Cliff swallows, nests need to be protected
Spring is a beautiful time of year in Sandpoint, and the entire community is eagerly anticipating this season’s weather and wildlife. The environment and wildlife in our area are two of the reasons people enjoy visiting and living here so much.
With spring comes the return of the swallow, which only visits us for a few months each year to nest and raise its young. The reason for this letter concerns the cliff swallow which has built nests on the Seasons at Sandpoint condominiums, and which the Season’s management has destroyed in the past.
Last April, my husband and I had the pleasure of watching the cliff swallows gather that perfect combination of mud and sand from the shore at Sandpoint City Beach and carry their treasure up to the condos to build their nests. It seemed like a well-choreographed dance they performed in this annual ritual of survival. It was spectacular.
The following week, again at City Beach, out on the jetty, we witnessed Seasons at Sandpoint maintenance personnel destroying the nests and chasing off the birds which had labored so desperately to ensure survival for the next generation of cliff swallows.
By that time, the lake level had risen to the point that there was no longer any mud available at the shoreline. Even if the swallows had had the strength or incentive to build another nest somewhere else, they would not have been able to do so. Consequently, an entire generation of cliff swallows was destroyed. I was heartbroken.
The cliff swallows (fairly rare in our area, even though there were large numbers at the beach) will soon be returning, and I have to ask The Seasons at Sandpoint to allow the cliff swallows to raise their young in those nests.
Newspapers can be placed on the porches of condominiums where their droppings might land. It is an easy clean-up process that would ensure the survival of the next generation of this amazing creature. There are some areas on the condos where the cliff swallows were nesting that were not over porches. It seems like those nests could be allowed to remain regardless.
When humans replace the natural habitat of any species with a man-made structure, the displaced species has to adapt or die. In this case, the cliff swallow has adapted to the buildings, and will build its nests under the eaves or on the rock columns of the condominiums.
Can humans adapt to accommodate the wildlife they have displaced?
In this case, not only would it be generous and environmentally conscientious, but it is also a legality to allow cliff swallows to nest. Cliff swallows and their nests are fully protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. It is illegal to intentionally damage or destroy the nest, eggs, or young of a swallow while the nest is being built or in use.
Any permit to lethally control this species would need to be issued from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In most cases, a permit for lethal control will not be issued for cliff swallows nesting on a residence or other building. If an adult cliff swallow is occupying a half-built nest or a fully built nest without eggs, the law protects it.
“It is illegal for any person to take, possess, transport, sell, or purchase them or their parts, such as feathers, nests, or eggs without a permit,” according to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
It is, however, totally acceptable to remove nests according to the cliff swallow’s migration departure. After the young have fledged and flown south, the nests may be washed away.
I am writing this letter to ask you to tolerate the inconvenience the swallows may cause for these three months when they are here in our community. The whole process of migrating thousands of miles, building the intricate nests and raising the young is a miracle of nature. Please let this miracle continue.
MELISSA BAKER
Sandpoint