GOING, Going...the chimney swifts are gone​!

September 2014: MCSI September Bulletin: 

August ended with another round of severe storms which pummeled many communities and caused local flooding. On August 21, some areas of Winnipeg (Lindenwoods, Tuxedo, and southeast Charleswood), Sanford, and Brunkild had nearly three inches of rain in half an hour. On August 29, two inches of rain in fell in 20 minutes in Steinbach and four inches of rain landed in Niverville over a few hours. In the early hours of August 30, it was 4 C and no insects were in the air in the St. Adolphe area. Frequent, heavy rains and cold temperatures were not ideal conditions to keep migratory chimney swifts lingering in Manitoba.

Not surprisingly, chimney swift numbers dwindled by the end of August as migration continued. At the Assiniboine School roost, David, Adolf, and Peter hoped to see a "September" swift and their diligent monitoring efforts were rewarded, on September 1, by the sighting of 2-3 birds. However, no chimney swifts roosted at the school that night.

The last two Selkirk monitoring reports of the season were interesting reflections of migration. On August 25, Alyssa, Andy, Carol, Gerald, Linda, Ralph, Robert, Ruby, and Virginia noted 29 roosting chimney swifts divided between 3 of 4 monitored sites. On September 1 (the last regular Monday monitoring night of the season), only 1 roosting chimney swift was counted at the Red Brick chimney, although a group of 8 was seen near the Large Chimney.

Enjoyable opportunistic sightings of late August chimney swifts, also seen in low numbers, were reported by Matt in Carman and Rudolf in East Kildonan, Winnipeg. On September 2, Gerald saw a group of at least 10 chimney swifts over the Home Hardware store in Selkirk.

With Gerald's September 2nd observations, and subsequent fast-acting sleuthing, came the exciting discovery of a second new site being used in Selkirk this year. Gerald tracked the swifts to another new chimney near the Selkirk hospital. It is significant to have the number of known occupied sites in the community increase from four to six in one year - great work Selkirk Swifters!

Also, a new nest site was reported in the East Kildonan area of Winnipeg by Rudolf. So, the total number of new sites identified to MCSI this year = 7!

Margaret and Millie had the distinction of closing out the 2014 season with their observations in Brandon. Five roosting birds were seen on September 7 at the Orange Block chimney. Then, the final reported chimney swift entered the same site roost on September 10. Thanks for your season long efforts and long season of monitoring ladies! The challenge is on as to who sees the first chimney swift in the spring of 2015...
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Some news from Saint Adoplhe
​With the departure of chimney swifts from their summer range, comes a fall task for me. I look into the cleanout traps of two St. Adolphe nest sites to observe evidence of nesting. Then I estimate breeding success. At the Main St. site, ​which was abandoned during the daytime in July, a clutch of 6 eggs was laid (12 half egg shells were present). Six small carcasses were seen at the bottom of the cleanout trap; no nest was observed. It appears that all the hatchlings died at 1-2 days of age. At the Brodeur Bros. site, all 4 eggs in the clutch hatched but unfortunately, 3 juveniles died before fledging - 1 at ~5 days of age and 2 at ~ 15 days of age; 1 juvenile made it out of the top of the chimney successfully. What happens to cause pre-fledging mortality? Sometimes nestlings fall out of the nest, sometimes food availability is so low (think of those long, rainy days) that starvation ensues, and rarely, hostile activities take place where non-parental adults enter the nest site and disturb the peace. Other unknown factors may play a role too.

The other three nest sites in St. Adolphe do not have accessible chimney cleanout traps so behaviour observations have to be relied on to estimate fledging success. The Church nesting attempt failed in July when the adults abandoned the chimney during the daytime. The SE Club Amical nesting pair also stopped their first attempt in July, then became sporadic users of the chimney again during the daytime - ultimately the nesting attempts were not successful. However, the NE Club Amical chimney swifts fledged 2 juveniles around August 11.

Overall, the 5 known nest sites in St. Adolphe were active; 3 primary nesting attempts failed; 2 nesting attempts were successful; and an estimated 3 fledglings were produced. Such low productivity is one factor to be considered in the assessment of declining populations of chimney swifts in Manitoba.

