Overview
Project Name
Ontario Bank Swallow Project
Access Level
By Request
Year started
2010
Year Ended
Ongoing
Dataset
Lake Erie Bank Swallow Burrow Counts
About
Dataset summary
The Lake Erie Bank Swallow Burrow Counts dataset includes information on breeding Bank Swallows along the North Shore of Lake Erie. These data show the raw counts of annual Bank Swallow burrow surveys within colonies at the route-level. This dataset does not present data on bird surveys, only the number of burrows observed during boat surveys. Additionally, the dataset includes locations of shoreline hardening that overlap with theoretical Bank Swallow breeding habitat.
Season(s) and frequency
Surveys were originally conducted annually in June and July from 2010 until 2014. Starting in 2015, surveys have been conducted annually in July and August.
Geographic area covered
The North Shore of Lake Erie, Ontario, Canada.
Primary species covered
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)
Goals
The primary purpose of this project is to measure population changes in Bank Swallows breeding along the north shore of Lake Erie, the core of its Ontario breeding range. The area of the Lake Erie shoreline between Clear Creek and Port Glasgow supports the largest known concentration of breeding Bank Swallows in Ontario, and likely Canada. Continued annual monitoring is imperative to ensure that changes in population size in this core breeding area are recorded and the presence of anthropogenic habitat changes (shoreline hardening) are documented.
Methods
Sampling Design
The north shore of Lake Erie between Clear Creek and Port Stanley hosted the majority of Bank Swallow burrows, as determined by complete shoreline surveys (between ~Wheatley and Dunnville, Ontario) conducted by boat in 2011. Annual shoreline surveys were completed between Clear Creek and Rondeau Provincial Park between 2010 and 2013. Annual shoreline surveys were thereafter conducted between Clear Creek and Port Stanley until 2022. Every ~10 years, complete shoreline surveys are repeated along the extended survey area (~Wheatley to Dunnville to ensure our core survey area continues to encompass the “core breeding area.” The second full shoreline survey in 2022 concluded that a large portion of burrows are present between Port Stanley and Port Glasgow. Therefore, the core survey area from 2023 onwards is from Clear Creek to Port Glasgow. In summary: 1. Full shoreline surveys between ~Wheatley to Dunnville, Ontario were completed in 2011 and 2022. 2. Annual shoreline surveys completed between Clear Creek and Rondeau Provincial Park were conducted from 2010 to 2013. 3. Annual shoreline surveys were then reduced to surveys between Clear Creek and Port Stanley from 2014 to 2022. 4. Annual shoreline surveys completed between Clear Creek and Port Glasgow are conducted from 2023 onwards. 5. Route selection may be variable depending on day-of weather conditions, but typically follow these daily routes: a. Clear Creek to Port Burwell b. Port Burwell to Port Bruce c. Port Bruce to Port Stanley d. Port Stanley to Port Glasgow (route added in 2023) 6. There is a total of 10 routes in our data set: Route 1 = Clear Creek to Port Burwell (Surveyed 2010-onwards) Route 2 = Port Burwell to Port Bruce (Surveyed 2010-onwards) Route 3 = Port Bruce to Port Stanley (Surveyed 2010-onwards) Route 4 = Port Stanley to Port Glasgow (Surveyed 2022-onwards) Route 5 = Port Glasgow to Erieau (Surveyed in 2022) Route 6 = Erieau to Wheatley (Surveyed in 2011 & 2022) Route 7 = Port Stanley to Rondeau (Surveyed 2010-2013) Route 8 = Nanticoke to Turkey Point (Surveyed in 2022) Route 9 = Fishers Glen to Turkey Point (Surveyed 2011 - 2013) Route 10= Mohawk Bay Haldimand County (Surveyed in 2011)
Field methods
Burrow counts are completed annually along the north shore of Lake Erie, Ontario, Canada, to estimate population trends for Bank Swallows. Our primary study area consists of a ~90 km linear extent between Clear Creek, west to Port Glasgow, and is surveyed annually. All available bluff habitat is surveyed by boat. Bank Swallow colonies are exclusively located on lakeshore bluffs. We inventory all burrows in Bank Swallow colonies between June and July from 2010-2014, or July and August from 2015-onwards. We conduct boat surveys using a 24-foot steel work boat and a hired boat operator. We survey only during calm weather (i.e., winds less than 15 km/hr). During burrow counting surveys, we travel 5-10 km/hr and approximately 50-100 m from the shore. We identify Bank Swallow colonies by the presence of burrows in the bluff faces. Many colonies appear continuous, with some fragmentation, therefore we separate colonies where a >20 m break (i.e., absence of burrows) in the colony exists. We photograph colonies and georeference them using a handheld GPS unit (Etrex Vista HCx, Gamin 2007 or similar). Procedure for burrow counting varies depending on colony size, as larger colonies are more difficult to count accurately in the field. Burrows in small colonies (<100 burrows) are often counted individually. At dense colonies (e.g., >100 burrows), we often stop the boat to ensure adequate time to count burrows, or conduct a photo count. To conduct a photo count, photos of colonies are taken during boat surveys and the individual burrows counted in either MIcrosoft Paint, DotDotGoose, or similar, using coloured dots. Documentation of shoreline hardening is also an important part of the boat surveys to identify bluffs that may have been influenced by erosion control methods. Shoreline hardening, including rock faces, armour stone, concrete pads, and others, that reduce the habitat available to Bank Swallows to nest are recorded on the field datasheet photos are taken, a GPS location is marked, and a description is written on the field data sheet. If there are areas with shoreline hardening (ports where it’s concrete berms etc.), but no bluff exists where Bank Swallows could even have nested in the past few years, these are not counted as shoreline hardening.
QA/QC
1-2 individual surveyors are primarily responsible for counting burrows each season (in-field and through photo counts) to reduce observer bias. Between seasons, if the same surveyors from previous seasons are not returning, training in-field to standardize the number of burrows counted between observers is completed.
Advice
These data are burrow counts only, and are not a count of Bank Swallows. Bank Swallow population numbers can be approximated by using these burrow counts, but the data itself are just the number of burrows along the lakeshore. GPS markers are approximate as they are taken 50-100 m from shore and are taken at the start of the colony, rather than the centre.
Partners
Citation
Birds Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Ontario Power Generation. 2025. "Lake Erie Bank Swallow Burrow Counts". Data accessed from NatureCounts, Birds Canada.
