Another year is wrapped up for the Upper Columbia Swallow Habitat Enhancement Project (UCSHEP).
The Wildsight project, set from 2021 to 2026, monitors and collects data with the help of volunteers.
To date, five large condos for barn swallows have been erected and in August, one produced four barn swallow chicks.
Wildsight is working with the Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service and BC Parks on the project.
“Rachel Darvill and her team installed four Motus Wildlife Tracking Stations in the region and subsequently tagged fifty barn swallows at two colonies near Invermere in June,” explained Wildsight.
By tagging these swallows, it allows for information on post-breeding habitat and the bank swallow migration route.
The UCSHEP also helped restore bank swallow colony habitat within Windermere Lake Provincial Park, removed vegetation blocking bank swallow flightpaths at a blaeberry colony, assisted with a barn roof replacement that provides significant barn swallow habitat in Invermere and installed 63 nest cups on pre-existing buildings and artificial nesting structures.
There were 70 volunteers involved in the swallow monitoring during the spring and summer. UCSHEP worked with the Ktunaxa Nation and Secwepemc Nation (Shuswap Band) who researched their traditional Indigenous perspectives on swallows and provided content to be used on UCSHEP interpretive signage.
“Through this project, numerous swallow colonies in suitable bank swallow habitats from Canal Flats to Donald have been recorded. About 100 of those have been confirmed as bank swallow colonies,” explained Wildsight.
This data has helped identify the area between Canal Flats and Edgewater as a critical habitat for bank swallows, as drafted in the federal recovery strategy for this species.
READ MORE: Boo the bear enjoys Kicking Horse Mountain’s first snowfall