With the support provided by our legion of volunteer monitors, we have concluded the 2014 monitoring season in Manitoba by contributing to the Four Night National Roost Site Monitoring Program, the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas, and the MCSI roost/nest site database. Over the summer, another group of dedicated volunteers worked behind the scenes for the betterment of chimney swifts in Manitoba.

The MCSI Steering Committee is a collective of people devoted to the stewardship and conservancy of chimney swifts in Manitoba. We develop and manage the MCSI monitoring, research, and outreach programs. We will continue to strive toward creating greater public awareness of this Threatened Species At Risk and developing education material.

The Steering Committee members represent a diverse group - self-employed and retired individuals; employees of the provincial and federal governments, and non-government organizations; biologists, some specializing in species at risk, and research scientists; master birders and dedicated backyard birders etc. Our common denominator, however, is chimney swifts and issues related to the betterment of their populations in Manitoba. Together, our group can accomplish what an individual would not be able to.  For example, we currently are preparing a habitat loss and mitigation policy for use in situations where deconstruction of known chimney swift sites may take place; it will also be a useful resource for building new chimney swift habitat in Manitoba.

Our efforts through the fall of 2014 and winter of 2015 will be aided by much appreciated financial support from Environment Canada's Environmental Damages Fund (EDF). Now we need your continued assistance. The number one task over the next few months is to identify chimney sites - roost or nest - that could be reopened or repaired (using our funds) for chimney swift occupancy. Send your suggestions for site remediation along to us! We hope to staff a coordinator (paid for by EDF) for this work soon.

So on behalf of the other Steering Committee members ~ Christian Artuso, Ron Bazin, Neil Butchard, Lewis Cocks, Ken DeSmet, Nicole Firlotte, and Rob Stewart ~ I would like to send a loud shout-out of THANKS for making 2014 such an accomplished year! We will stay in touch, with the able assistance of webmaster Frank Machovec, and hope to count you in for the 2015 chimney swift monitoring season.

For your viewing pleasure...

If you need to Dream a Little Dream of Chimney Swifts over the "off season" ... click on the following link to view a video taken on Tuesday, June 3, 2014 at the Assiniboine School roost chimney. Thanks to Ron Bazin for shooting the original footage, David Wiebe for his editing efforts, and Rob Stewart who methodically counted the 101 chimney swifts who dropped in for the night...
Check the video on YouTube at http://youtu.be/ff065TB8Y7s


All the best 'til next time, Barb.

UP, UP, AND NEARLY AWAY

 MCSI AUGUST 2014 BULLETIN

These are exciting times in which we live. Especially when we make connections with chimney swifts. Since the beginning of August, chimney swift sightings from far and wide were reported (some for earlier in the season); fledged young were identified on the wing; recent counts at well monitored roost sites indicated that migration was underway; and vigilant monitors reported newly discovered chimney swift nest sites.

Winnipeg sightings have been robust. Beyond site monitoring, chimney swifts were seen flying over East Kildonan, Norwood Flats, and River Heights (Rudolf); at Assiniboine Park (Ryan; Bill); St. James (Carolyn, Christian, David); and Riverview (Vere). In Lac du Bonnet, chimney swifts flew about Casey's Inn (Peter, Sharon, Diann, Colleen, Anita). In the townsite of Wasagaming, chimney swifts were flying in the vicinity of McTavish's Lodge (Cal, Ken).

Juvenile sightings in August included the East Kildonan (Rudolf), St. James (Christian), and St Norbert areas of Winnipeg (Barb), and St. Adolphe (Barb).

Daytime nest site activity in St. Adolphe has concluded - there have been no daytime entries/exits as of August 17; the local juveniles are now flight worthy for a day of aerial foraging. The Brodeur Bros site swifts fledged July 30-31 and the NE Club Amical juveniles made a supermoon appearance around Monday, August 11. In August, the SE Club Amical activity was on and off and on and off and, well, generally defied categorization; the nesting attempt likely was not successful in the end (I cannot access the chimney cleanout trap which is sealed behind a wall). The SE and NE Club Amical chimneys were occupied for the night of August 16. Three chimney swifts roosted at Brodeur Bros. on August 14 but none entered on August 20. The local chimney swifts are on the move...

Declining roosting hour counts at other sites also indicated that migration was underway. There can be a local redistribution of chimney swifts between nest and larger roost sites in a premigratory phase. Then the southern exodus begins.

