heroics are required if the weather is poor.​

The second MCSI activity is the creation of an inventory of roost and nest sites which need repairing/restoring, or candidate chimneys which could be re-opened (there must be historical data to show that the site once housed chimney swifts). We have received a three year Environmental Damages Fund (EDF) award to protect chimney swift habitat and we will begin to select sites for remedial work in the early fall.

The Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative members would like to wish Frank Machovec well in his retirement from MCSI Coordinator and Steering Committee duties! Frank has served the chimney swifts, and all of us, well over many years of dedicated service. Thank you Frank! We are pleased that Frank has retained his role as webmaster so you can follow all of the Manitoba chimney swift news here, over the 2014 season.

Thanks for your interest and keep your eyes to the sky - we look forward to the first spring sightings!

--

Barb Stewart

St. Adolphe Monitor & MCSI Steering Committee Member

Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative
c/o Nature Manitoba, #401 - 63 Albert Street, Winnipeg, MB R3B 1G4

www.naturemanitoba.ca -- 204-943-9029