Upper Columbia Swallow Habitat Enhancement Project: Year 1

This multi-year project aims to conserve and enhance habitat for at-risk bank and barn swallows in the North Columbia.

Specific site plans will be developed to restore bank swallow breeding habitat that has been lost. Increasing the connectivity of breeding habitat and enhancing breeding sites will allow for increased abundance of at-risk swallows, which are facing a significantly sharp population decline.

Update: 8 nesting structures installed

These artificial nesting structures are the first of eight to be installed in the Columbia Wetlands to provide much-need habitat for at-risk swallows. Habitat loss is a key factor in the decline of these birds. The barns will be outfitted with artificial nest cups, which are the size and shape of natural mud nests, to give the swallows a head start in nest making. The barns are part of a five-year project, led by Wildsight Golden to study at-risk bank and barn swallows in the Columbia Valley, from Canal Flats to the Kinbasket Reservoir.

Photos by Rachel Darville