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Thread: Ontario SwiftWatch Program

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    BPN Viewer Jeff Cashdollar's Avatar
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    Default Ontario SwiftWatch Program

    John - are you involved in this.

    18 February 2011 – Bird Studies Canada needs energetic, community-minded, bird loving citizens to participate in the Ontario SwiftWatch Program. We need Volunteer Regional Coordinators to help recruit and organize SwiftWatch volunteers in local communities. SwiftWatch Habitat Assessors to help inventory potential next and roost chimneys within local communities, and Swift Watch Citizen Scientists to conduct daytime and evening Chimney Swift Monitoring at active chimneys.
    We are also interested in assessing the potential for SwiftWatch Programs, including potential coordinators, within the areas of Sarnia, Dundas, London, Hamilton, Niagara, Toronto, and Orillia; however, any community may contact us for information or consideration. SwiftWatch Coordinators are also looking for volunteers to assist in daytime and evening Chimney Swift monitoring in the following communities: Barrie, Essex County, Guelph, London, Niagara, North Bay, Pembroke, Windsor, Sarnia, Sault Ste. Marie, Stratford, and Temiskaming/NewLiskeard.
    Ontario SwiftWatch is a fun, family-friendly program that provides the opportunity for individuals to watch and help protect urban wildlife. Participants spend time enjoying and getting to know their community, while providing information that directly supports bird conservation.
    If you or your group are interested in becoming involved, contact Kathy Jones (volunteer@birdscanada.org) or telephone 1-888-448-2473 extension 124. For volunteer position descriptions and opportunities in your area and to learn more about the SwiftWatch Program, visit the BSC website. Ontario SwiftWatch is undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through Environment Canada, the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Natural Resources, and TD Friends of the Environment Fund.

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    No Jeff, but I know the people who are, and my department supports a lot of work done by Bird Studies Canada.

    Swifts are declining in North America, as are many other aerial insectivores (birds that catch insects on the wing such as swallows, nightjars, flycatchers, and of course swifts). I am very enthusiastic about "citizen science" projects like this that take advantage of interested folks on the ground. The result is a raising of awareness and public education, AND great data at the end of it, which can be used to help conservation.

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    BPN Viewer Jeff Cashdollar's Avatar
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    John,

    Is it true that Swifts do not land for hours and some only at night to rest.

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    Hey Jeff- Good question. Swifts are related to hummingbirds and are classified in the order Apodiformes. "Apod" means no foot, which is a bit of an exaggeration but reflects the much reduced foot size in birds in this order. Generally these species cannot walk. Hummers can perch upright but swifts can't even do that. They are only capable of hanging head-up on the a more or less vertical surface. They essentially do what bats do but the other way up. Swifts are known to roost communally at night, and will often use the interior of chimney stacks. The assumption from this is that they remain aerial all day and only stop flying at night. They are extremely efficient flyers so this is not hard to believe.

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    BPN Viewer Jeff Cashdollar's Avatar
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    Thanks - I love to watch Barn Swallows in the summer evenings catching insects in the air - what flyers they are.

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    Ah swallows- a classic example of convergent evolution. Swallows are perching birds or passerines but swifts are in a different order or birds and quite unrelated. They look superficially similar because independent evolutionary pressures on them to become efficient aerial insectivores has produced similar engineering solutions in both groups. The nightjars are similar, although larger-bodied for the same reason.

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    BPN Viewer Jeff Cashdollar's Avatar
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    John - I found this on the internet as well.

    There are several key differences between swallows and swifts. Swifts generally have narrower, sickle-shaped wings and do not perch between foraging flights (in fact, their extremely short legs and toe structure does not allow them to perch at all and they can only cling to rough surfaces!). Not only do swifts capture all their food in flight, but these remarkable birds sometimes even sleep and mate in the air! Swallows tend to fly closer to the ground than swifts and have distinctly broader wings. Many species have long forked tails ending in thin streamers which grow to a maximum length during the breeding season.

    http://www.rspb.org.uk/thingstodo/su...troducing.aspx
    http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/bird...low/index.aspx
    Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 02-21-2011 at 10:13 PM.

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