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CONSERVATION

Although swallows and swifts are easy to observe, since they share the urban areas with us, they are becoming less and less common. Studies carried out in several countries show a clear decrease in the number of birds returning to Europe each spring. This decline is alarming and the conservation status of some of these species is rising to the levels of greatest concern. Examples of this are the inclusion of the Common House Martin and the Common Swift in the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern in the United Kingdom, the latest edition of the Libro Rojo de las Aves de España which considers the Barn Swallow and the Common Swift as Vulnerable (VU) species, or the European Red List of Birds, which classifies the Common Swift, the White-rumped Swift and the Little Swift as Near Threatened (NT) species.

The main threats to swallows and swifts’ decline are:

decline in insect populations as a result of land use changes
destruction of nests or even of breeding colonies, because of the nuisance they may cause or through the restoration and demolition of buildings
development of new building techniques and materials that do not allow birds to settle and build new nests
climate change leading to a mismatch between the peak abundance of the insects and bird’s migratory and reproductive timing

MAIN THREATS

Changes in habitat composition and resource availability

Destruction of nests and nesting colonies

Climate change

The conservation of swallows and swifts is not only important for the extraordinary beauty of these birds, but also for the services they provide us. These birds, being insectivores, have a very relevant role in insect populations control. A swallow can capture more than 850 insects in a single day and some studies report that a swift can hunt 5000 insects in the same period, which means that a breeding pair hunts more than 100,000 insects to feed their young.

It is, therefore, very important to monitor these birds in order to assess the status of their populations and the habitats that support them, identify the main threats they face and outline priority conservation measures for their preservation. Knowing in advance that the loss of nesting sites is one of the greatest threats to the conservation of these birds, it is also fundamental to identify the greatest number of nests and nesting colonies to try and halt their destruction. In a complementary way it is also important to build new nests thus increasing the supply of nesting sites.