Reports

2014 Swift Watch Report

2014 Barrie SwiftWatch Report

• Our 2014 Barrie SwiftWatch team consisted of 22 dedicated volunteers comprised of both BFNC members and non-club members. The team was coordinated by Phyllis Tremblay and Inga Brinckmann.
• Chimney Swifts were first observed in Barrie this year on May 6, 2014.
• Bird Studies Canada (BSC) provided a data logger that was installed in the chimney of Unity Christian High School (UCHS) on May 8, 2014 by Chris Evans and Ruth Noland-Flores. The data logger records temperature and light conditions that will be analysed by Birds Studies Canada’s biologists.
• BSC biologist, Carolyn Zanchetta informed the grade 12 biology class at UCHS about the unique behaviour of chimney swifts that nest in their school chimney.
• Swift Night Out in collaboration with BSC took place in downtown Barrie on May 28, 2014. This event was organized by Inga Brinckmann and reported in the Spring Issue of The Blue Heron.
• National Population Roost Monitoring Blitz counts were performed on May 21, May 25, May 29, and June 2.
• Spot-checks of previously identified chimneys occurred Tuesday evenings from May to the end of August weather permitting.
• This year during the local fall migration, chimney swifts roosted in the 3 tallest, large chimneys in downtown Barrie - The Queen’s, The Jail and 24 Dunlop St., E.
• The last chimney swift of the 2014 season was observed flying over UCHS on September 6.

Retrieving data logger from Unity Christian High School chimney Barrie

Results of 2014 Chimney Monitoring

Results of 2014 National Population Roost Monitoring Blitz Counts

numbers refer to the number of chimney swifts entering chimneys on each date