Seriously, the swallows are fine
There's a rumor going around that the city washed down the swallow nests again during breeding season. It's not true.
It’s rare that we do an article about something that didn’t happen. But that’s what this article is about. There have been numerous threads on Nextdoor and Facebook over the last week accusing the city of Sebastopol or the Community Center of removing the swallow nests from the back of the Sebastopol Youth Annex during breeding season.
This simply didn’t happen.
The nest were removed by Public Works in January, as a part of an agreed-upon schedule of maintenance developed in cooperation with Native Songbird Care & Conservation. The protocol was developed after 2019 incident when a public works employee removed all the nests in the middle of breeding season.
On Wednesday, Veronica Bowers, director and founder of Native Songbird Care & Conservation, stood behind the Sebastopol Youth Annex, looking up at the eaves.
“See all those dark crescents—that’s new mud,” she said. In other words—the beginning of nests.
She started examining the ground directly beneath where the swallows usually build their nests. There was no evidence of destruction: no broken nest parts, no broken eggs, no dead baby birds.
“They just haven’t rebuilt them yet,” she said, explaining that swallows are rather picky about the environment where they build their nests. “They’ll only start building when all the conditions are right. They have to have building materials, food supplies need to be abundant, and the weather needs to be pretty consistent and favorable. But we’ve had temps in the 30s at night, high winds, and rain on and off. Those aren't conditions where they want to raise their young.”
She did say, however, that “I am surprised to see them getting started so late. That’s peculiar.”
The trouble started when several citizens noticed that the nests from last year were gone and decided to post about this on social media.
The city received so many complaints and worried calls that it sent out its own message on social media on Wednesday: “The City of Sebastopol is working with biologists to support swallow nesting at the Youth Annex while protecting public health and infrastructure. Nest removal occurred during the non-breeding season, and new nesting activity has now begun.”
They also provided a link to a new article on the city website about the swallows:
The City of Sebastopol has received many comments recently regarding Swallow nesting on the north wall of the Community Center Youth Annex. The Public Works Department has been working with our biologist to guide us on the appropriate actions and timeframe to perform maintenance so that we can continue to safely co-exist with the presence of Swallows at the Youth Annex. We are adhering to a schedule to limit structural damage to our building as well as limit the unwanted pests or bacteria that could develop in the old nests. These pests and bacteria are potentially harmful to both the birds and humans. It is also important that we continue to evolve with how to best support this delicate species. This includes allowing the Swallows to periodically practice the natural behavior of nest building so it is not a skill that becomes unlearned, and that they too learn how to adapt to our ever-changing environment.
This year, nests were removed in January during the inactive non-nesting season, prior to the Swallows migration back to the Laguna, and while old nests are empty of eggs or chicks. The breeding season for Swallows is between March and September and interference is restricted during that time by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
As the City continues to welcome the Swallows and the benefits they provide, we will be consulting with additional biologists so that we are actively learning from multiple viewpoints. We are also monitoring the wall of the Youth Annex bi-weekly and are excited to report that we see evidence that the nest building for this season has finally begun.
Bowers had a small quibble with the city’s article. (“Nest-building is innate, not learned,” she wrote in a comment on Facebook.) In general, though, Bowers said she appreciates the city’s efforts with the swallows.
She approves of the plan of washing the nests down in winter, before the breeding season. “It’s making things a little easier for the swallows in that, if there are any overwintering parasites like swallow bugs or mites, they’re all washed down. They don’t get to overwinter in those nests and then become a nuisance for the birds when they come back.”
Despite the recent brouhaha, she said she also appreciates the public’s interest in the birds’ fate. “I appreciate that people are watching out for them,” she said.
Once again, solid reporting and details. Thanks.
Echoing Skip, Thank you for the fact base reporting.
Folks make assumptions, broadcast them and it takes digging to get a fuller picture of what has occurred before a virus of misinformation spreads further. This type of article reinforces continuing to financially support local (and national) journalism.