Watershed groups on the lookout for little brown bug-eating birds

Jennifer Sweet · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 23, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

A New Brunswick non-profit that promotes biodiversity and sustainable ecology is asking radical to beryllium connected the lookout for slope swallows.

The Kennebecasis Watershed Restoration Committee says the small brownish and achromatic birds assistance power insect populations and are astatine hazard successful the province, chiefly due to the fact that of pesticides and situation loss.

As overmuch arsenic 99 per cent of the slope swallow colonisation has been lost, said Caitlyn Duncanson, the group's biodiversity co-ordinator.

"Because they similar to nest successful steeper eroding banks, often these banks are stabilized from radical putting rocks connected the shoreline and things similar that. So their burrows are being affected and they can't find a spot to nest," she said.

Additionally, the usage of neonicotinoid insecticides successful forestry and agriculture have killed disconnected a batch of the insects that bank swallows eat, she said, citing a study from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Bank swallows similar beetles and existent bugs, but they'll devour beauteous overmuch immoderate flying insect, said Heather Polowyk, an aerial insectivore conservation biologist with Birds Canada, based successful Nova Scotia.

Neonicotinoids are sprayed connected a tract oregon wood to woody with peculiar pests, but they besides extremity up sidesplitting each different insect that comes successful interaction with the stuff, she said. 

The driblet successful colonisation has taken spot crossed Canada, said Polowyk, and the occupation is adjacent much wide than that due to the fact that slope swallows migrate and overwinter successful South America. 

Elsewhere successful the world, however, their populations are doing OK, she said.

Bank swallows are known to burrow into sediment successful colonies of 10 to thousands to nest, said Duncanson.

In the 1960s, astir 200 were counted during surveys successful the Kennebecasis watershed successful Penobsquis and Hampton, she said.

The past clip immoderate were seen successful the country was astir 2015, she said, but that doesn't mean determination are nary around.

The watershed committee has produced a caller usher to assistance way down and support immoderate remaining colonies of slope swallows. It's disposable connected their website: kennebecasisriver.org nether the heading, reports and publications.

Bank swallows are the smallest swallow taxon successful North America, said Duncanson.

Their head, wings, process feathers and a set crossed the thorax are brown, she said, portion their underside, chin and a distinctive jawline strap are white.

You tin sometimes spot slope swallow nesting holes on steep embankments erstwhile you're floating down river, she said.

She'd similar anyone who spots slope swallows oregon their nests to interaction the Kennebecasis Watershed Restoration Committee oregon upload the determination to an app specified arsenic iNaturalist oregon eBird.

The committee is hoping to conserve those areas and to marque definite they're not disturbed by humans.

LISTEN | In hunt of the slope swallow:

At slightest 70 imaginable slope swallow sites person been identified successful the province, said Polowyk, on beaches, pits, quarries and rivers.

"We person tons of sites crossed New Brunswick that are being monitored oregon are successful request of monitors," she said.

Anyone funny tin registry online astatine NatureCounts.ca.

Most of the existent volunteers are from a programme called Healthy Coasts, she said. It's tally by Nature N.B., and made up of a fig of watershed organizations.

There's a peculiar request for volunteers successful the Edmundston and Woodstock areas, but determination are besides sites astir Saint John, Fredericton and on the seashore adjacent Shediac.

She didn't privation to beryllium much circumstantial due to the fact that she said it's amended for the delicate habitats if radical enactment away.

One known and highly disposable tract is astatine Youghall Beach successful Bathurst. 

It's being protected by roping disconnected the area, making it a no-mow portion and planting vegetation, including willows, to stabilize the bank, said Duncanson.

This spring, students from the section assemblage assemblage volition beryllium going determination to bash immoderate much planting, said Polowyk. 

They took portion successful a autochthonal effect planting store and person been cultivating plants successful small greenhouses fashioned from beverage jugs, she said. 

Eventually, Polowyk hopes the swallow nest tract volition besides go a spot wherever radical tin cod autochthonal seeds, specified arsenic milkweed.

She besides hopes the occurrence of the Bathurst task volition promote radical successful different communities to create, "living shorelines," and to see slope swallows successful their plans.