Reports

2015 Barrie SwiftWatch Report

 

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2015 Barrie SwiftWatch Report

  • The 2015 Barrie SwiftWatch team consisted of 20 dedicated volunteers from the Brereton Field Naturalists’ Club (BFNC) and some Allandale Neighbourhood Association members. The team was coordinated by Phyllis Tremblay and Inga Brinckmann.
  • Chimney Swifts were first observed in downtown Barrie this year on April 30.
  • A notable observation was the use of the chimney at Barrie Central Collegiate as a roost during spring and fall migrations and for nesting during the summer. The last chimney swift of the season was observed here on September 7th.
  • This was the first spring that large numbers of chimney swifts were observed entering The Jail chimney during spring migration. Now, this chimney is identified as a spring and fall roost and used by a breeding pair during the summer.
  • Swift Night Out took place in downtown Barrie on May 28, 2015 in collaboration with Bird Studies Canada’s biologist, Diana Teal providing support. Inga Brinckmann coordinated the event and reported it in the summer edition of the Blue Heron.
  • The National Population Roost Monitoring Blitz counts were performed on May 20, May 24, May 28, and June 1.
  • Spot-checks of previously identified chimneys occurred Thursday evenings from May to mid-August, weather permitting.
  • During the local fall migration, starting from August 16 to September 7, the SwiftWatch Team conducted counts at the 6 Barrie roosts.
  • The SwiftWatch Team made 133 visits to chimneys to monitor for the presence/absence of chimney swift activity. Spot-checks were conducted in 2 other communities identifying one active site each in Elmvale and Minesing.
  • Three of our SwiftWatch team made a presentation at the York Simcoe Naturalists’ meeting in Holland Landing on April 14th.
  • SwiftWatch was promoted as part of the BFNC display at L3 Writers’ Conference at Barrie North Collegiate, Celebrate Barrie and at Cabela’s “Conservation Days”.
  • An article describing Barrie’s SwiftWatch activities was published in the July issue of the “Focus 50” newspaper.
  • All data has been submitted to Bird Studies Canada and Inga Brinckmann has prepared a spreadsheet for the BFNC files.