Watching the dainty Bank Swallow in flight, you'd never guess it was a burrowing specialist. Males use their tiny feet and beaks to excavate burrows in vertical sandy banks where they make their nests. Large colonies form where habitat is just right, in which thousands of pairs may nest together.
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The Bank Swallow nests colonially in exposed sand banks and other slopes across most of Canada, and winters from southern Mexico through much of South America. There are approximately 2.4 million in Canada, representing 8% of the global population and a low degree of Canadian responsibility. An additional 1.2 million breed in Alaska, boosting the proportion of the global total to 12%.
Bank Swallow is designated Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada due to a rapid decline in the early 2000s (COSEWIC, 2013), and the Canadian population has dropped by 95% since 1970 based on the Breeding Bird Survey. Confidence in the status is very high because surveys cover the population well, there is high precision in trends, and the magnitude of change leaves no doubt that a large decrease has occurred. The national population of Bank Swallow is below its goal range.
The Canadian population of Bank Swallow is best monitored by the Breeding Bird Survey, which samples much of the breeding range and has high precision but may not optimally detect colonial species. The national trend shows a steep decline from the early 1970s to late 1990s, tapering off and eventually stabilizing at a level over 90% lower than in 1970. All regions within Canada show declines of at least 80% except the southern Prairies. In this region there was a drop of more than 50% in the 1970s, then a stable trend over the next three decades, and finally an increase since 2010 back to the mid-1970s population level.
The goal for Bank Swallow is to increase the population to the level it was at in the early 1970s, based on the Breeding Bird Survey. Bank Swallow is far below its goal range, although it has shown an increase over the past decade. Because of the severity of the decline since the early 1970s, it is not realistic for the goal to be met by 2050. Based on analysis of the historical population loss and potential growth rates, the interim target is to reach 25% of the goal by 2050. Achieving this target, and ultimately reaching the national goal for this species, will require ambitious and long-term conservation action. This objective is consistent with the Recovery Strategy for Bank Swallow under the Species at Risk Act, which calls for reducing the rate of decline and ensuring that the population index by 2033 is at least 80% of its level in 2021, then maintaining at least a stable trend by 2053 with a population index of at least 90% of its 2021 level (ECCC, 2022).
Designation | Geographic Area | Status | CITATION |
---|---|---|---|
COSEWIC | Canada | Threatened | |
Wild Species | Canada | Secure | |
IUCN | Global | Least Concern | |
Species At Risk Act | Canada | Threatened | |
Partners in Flight | Western Hemisphere | Common Birds in Steep Decline |
- COSEWIC. 2013. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Bank Swallow Riparia riparia in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. ix + 48 pp. https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/document/default_e.cfm?documentID=985.
- Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). 2022g. Recovery Strategy for the Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa. ix + 125 pp. https://wildlife-species.az.ec.gc.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files//plans/rs-HirondelleRivageBankSwallow-v00-2022Apr-eng.pdf.
Watching the dainty Bank Swallow in flight, you'd never guess it was a burrowing specialist. Males use their tiny feet and beaks to excavate burrows in vertical sandy banks where they make their nests. Large colonies form where habitat is just right, in which thousands of pairs may nest together.
Bank Swallow is primarily reported between April and September in Canada, as it migrates south in the nonbreeding season.
Nesting period starts between mid-May and early June and ends between late July and early August, depending on the region. Before or after this period, the probability of an active nest is lower.