Barn Swallows

Lorraine Julien | Jul 30, 2015

Ever since I was a child growing up on a farm, I’ve loved to watch the swoops and mid-air dives of beautiful Barn Swallows. I remember that it was always a sad day in early August when we’d see the last of the swallows gathering to leave. By that time they had raised their young, and, since the numbers of juicy insects had declined by late summer, it was time to head south for the winter. Unlike some migrating birds, the swallows seemed to leave within a couple of days once they started gathering for the flight. There were many of these beneficial swallows on our farm partly because of the old barns that offered excellent places in which to build their nests. The open fields and the old manure pile also provided a steady diet of flies and other bugs.

Barn Swallows are quite easily identified, especially when flying. In their search for insects, they swoop and dive like the biplanes you might see at an airshow. These elegant, long-tailed insectivores are fascinating to watch. They are a medium-sized songbird (about 15-18 cm. long) but the first thing you notice is the glossy steel-blue back and upper wings with a buff, tawny underbelly. The male has long tail feathers which form a distinctive, deep fork and a line of white spots across the outer end of the upper tail. The female’s tail feathers are shorter and her colours similar but less striking. Their Latin name is “Hirundo rustica” which means “swallows of the country”.

Barn Swallow nests are easier to spot than most birds’ nests since they build their mud nests almost exclusively on human-made structures such as open barns, under bridges and in culverts. They like to have the nests close to open fields, lakes, etc. where insects are readily available. They also must have access to mud to make the mud pellets that are packed together to form their nests. Lake shores, river edges, swamps and mud puddles provide this building material. These sturdy little nests may be used several times, usually only needing a bit of mud caulking here and there to make them cosy and safe for the little ones.

Even in cottage country, there are many spots that Barn Swallows like to take advantage of for nesting sites. During our years of cottaging on Kashwakamak Lake, we loved to kayak and explore some of the less travelled inlets and bays. There is a secluded bay that is peppered with dead heads that look to me as though they are petrified. These are what is left of the trees that were drowned a hundred years ago when the lake was dammed and the water reached a higher level. Some of the remaining trees and stumps rise a few feet above the water and provide many hollow places that are ideal for nests well away from predators. It’s there that we’ve observed several swallow families taking advantage of the quiet, safe area that abounds in a ready food supply of insects. As we quietly glided past in our boat, it was great to see a little family with their mouths wide open waiting for mom and dad to come back with lunch.

Although they are the most widespread species of swallow in the world, Barn Swallow numbers have declined dramatically (65% between 1966 and 2009 according to Bird Studies Canada) - like all other aerial insectivores. The declines have been so significant that Barn Swallows are now a Threatened Species and their general habitat are automatically protected. There are probably a number of reasons for the population decline: Loss of habitat is what comes to mind when you think of all the old barns that are gone or have been replaced by large metal sheds with tight-fitting doors and no windows. Another reason may be the large scale pesticide spraying of fields that has reduced the insect populations needed for food.

There are many ways that private landowners can help this species to recover. If you have a shed or barn on your property where Barn Swallows could nest, you can encourage them by creating an opening or leaving a way for them to enter the building. Ledges could be installed if rough vertical surfaces are not available.

I came across an article about the construction of Highway 407 as it edges across the GTA and on towards Highway 35/115. Since this highway crosses a lot of farm country, a fair number of barns were levelled or moved, thus destroying habitat for the swallows. The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to replace destroyed Barn Swallow habitat. A number of Barn Swallow structures have been installed throughout the Highway 407 corridor as replacement habitat for structures demolished as part of the highway construction. Some of the structures are quite simple and consist of a barn-like roof on high stilts open on all sides. The structures are built in open fields along watercourses or wetlands. Some of the structures have artificial nest cups which provide a safe and easy spot to build nests and high enough to deter predators. There are two sizes of structures, large and small. The small structures have 12 nest cups, while the large structures have up to 64. Let’s hope they work.

For information on how you can help these beautiful insectivores, visit Bird Studies Canada at www.bsc-eoc.org.