The largest roost site in Manitoba this season was at Assiniboine School, Winnipeg, monitored by team leader David, Adolf, Anna, Peter, and various family members/interested individuals. The season peak was 110 chimney swifts on June 2. Counts last month were 75-85 on July 24 and 72 on July 29. This month's roosting totals were 56 on August 4 and 41 on August 11. So, there is a trend to declining numbers of roosting chimney swifts at this site. It will be interesting to watch how the numbers change = a gradual withdrawal or a mass exodus or...? Time will tell.

Up north in Dauphin, Ken and Jan saw 26 swifts enter their site August 10; 27 were counted by another observer on August 15. These numbers are slightly reduced from the 30 swifts seen entering on July 22, but much lower than the peak count of 48 swifts on May 28.

The most exciting news that winged in this month was the discovery of 4 new nest sites for our provincial inventory - interestingly, the sites were all identified within days of each other. A Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas monitor confirmed roosting hour entries at the St. Norbert Behavioural Health Foundation (August 12/13); mid-day August 14, daytime flying behaviour over the building, which involved juveniles, suggested a nest site was successful. Peter had a fortuitous daytime observation of a chimney swift entry/exit at Chancellor Hall on U of Manitoba campus (August 12) - gleaned from the fifth floor of the adjacent library. Carolyn, in St James, had a 5-6 year old mystery (just where do those chimney swifts go?) resolve when, after sunset, she spied chimney swifts dropping into the small chimney at the rear of St. Anne's Catholic Church (August 16); observations made by David and Christian the next evening, ahead of the roosting hour, confirmed a nest site. Last but not least, Crystal contacted us with news that a nest was observed in her St. James chimney. We are fortunate that the cleanout trap can be inspected in September to estimate the number of fledglings from the nesting attempt.

​Many thanks to all of you who have taken the time to connect with the skies and look for chimney swift activity. Nature reveals itself to those who are patient enough to wait for the signs. We have been rewarded with ​many new, important developments.

The last bulletin for 2014 will follow in September. Enjoy these last days of chimney swift viewing for the current season!

Happy birding, Barb.

Summer Update

The transition from June to July was a wicked weather weekend! A massive storm, which settled into the Province, blew in several inches of rain and closed the Winnipeg airport down on June 29 in the process. As a result of cumulative rain related events, the Red River Floodway was operated on July 1 and the flood fighting season began in the Assiniboine River system. Many of our monitors live in flood-impacted areas and we send our best wishes out to you all for a speedy recovery to pre-flood life.

More will follow on avian weather challenges, but first, a review of chimney swift biology will help explain why these birds are vulnerable to extreme weather events. Chimney swifts are obligate aerial insectivores. That mouthful means that in order to eat, chimney swifts have to collect insects out of the air column. Unlike purple martins which can drop to the ground and pick up insects (then themselves) if necessary, the long wings of a chimney swift hinder getting airborne again once they land on flat ground. The clinging-adapted feet of a chimney swift are also of little use to cope with horizontal surfaces and chimney swifts cannot perch on branches or wires to wait for prey items to pass by. Chimney swifts are either up in the air flying or inside their nest/roost sites clinging to a vertical surface.

Back to July issues. The type of wet 'n' windy weather we have experienced over the last month can cause a lot of problems for foraging chimney swifts. If rain is steady over many hours, and especially if it is coupled with strong winds, airborne insects are not concentrated or are washed out of the air column. High heat, humidity, and accompanying strong winds, which we also had in July, can disperse the aerial plankton too. The consequence at a nest site is that a patch of bugs may not be close enough for adults to collect food and return to hatchlings in a timely manner; starvation of the juveniles may ensue. Rain can also loosen the bond between nests and the vertical surface of the chimney which results in nest slippage.

Unfortunately, the St. Adolphe breeding flock has had problems in July. Of the 5 primary nesting attempts which were underway, 3 failed by July 21st. The SE Club Amical, Church, and Main St. residence adults stopped using the chimneys during the daytime but they continued to roost at night. The Southeast Club Amical adults recently started a secondary use of the chimney, but time is now too short for a successful nesting outcome. The NE Club Amical site is still active (feeding non-brooded juveniles) and at the Brodeur Bros. there is often manic activity as 1-2 helpers are assisting the breeding adults feed the young (you can tell how many birds are onsite by the sequence of entries and exits). Our fingers and feathers are crossed for successful fledging from the 2 active sites.

