Removal pending for rare bird colony

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

Staff Writer

ROWE — A colony of cliff swallows, one of just eight known to be living in Massachusetts, will have its nests removed from Town Hall after the end of breeding season.

The decision to remove the birds was made by the Selectboard in an effort to improve the working conditions of municipal staff members, much to the chagrin of Swallow Conservation, a nonprofit working to protect and study swallows in New England.

“Before the next breeding season, the town of Rowe is going to exclude this colony from the Town Hall so they can’t nest here. It is one of eight colonies in the state and represents a significant portion of the total population of cliff swallows in the state,” said Mara Silver, who serves as director of Swallow Conservation. “The loss of this colony is just an-

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A cliff swallow flies into a nest at Rowe Town Hall.

STAFF PHOTO/MADISON SCHOFIELD

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other step toward their extinction.”

During a Selectboard meeting in April, Town Administrator Brooke Shulda said the birds have created an uncomfortable working environment for municipal employees. Bird droppings left on and next to Town Hall prevent employees from opening their office windows and turning on air conditioners, and could have potential health impacts.

“I don’t hate the birds, I love the birds. But I don’t love that they’re on the building,” Shulda said. “Our employees in the Town Hall at this point, they can’t open their windows. … We need to take care of our employees.”

She added that the swooping behavior exhibited by cliff swallows can make it difficult for staff and residents coming in and out of the building.

“We’re ducking when we’re coming into work because they’re swooping down,” Shulda said. “It’s not fair to our employees.”

According to Shulda, the Park Commission agreed to move the nests to a barn at Pelham Lake Park. Selectboard members said that while it will be difficult to get the birds to move from the location where they have been nesting for decades, they agreed removing the nests would be the best decision to improve staff working conditions. They suggested deterring the birds from nesting by power washing Town Hall.

Cliff swallows, also known by their scientific name Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, are small birds with square-shaped tails. They are members of the passerine bird family, eating insects such as mosquitoes and building nests out of mud under horizontal overhangs.

According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, cliff swallow populations in the United States have remained stable and are of “least concern” in terms of endangerment, with a population of 83 million birds worldwide. However, the population of cliff swallows has been dropping in Massachusetts since the mid-1970s.

Mass Audubon’s State of the Birds report states that cliff swallow populations are less than half what they were in 1979, and require urgent conservation action. Population loss is believed to be due to climate change, extreme weather and loss of habitats.

Silver said the birds’ swooping habits are not aggressive; their flight patterns require folding their wings and swooping when they enter and exit their nests. She added there are no scientific studies indicating that swallow droppings are a health hazard. The species was once abundant on farms, Silver said, and farmers considered them beneficial because they ate pesky mosquitoes and flies.

“It’s not that they’re aggressive, it’s just what they do,” Silver said.

She noted the species is a stubborn one, and after 35 years of working with them, she does not believe the colony can be moved.

To educate people about swallows and conservation efforts, Silver has been spending time with third and fourth graders at Rowe Elementary School. She said the students have become budding ornithologists, and have been learning about the birds’ habitat and activities. The students also started their own advocacy work, creating signs and posters and penning a letter about the species.

“They are amazing birds that need our help,” the students wrote. “Our cliff swallow colony is right at the Rowe Town Hall, and if you want to see them, you have to be really calm and quiet so you don’t disturb them. … We’re lucky to have these cliff swallows here in Rowe because of how rare they are in Massachusetts.”

Silver said anyone who is interested in learning more about cliff swallows can visit her nonprofit’s website, swallowconser vation.org.

“We’re just trying to preserve the last few colonies that nest in the state,” Silver said. “We’re having a biodiversity crisis and there are species that rely on humanmade structures. This is one of them.” Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.

Rowe Elementary School students have been learning about and advocating for cliff swallows, a rare species with a colony at Rowe Town Hall.

STAFF PHOTO/MADISON SCHOFIELD