Despite the difficulties elsewhere, good news prevails in Selkirk. Ruby and her diligent group of monitors reported an exciting development in the discovery of a new site. On July 7, chimney swifts were observed entering a chimney on Manitoba Ave (i.e. the main west-to-east one-way street in Selkirk, running between Main St and Eveline Ave)". Congratulations on your sleuthing!

The active group of Selkirk monitors does a weekly Monday night monitoring session. Thanks for all of your hard work Ruby (team leader), Andy, Gerald, Carol, Nia, Ralph, Linda, and Virginia (regular volunteers), plus Sybil, Ray, Robert, Maggie, Barry, Jim, and Dorothy (backup crew)!!!

To the north, Ken and Jan continued to track the Dauphin roost site. The latest count on July 22 was 30 roosting swifts.

In Winnipeg, David, Adolf, Anna, and Peter are still reporting exceptionally high roost counts at Assiniboine School. On July 6, 70 swifts entered for the night and on July 14, 54 roosted.

It's hard to believe that August, which is our wrap-up month, will be upon us so soon. What will the home-stretch involve? For roost sites, expect to see counts peak again - although perhaps not as high as seen in the spring - as swifts group in preparation for migration. Ken notes that counts at his northern Dauphin roost site are the highest by August 6 usually. After fledging, the St. Adolphe birds may set up a local pre-migratory group which reflects the breeding adult population and new recruits that have just fledged. Southern roost sites, such as Selkirk, will have peak numbers later into August as northerly swifts may join in before continuing southward. Small numbers of birds may linger into early September.

At nest sites in August, activity will increase in the daytime prior to fledging. At ~21 days of age, juveniles move from the bowl of the nest to the wall of the chimney. Flight training ensues and the youngsters fly up and down the shaft to prepare for free flight. The adults eventually will lure the juveniles close to the rim of the chimney. Fledging (day 28-30) occurs when the juveniles burst out the top of the chimney and experience the open skies. It is not as romantic as it may sound. Free flying is a slow, follow-the-leader process for the fledglings. Getting back inside home base is not necessarily a pretty sight - the fledglings are led back to their natal chimney and entries can be difficult. There is a lot of fluttery, wing flapping to position over the opening and entry "misses" involve some tumbling down the outer surface of the chimney. Despite the breath-sucking drama, I have never seen a fatal entry event (said with wood-clutching superstition). However, flight proficiency is gained quickly and within 36 hours of fledging it may be difficult to distinguish fledglings from adults unless you see the wings. Adults will be in moult so missing wing feathers reveal gaps, while fledglings have intact wing margins.

The dispersal of chimney swifts from the summer range is linked to many factors. Temperature, photoperiod, food availability, and time of fledging all influence the bird's departure. August monitoring sessions - especially within the first two weeks of the month - will be valuable to track production at nest sites and migration from roost sites.

I enjoy reading about your sightings. We have had excellent coverage throughout the province this season and high quality data has been submitted. Thank you all for your efforts and, as we near season's end, keep your observations winging in!

All the best in birding, Barb.

Barb Stewart
St. Adolphe Monitor & MCSI Steering Committee Member

COUNTING CHIMNEY SWIFTS ON THE WING

COUNTING CHIMNEY SWIFTS ON THE WING IS EASIER USING AN IMAGE...but it still is challenging!

Chimney swifts up in the air

Chimney swifts seen everywhere

Some wings are up, some wings are down

Bodies tilt as they glide around

Some head toward us, some aim west

All will seek a place to rest

Some birds seem close, some further away

They need a place for a nighttime's stay

Tell me now, how well you fare

Counting chimney swifts up in the air!

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Try counting the chimney swifts circling above the chimney as they prepare to roost (top photo). You can check your counts against the "red blips" marked on the lower photo.​

 Larger version of photo A

Larger version of photo B

​Many thanks to NICK STEFANO, KINGSTON, ON, for taking this amazing photo of chimney swifts approaching a roost at 318 Westdale Ave, Kingston, On (May 18, 2014). Thanks also to Rob Stewart for applying his "walrus census technique" to counting the birds (Photo B). Both images were posted by Frank Machovec, our much appreciated webmaster.